Under the Same Moon

Tonight I watched Under the Same Moon. I prejudged the movie. It was obviously going to be a tear-jerker, only presenting one side, and there was going to be no way you could say the main characters were terrible for being illegal immigrants even if you are incredibly conservative. I was not disappointed.

            What really struck me, besides the political agenda (zooming in on the immigrant crossing sign), was the message of what it is to be human. Love. Meaning. Call me a hippie and I’ll tell you that love is not all you need. But I challenge you to tell me why a person would give up everything for someone else without love in your answer.

            The thing is, that’s what most of psychology does and it drives me insane. We have so many “theories” that “explain” human behavior and what it means. And yet none of them seriously consider meaning to be fundamental in understanding the human experience. The cause of our behavior is usually something biological or conditioned by our environment. And these ideas have permeated the way we think about the world. How often are we bombarded by “pop” psychology, where the findings are presented as truth and usually are a determined excuse for our behavior. For example, how many times have you heard that men are hard-wired to be sexually promiscuous and they simply can’t help it? Not only does this take away any meaning in the act of having sex, but it takes away responsibility for our actions.

            Why am I rambling about things not related to the movie? Because it’s important. This movie was a tear-jerker because this stuff is important. Because whether we like to admit or not, family is important. Giving up all you have for someone you love is an incredible thing to do. Giving up everything for someone you don’t have a deep love for is almost more incredible. Like when Enrique gave himself up to the police so Carlitos could escape. A lot of the ways our society looks at the world denies the importance of how we live.

            Maybe I’m naive. Actually, I know I’m naïve. But, all the same, whether we’re talking about psychology or immigration policy, we’re always talking about people. And we can’t ever forget that. For me, this means, that people like Carlitos should have every opportunity we can give them without question. I know that’s not reasonable and I know I have a lot to learn and I know my parents would probably kill me if they knew how liberal I am, but that’s the only thing that seems right to me.