Deborah Shaw, “You Are Alright, But…”
1. How does the multi-plot structure of Traffic lead to a reversal of traditional ethnic hierarchies and a weakening of the traditional hero-centered narrative?
With the varying story lines the viewer cannot pinpoint a traditional hero, mostly because every single one these characters are driven by this war on drugs, which acts as the central anchor among the characters who come from different national and racial backgrounds. Because of their diversity and the differing successes they each have with the war on drugs, all traditional ethnic hierarchy’s go out the window.
2. Despite the “positive” Mexican, Latino and African-American characters in the film, how does the film nationalize and racialize the drug trade and drug users?
The film does so by giving each different nation or race it’s own part in the process of drug producing, trafficking, and using. The Mexicans are portrayed as the growers and traffickers; the Latinos as the buyers and distributors; the African-Americans as the dealers; and the Anglo-Americans as the users and drug addicts.
3. How does cinematography reinforce differences between U.S. and Mexico? What are the cultural associations associated with each? What is Shaw’s argument about a sepia-toned point-of-view shot?
Soderbergh used sepia colored filters to present Mexico, giving it an undeveloped, overheated, sweaty, and desolate feel. On the contrary, the U.S. is filmed with blue metallic filters that gives it a cold, heartless, powerful look. In a certain scene in the movie, Michael Douglas looks through binoculars over the border of Mexico. The room he stands in is in the U.S. and has a blue filter. However when he looks through the binoculars over into Mexico, the filter changes to the Sepia tone, suggesting that the U.S. sees Mexico in the way it wants to—poor, corrupt, and in need of guidance from the U.S.
4. How does the General Salazar character reinforce common Hollywood stereotypes? How does Javier (Del Toro) reinforce common Hollywood representations of Mexico as a country in need of guidance from the U.S.?
General Salazar reinforces the stereotype that Mexicans are corrupt and require guidance from the U.S. by being corrupt himself. The general acts as the man in charge of keeping drug traffickers away from U.S. borders, yet he also has a hand in the drug war himself. In the case of Del Toro’s character, he is a good, honest Mexican cop who cannot seem to succeed without the intervention of the DEA, a U.S. government association. This situation reinforces the idea that Mexican culture cannot thrive without the help of the neighboring U.S. government system.
5. How does the representation of the drug trade in Traffic reflect larger assumptions about American foreign policy?
There would be no need for multiple drug rings and organizations in Mexico if the demand for those drugs was not as strong as it is in the United States. Though Mexico is presented as the dealer, it is the U.S. that acts as a primary customer. This refers to the state of Mexico working under the U.S., acting as the maker and supplier of many exports, only to have them imported and purchased by the United States.
Kaufman, 125-165
“Emotion, Truth, and Celluloid”
6. What are some of the key lessons Soderbergh took away from the Richard Lester project, and how did he apply those lessons to specific films?
Soderbergh learned that you have to be casual in your filmmaking process. Though it’s important to take your work serious, you can’t forget about your instincts and gut feeling because that is where part of your creativity comes from. Soderbergh states that “I’m serious about what I do, but I think there’s a real benefit to not being precious and working quickly and going strictly on instinct. It’s something I lost and I absolutely got back from [Lester].” Another thing Soderbergh learned is the importance of being rigorous with his films, something he feels he failed upon with The Underneath.
7. How does Erin Brockovich represent a key change in how Soderbergh viewed “personal filmmaking”?
Soderbergh had a newfound understanding of what a “personal film” means. Just because a film is not about yourself or your personal experiences does not make it any less personal. Soderbergh states that he felt just as emotionally connected to Erin as he did sex, lies. When he realized this, he decided to branch out, think out of the box, and in his own words “get out of the house”. Erin Brockovich was the first film that he allowed himself to do that with.