How do you make a life-long committed Minuteman love a group of illegal immigrants? If you believe the Immigration episode of 30 Days, just stick him in a one-bedroom apartment with a family of seven illegal immigrants. The second season of 30 Days begins with an episode that attempts to tackle the debate of illegal immigration, but comes off as a one-sided, emotional tear-jerker.
Frank George is a Minuteman who patrols the US border of Mexico. When he was seven he came to the US legally. The Gonzalez family emigrated from Mexico—illegally. The family of seven lives in a cramped one-bedroom apartment, barely surviving off meager wages and random jobs. These opposite worlds collide when Frank George moves in with the Gonzalez family for 30 days. He lives the life of an illegal immigrant and learns their day-to-day struggles. The family has to deal with his strong opinions against illegal immigration.
The purpose of the episode is to show the struggle between illegal immigrants and our government. The movie started portraying both sides well, but as the episode went on, it seemed as though we were being pushed towards siding with the immigrants. There is clear agenda-setting in this episode. It tugs at the heart strings and spends more time looking into the lives of the immigrants. We see the close, modest Gonzalez family scraping by everyday, yet never complaining about their situation. We watch Frank go to Mexico to see how pitiful life is in the poverty-stricken country. The scenes leave you wondering how anyone could possibly want these people to return to such conditions.
But what about the other side of the debate? All we hear from Frank George is repetitive argument that “it’s just the law” and that illegal immigration will “bring bout the disillusion of this country.” But why? What’s happened in the U.S. so far that proves this? What is happening to American citizens who are just as poor as these immigrants, though completely legal? The show failed to go into this crucial side of the debate.
The episode does have some redeeming qualities. It does not abuse stereotypes. We see throughout the episode that Frank George is more than just a Minuteman with a mission. His background as an immigrant himself lends him an interesting point of view to the situation. He is able to connect with the Gonzalez family, especially to the daughter, Armida. Frank and Armida have many civilized debates over the topic and by the end of the episode, Frank is close to tears when having to say goodbye to Armida. He is much more sensitive than one might expect.
The show also de-bunks the illegal immigrant stereotype. Most people expect a dirty, uneducated family with no future, but there is so much more going on with the Gonzalez family. We see how hard-working the dad, Rigorberto, is when Frank goes with him on a job. We see the mother, Patty, as just that—a mother who will do anything to make her family happy, even if that includes taking so much time to collect and recycle cans just for a measly five dollars. Most striking of all is Armida, the golf-playing, well educated high school student with high hopes on a college career.
It is Frank’s seemingly quick change of heart that makes this episode so questionable. The man who has had such strong, deep feelings towards immigration for almost his entire life begins to go soft after less than thirty days? This seems to be the working of great story-writing instead of reality. Frank does seem to open up his mind on the topic a bit. As Walter Lippman said in his piece Public Opinion, “A great deal of confusion arises when people decline to classify themselves as we have classified them.” What he finds with this family is not at all what he expects. But when the episode is over, we read that he continues to work with the Minutemen. So while the episode dramatizes a story about a changed man, the reality is that he seems to have just opened his mind a bit.
My final thought on the show is this: It failed to cover the controversy completely, but it at least succeeded in bringing the topic to a new audience. It took the immigration topic out of strictly news and politics by giving it a face. It was not merely about a Minuteman and illegal immigrants. It was Frank George and his own personal struggle within himself. It was the Gonzalez family and their warm hearts and earnest desire to stay together as a family. The episode is good for entertainment, but not much more.
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1 comment:
I like the way you recognized how Lippman viewed conflict when the pictures in our heads fail to match up.
I do take issue with your statement that the purpose of the episode was to show the struggle between illegal immigration and our government. I think the producers worked to show how the political rhetoric isolates us from the human suffering that's the core of the problem. It's a problem about poverty, power and the myth of the American dream and it's much more complex than people want to admit. A wall will not fix it.
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