There are films like “The Simpsons” which offer you a pleasant and entertaining moment, there are other more profound films like “The Matrix” which allows your imagination and fantasy to go loose. However, there are also those which can emotionally strike you as they depict a harsh and true reality.
“Bordertown” is a perfect example.
Based on true events, “Bordertown” (2007) is the story of Lauren Fredericks, an American journalist who is sent to the Mexican city of Juárez to investigate the disappearances of hundreds of young women occurring in that area.
To her surprise, she discovers that the real threat is not the murder, rather the superior forces who do not want the story to be unleashed. Local newspapers refuse to talk about it yet, Frederick will not stop her investigation and will cross boundaries in order to find justice, peace and to bring this issue afloat. However, in her journey to investigate more about the disappearances of these women, she will have to fight against the powerful and elite.
For the past decade there has been an alarming, yet unheard phenomenon occurring the in border-town of Juárez, Mexico. Surprisingly young and pretty women have been disappearing.
No one knows how or why. However we know that it is something which many people prefer to keep secretive.
It seems that in the city of Juárez sharp teeth await young women, most of them are factory workers. These women are beaten, raped and even buried alive.
Many are found abandoned in the desert; others are never found.
Such attacks occur mostly to third-shift workers, to whom the darkness of Juárez is their biggest enemy. They are the most vulnerable; they are the easiest target.
They are unprotected women who are only trying to survive in an area where the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and in where the industrial growth is not necessarily producing wealth to the society. This is an unfortunate reality that this society is going through and this movie depicts it well.
Unfortunately there has not been much attention drawn to such disappearances and to such inhumane acts; most of the times these women are forgotten. Many women are never found. Many mothers desperately search for their daughters.
Most never find them and authorities seem not to care.
If you like to learn more about the issue, please come to Sykes Student Union Theater to watch the film Bordertown.
Awareness is the key to fight against these kinds of acts. It will be shown on October 8, 2008. Two sessions: 5:00 and 7:30.
Everyone is welcome. This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Co-Curricular Programs, Student Services, Inc.
Alejandro Carrillo is a West Chester Student. He can be reached at AC595226@wcupa.edu.