The Official Story

I was struck early in the film by a comment made by Alecia when teaching the class. She said history is the memory of the people and that in order to survive people must have a memory. I think this sends a message of hope in that even though there may be some parts of history people do not enjoy learning about, hopefully we do learn from it and make better decisions in the future. I thought the marriage between Ana and Roberto became hopeless when he abused her. I hope she stays away from such a hurtful man. One who deliberately hurts one they love can not be trusted. Initially I thought there would be a light at the end of the tunnel for Gabby. She is an adorable 5 year old, who seems to know what she wants. For example, she did not care for the magician at her birthday party, so she went to her room to do something she enjoyed. Although she is frightened when the boys playing war come into her room, she seems to be easily consoled by the love and gentle rocking of Ana. Love is a very powerful emotion, which can help to heal many things. Originally I think the mothers who were rallying to find their missing children did this out of love. However, after further research on Wkipedia I think it has taken a different voice. I was reading and it said the white head scarves they wore were frequently had the names of the children on them. I remembered that in the movie and thought how sweet. Then I read further were it said the movement broke in to two groups and one of the scholars of the groups defended the airline hijackers on 9/11/01 and said they were courageous. This sickens me. I will never understand how anyone can call someone courageous who is deliberately hurting innocent people. Therefore I am now ambivalent as to the light at the end of the tunnel for Gabby. I think with love she has the power to heal, but if she is poisoned by hatred, negative people and revenge there is no hope.