To show the film Libertador to my students or not to show it to them; that was my question.
A film about Bolívar? Ooo, I want to see it. I wonder if I can use it in any of my courses? This was my reaction last summer when I first heard about the Venezuelan/Spanish co-produced film about the life of the Sough American liberator, Simón Bolívar.
I had read a handful of reviews about the film Libertador (Alberto Arvelo, 2013), most of which seemed to imply that the film had taken some liberties with the historical facts surrounding Simon Bolívar's life, but that the film did manage to capture the spirit of the independence movement of 19th century South America. So, I decided, one of my summer projects would be to read a biography of Bolívar to gain more knowledge about the man and about the independence movement, and to the watch Arvelo's film and judge its historically accuracy for myself.
I choose to read the biography, in English, by Marie Arana called Bolívar American Liberator. (Arana, Marie. Bolívar: American Liberator. Simon and Schuster, 2013.) The biography had been well received by academics, editors and Amazon readers, and it lived up to its praise. The Washington Post has a review of her book here. The biography, at 468 pages, is certainly comprehensive, obviously meticulously researched, and quite easy to read. I can easily say that I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn more about El Libertador. Now armed with the a solid base of knowledge about Bolívar , I sat down to watch the film Libertador. It is available to stream through both Amazon and Netflix.
These are my conclusions:
Don´ts
- Don´t show this film to your students as a stand-alone unit, without any other resources, to teach them about the Latin American independence movement. It needs some historical context or it´s message won´t be full understood. And while it does get many facts right, it also cherry picks those facts carefully, creating a very one-sided vision of history (see my do´s below).
- Don't ignore this film completely. As the only contemporary film about Bolívar and the Latin American struggle for independence from Spain, it has much to offer our students.
- Do use this film in its entirety if you are prepared to balance it's message with the parts that is leaves out. This film is a great starting point for further discussion with your students. Here are some books that offer a concise overview of Bolívar that you could use with your students:
- Iberoamérica: Historia de us civilización y cultura
- Hoja de ruta: cultura y civilización latinoamericano (This is the text that I use in my advanced level university culture/civilization course.)
- The essay Tres Heroes by José Martí, which is included in the textbook ¡A que sí!
- Do use clips from this film to showcase a few select topics, which it does cover very well:
- the stunning geography of northern South America. The film has some beautiful cinematography.
- What was it like to cross the Andes? Bolivar did it; San Martin did it. Its just a mountain range, how hard could it be? This film will show you, and your students, just how hard that kind of military march was.
- Bolívar´s quest for a united continent.
- Bolívar as an orator.
- the racial make-up of those fighting in the wars of independence, and the inclusion of women and children in the armies. Although Bolívar was not as nearly as enlightened about racial issues as the film would lead you believe, he did come around to the idea of including blacks and native americans in his troops after several years of fighting. He had to include them in his vision of independence, or they would have fought against him. Now, whether any of his promises of equality were actually kept, is another story altogether.
- fears about racial equality and what that might mean for the criollos of the time.
- If you are going to show only one clip, I suggest the clip beginning approximately at minute 55 through 1:02 which incorporates many of themes I have listed.
- Do use this film as a study in how historical figures are recast over time. Every culture has the tendency to glorify its heroes, forgetting that there were simply human beings with their own strengths and weaknesses. Bolívar´s faults are almost never mentioned. His extreme brutality toward all who opposed him, especially at the beginning of his career, are only hinted at, and his tendency toward dictatorial and monarchical power, largely at the end of his career, are certainly present, but presented in a very positive light (see my comments about the chavistas below). He certainly was a military genius, and the film shows this well, but his national building and governing skills were, one could argue, some of his weaknesses. Additionally, his quest for recognition by other countries, as well as any and all foreign aid for his cause are not fully developed, and because the film distinctly shows that he resisted international interference in his fledgling nation´s sovereignty, the overall feeling is that Bolívar shunned outside help more than he actually did. The film also seems to imply that few people influenced Bolívar, that he was his own man and all of his triumphs were due to his own brilliance, but he was also greatly influenced by many historical figures and contemporary thinkers of the time. Oh, and then there is the ending, which clearly implies that historical records that indicate that he did of tuberculosis are nothing but a conspiracy theory. The ending needs to be addressed with students. Given how the chavistas of contemporary Venezuela have sought to create a distinct, if limited, portrait of their Venezuelan forefather, the Bolívar of Arvelo´s film feels a bit like everything Chavez and Maduro would want him to have said and done, which is another great point of discussion for our students.
Final word: this film has much to offer our students but only if we do our jobs as educators and put it in its proper context.
