This week, we’re watching a Netflix film called “Even the Rain/Tambin la lluvia.” It is a 2010 award-winning Spanish drama about a Mexican director and Spanish producer who shoot a film about Christopher Columbus in modern day Bolivia. The film draws parallels between issues that faced indigenous people during the encounter with Columbus in the early 1490s alongside indigenous problems during the recent Cochabomba Water War that occurred in Bolivia in 2000. This movie will give us a sense of material associated with Columbus, but also an idea of where “The West in the World” is going for the second half of the class.

Question:

Based on “Tambin la lluvia/Even the Rain,” what are three major problems faced by indigenous people during the encounter with Columbus and those in Bolivia during the Cochabomba Water War? Did you see any similarities between the two? Identify and describe three specific scenes from the movie as evidence.

Instructions:

Your initial post is due on Friday, October 16th, at 11:59pm Eastern time. It should be at least 250 words (no maximum). There will be a 10-point late deduction if you do not submit this first post on time — your peers need them to You must respond to at least one of your peers’ posts by Sunday, October 18th, at 11:59pm Eastern time. This post should be a minimum of 100 words. Please post within your specific group, which you should be able to access at the top of this page.

Note:

The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. The subtitles should appear automatically, but they take a minute or so to show up. We will have some more lecture material on Columbus next week. If you do not have access to a Netflix account, please contact me no later than Tuesday night.