Cycles of Oppression in El Norte

The United States is not forcibly and involuntarily inundated with waves of

immigration: it demands it. What’s more, its capitalist domination is directly linked to the

unequal distribution of wealth in developing countries. Popular opinion in the United States

upholds the idea that the country remains separate from the economic subjugation in

developing countries—that its opulence has little to do with the poverty in so many nations.

In his film El Norte, director Gregory Nava challenges the notion of separate and isolated

nations across the border through his use of cyclical imagery, as well as his depiction of U.S.

economic incentive for immigration. The protagonists’ initial hopes and beliefs in the

“American Dream” are cruelly crushed by the reality of limited opportunities of upward

social mobility. Nava creates a tale of repetition of socioeconomic subjugation and

interconnectedness across the border, ultimately confronting and indicting United States

exceptionalism and the ideology of equal opportunity.

Nava employs cyclical imagery throughout the film. Ranging from a water mill to the

protagonists’ father’s decapitated head against a setting sun, Nava gives careful consideration

and significant visual, filmic attention to circular objects. His attention to physical cycles is

echoed in the cycles of oppression experienced by the protagonists, siblings Rosa and

Enrique Xuncax. Driven from their home in Guatemala, Rosa and Enrique find hope of a

better life—desperately believing in the “American Dream” advertised by commercial

magazines and popular rhetoric—amidst their history of death and violence. Their faith in a

better life can be seen in Rosa’s reverent perusal of a catalogue from the United States and

Enrique’s utterances of United States equality. Enrique tells Rosa, “. . . in the north, we

won’t be treated this way. We’ll make a lot of money. We’ll have everything we want” (El

Norte). Their faith in the possibility of an end to their subjugation foreshadows a

heartbreaking series of events—events that establish the cycle of oppression that seamlessly

translates across borders.

Their journey to the United States traverses Mexico and pauses in Tijuana. The

siblings witness the desolation and emptiness of the U.S.-Mexico border town, but a coyote

reinforces the idea of an end to poverty in the United States. He tells them, “. . . you won’t

have to sleep on the floor. Not like here, where you’re dying of hunger. It’s the land of

money, where you’ll find beautiful houses, big cars . . .” At this point, Nava creates a

montage of opposites, quickly cutting from shots of dilapidated houses in Tijuana to clean

lawns, mansions and cars in the United States. The severity of the sequence heightens its

message: the United States, or el norte, is markedly different from countries south of the

border. At least, that’s how it is presented. However, the reality of segregation and

socioeconomic inequality in the United States, which Rosa and Enrique will discover with

tragic consequences, resounds much more deeply with Nava’s cyclical imagery than this

abrupt sequence.

After a horrifying crawl across the border through sewage tunnels, Rosa and Enrique

emerge from the tunnel to sweeping, victorious music and beautiful cityscapes. They leave

the circular tunnel—their history of oppression—behind, albeit temporarily. By all intents

and purposes, the siblings perform the roles of model immigrants, more than thrilled to learn

English and work diligently and tirelessly. They remain loyal to their faith in U.S.

opportunity, but cracks in this constructed reality are revealed through the physical separation

of immigrant communities from Anglo-Saxon neighborhoods. Indeed, upon Rosa’s

observation and consternation to her coworker Nacha that she doesn’t see any white people in

their neighborhood, Nacha replies, “. . . Oh, Lord. You don’t think gringos want to live with

Mexicans, do you?” Rosa’s dreams of opportunity slowly begin to falter.

 Slowly and painfully, Nava reveals the deceit in the “American Dream:” Rosa and

Enrique assimilate into U.S. culture and view hard work as necessary for success. They are

not expecting any shortcuts, nor are they under the impression upward mobility comes

without effort. However, their perfect execution of their roles is not met with any real

improvement in their living conditions. Rather, they come to realize the repression from

Guatemala continues in the United States. The final scenes consist of Enrique returning to

manual work, abandoning the possibility of becoming considered anything other than a

source of physical labor. Nava returns to his cyclical montage, cutting from the cement

mixer to men digging, from the drum of their parents’ funeral to a water mill, returning to the

cement mixer, and finally ending on their father’s decapitated head against a setting sun. All

these circular images are connected to a form of oppression: the cement mixer indicates labor

exploitation; the drum results from the politically-motivated murder of their father; the

decapitated head a result of military massacre. Nava does not provide markers of

differentiation among these images, introducing each image with a drum beat and giving each

image the same screen time, perpetuating a connection and continuation of domination.

The film also establishes economically-motivated connections between the United

States and countries south of the border, although it adopts a stance contrary to U.S. popular

rhetoric. Often, immigration is regarded as an upward flow of individuals seeking

opportunity, but rarely is examination given to the downward pull of the U.S. economy.

Instances of this dependence on cheap labor can be seen Enrique’s minimum-wage kitchen

job and Rosa’s housecleaning, but a particularly interesting and exposing scene involves a

Chicago factory owner seeking a bilingual foreman for her company. In this instance, the

film offers an explicit example of commercial, industrial investment in cheap labor. In fact,

the factory owner offers to escort Enrique to Chicago. Not only is she offering economic

incentive, but she also suggests and provides physical transportation—illegal transportation
supplied by a U.S. business. The film overtly and directly addresses the reciprocal

relationship between immigration and the United States economy, contradicting the ideology

of U.S. innocence and ignorance in the immigration exchange.

El Norte creates a critique of interconnectivity among nations in both hegemonic

social hierarchy and economic incentives. Although the initial dialogue reinforces the United

States ideology of a land of opportunity and equitable wealth, Nava’s constant cyclic imagery

points to a trend of continuation of oppression rather than distinction among nations. This

connection is further enforced with the exposé of U.S. economic reliance on cheap immigrant

labor to guarantee its profit from the capitalist system. Ultimately, El Norte creates a portrait

of social hierarchy that spans and perpetuates across nations, creating an endless pattern of

domination and exploitation. For the characters Rosa and Enrique, there is no escaping this

endless oppression. There is no opportunity to improve their situation. There is no land of

where dreams come true.

Works cited

El Norte. Dir. Gregory Nava. Perf. Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando. Criterion,

1983. DVD.