Dear Lemon Lima

I went to see Dear Lemon Lima at SIFF and loved this film! Dear Lemon Lima is a coming of age film about a young girl named Vanessa Lemor. After her first love, Philip, breaks her heart over summer break, Vanessa is awarded the minority scholarship to Philip's school, where she befriends a group of outcasts who call themselves the "fubars."

Vanessa is half Yup’ik, and indigenous people from Alaska and Russia, and although she doesn't relate to that part of her background she is seen by the teachers at the school as a poster child for their native heritage. At thirteen she is more interested in regaining the affection of Philip.

Vanessa and the "fubars" sign up for a strength and endurance competition based on Yup'ik traditions, though the exercises seem more like a parody than giving homage to their ancestors, in an attempt to impress Philip and win him back. Instead, she learns that her happiness and friendships are more important.

Her neighbor, Hercules, who is also one of the "fubars" has a much more difficult time finding happiness. This is mainly due to his very restrictive parents not allowing him to hang out with "that native girl" and the rest of the "fubars". Another of the "fubars" who goes by the name "Nothing" is also given a difficult time, only by her peers instead of her parents. Although she looked perfectly healthy to me she was supposed to be the heavy set girl and endured a lot of ridicule from her classmates. But when the group of friends are together nothing seems to bother them. They find strength in each other and are determined to win the competition, or at least try their hardest as a team.

I loved this movie because it shows that just because you may be labeled a certain way or thrown into a stereotype doesn't mean that you have to follow suit. And for those who are enforcing the stereotypes that someone's race, gender, or body type doesn't put them into a fixed personality mold.

Beyond Ipanema

I recently went to see Beyond Ipanema at SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival) and was surprised that I actually enjoyed the film as much as I did. Beyond Ipanema is a documentary about the history of Brazilian music and it's impact on cultures throughout the world. You may not know this but much of the music popular in America, past and present, has been majorly influenced by the many different styles of Brazilian music.

When I hear the name Carmen Miranda one thing comes to mind, bananas. What I didn't know was she was the first Brazilian performer to reach international stardom. What I really like about Carmen Miranda is although she conformed slightly to meet Hollywood standards at the time (bleaching her hair and singing in English) she refused to assimilate completely. All of her film contracts included at least one or two songs sung in Portuguese, even though American audiences could not understand her. She was also the highest paid woman in the United States!

Carmen Miranda paved the road to global success for other Brazilian artists. Because of this exposure, American music has maintained a Brazilian influence throughout the decades.

Bossa Nova, a genre of Brazilian music popular in the late 1950s, was said to have been an offshoot of American Jazz. But when Jazz musicians began to travel to Brazil in search of inspiration they found that Bossa Nova had a much more complex beat and brought this sound back to the U.S. For years Bossa Nova set the mood for cocktail parties and other social events in America and around the world.

What I really liked about this movie and what I learned about the many different genres of Brazilian music is how diverse the music is while maintaining a strong sense of culture. It doesn't appeal to just one race, class, or gender and there are no borders or boundaries.