The Separation of Lands
Elias J. Preciado Andrade
This short film is based on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In this Multimedia and English collaboration, we answered these essential questions: How does the narrative around a historical moment evolve with time? What are the specific factors that lead us to look at history differently in hindsight?
My film aims to show the effect the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had on the U.S and Mexico separating them by building a wall between the two countries. I also wanted to show the fight between the U.S and Mexico.
The film challenges the audience to see this event differently from the narrative of the U.S. being victorious and acquiring a massive amount of land to expose the loss in Mexico.
I used Adobe Premiere and my own stop motion and cutout animation footage with some aerial views of landscapes from National Parks. I used Stop Motion Studio for the animation. I also created a score in Ableton Live. The relaxing sounds used for the start of the film was from the music artist Bjørn Lynne.
The first scene of the film begins with a slideshow of beautiful footage of landscapes in the desert. Then it goes on to show a group of bricks dancing around and eventually building a wall and the wall travels over the landscapes. I wanted to show how the U.S. separated Mexico from these lands joyfully, but this was not at all joyful for Mexico.
The next scene shows the U.S flag pushing out the Mexican flag from an outline of North America at different angles with transparent landscapes. This represents the U.S.’s hostile takeover of Mexican territory. The last scene of the film is puppets of Mexico and the U.S. which are fighting over the states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and some parts of Texas. This section of the film represents the U.S. fighting for Mexico’s land and the land being taken away. This is shown as a cartoon representing the oversimplification of this event in U.S. history.
The centre piece is supported by two additional films on each side to create a three channel video. In the beginning, both side films show the beautiful landscapes in the desert and the life within it just like the centre film. In the next scene, it shows the border being built, and then the U.S. flag on one side and the Mexican flag on the other. This represents how both Mexico and the U.S had a part in building that wall. In the end, both side films show an overview of the border representing the damage done by the separation of the lands.
My film is an experience about the effect the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had on Mexico showing the divided lands. This beautiful land was stolen.
Elias J. Preciado Andrade
This short film is based on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In this Multimedia and English collaboration, we answered these essential questions: How does the narrative around a historical moment evolve with time? What are the specific factors that lead us to look at history differently in hindsight?
My film aims to show the effect the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had on the U.S and Mexico separating them by building a wall between the two countries. I also wanted to show the fight between the U.S and Mexico.
The film challenges the audience to see this event differently from the narrative of the U.S. being victorious and acquiring a massive amount of land to expose the loss in Mexico.
I used Adobe Premiere and my own stop motion and cutout animation footage with some aerial views of landscapes from National Parks. I used Stop Motion Studio for the animation. I also created a score in Ableton Live. The relaxing sounds used for the start of the film was from the music artist Bjørn Lynne.
The first scene of the film begins with a slideshow of beautiful footage of landscapes in the desert. Then it goes on to show a group of bricks dancing around and eventually building a wall and the wall travels over the landscapes. I wanted to show how the U.S. separated Mexico from these lands joyfully, but this was not at all joyful for Mexico.
The next scene shows the U.S flag pushing out the Mexican flag from an outline of North America at different angles with transparent landscapes. This represents the U.S.’s hostile takeover of Mexican territory. The last scene of the film is puppets of Mexico and the U.S. which are fighting over the states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and some parts of Texas. This section of the film represents the U.S. fighting for Mexico’s land and the land being taken away. This is shown as a cartoon representing the oversimplification of this event in U.S. history.
The centre piece is supported by two additional films on each side to create a three channel video. In the beginning, both side films show the beautiful landscapes in the desert and the life within it just like the centre film. In the next scene, it shows the border being built, and then the U.S. flag on one side and the Mexican flag on the other. This represents how both Mexico and the U.S had a part in building that wall. In the end, both side films show an overview of the border representing the damage done by the separation of the lands.
My film is an experience about the effect the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had on Mexico showing the divided lands. This beautiful land was stolen.