The Argentine and Guerilla

I went through 14 some odd years of education in the US of A and never once heard the name Che Guevara mentioned in the classroom. Seriously, not once! This is somewhat disturbing. Senior year of high school I even took a contemporary history course and he was never mentioned. This is quite possibly the most influential contemporary (post WWII) revolutionary and idealist of the 20th century. This is like studying the American Revolution and not talking about Jefferson and Washington. It's like speaking of the Civil Rights movement without MLK and Malcolm X. Dare I say it's like studying the New Testament and never mentioning Jesus.

Before you start accusing me of being a Marxist in the comments let me clarify. Being a strict pacifist and believing every war to be unjust and immoral I probably disagree with Che just as much as a right-wing free market capitalist. However this does not mean we should censor history and ignore a life that influenced millions of people and still does to this day.

I asked Katie if she ever heard of Che's exploits in her high school classrooms. It was a "no." I'd be interested to hear if any of you learned about him in your respective school districts.

If you are interested in learning more about him I would recommend Soderbergh's (Ocean's 11, Traffic, etc.) film from last year. It is lengthy, about 4 hours, but I really appreciated it. Che (the film) is definitely slanted don't get me wrong. But it is no more slanted than an American high school history book.

What really impressed me was the tone that Soderbergh and Del Toro project into the film. In part one, the Argentine, you feel like you are in Che and Castro's militia. You feel young, and a sense of hope, like change is coming to Cuba, and Batista's corrupt regime will actually be overthrown. Inversely, in part two (Guerilla), you feel a sense that Che is old and that he has lost his touch. The tone leaves you feeling a sense of paranoia, as if you don't know who to trust, and that the campaign to oust the Bolivian government is doomed to fail.

Sean Penn remarked during his Oscar acceptance speech that he was surprised Benicio Del Toro wasn't nominated for his role. While Che was not accepted in America, where it only made around $300,000; it grossed about 30 million elsewhere. In Cuba, Del Toro was given a 10 minute standing ovation after an initial screening in Havana. Does he deserves this ovation? I hope you will see the film to decide for yourself.

Matthew's grade: B+


salaam alikum