Running head: AMORES PERROS: SOME THOUGHTS ON SUSANA AND OCTVIO

Amores Perros: Some Thoughts on Susana and Octvio Mrcio Padilha Lewis-Clark State College SW492-60 DeLong Hamilton Summer/2011

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Amores Perros: Some Thoughts on Susana and Octvio

Amores Perros (Irritu, 2000) is a 2000 Mexican movie, sometimes referred to as Love's a Bitch in the English-language market. The first work of Alejandro Gonzlez Irritus trilogy of death, Amores Perros is further developed under a triptych archetype whereby writer Guillermo Arriaga Jordn fatalistically overlaps the stories and intertwines the characters lives in an attempt of illustrating love and loss in modern-day Mexico City. The ensuing plot tapestry derives out of several facets of one same metaphor: the bond between humans and animals, which, in each story, reflects the human condition in the parallel lives of the dogs which share their owners' worlds and, in doing so, become joint victims within this violent cycle. In its entirety, Amores Perros comprises three segments which stem out interpersonal relationships and, as such, are named Susana and Octvio, Daniel and Valeria and El Chivo and Maru. In short, the first segment brings different contingencies of intrafamilial violence with a touch of social taboo within the context of a very low socioeconomic status while the second segment, still dwelling on the same intrafamilial violence topic, approaches it from a perspective which is antagonistic to its predecessor in many aspects. Lastly, the final segment, tying off different aspects of the previous two, delves into aspects of structural violence and how its societal unfolding affects not only an individual or a group staunchly but rather permissively which, in turn, sets the wheel in motion and perpetuates the cycle of violence. Placing Susana and Octvio as the focus point of my discussion on violence centers the argument within two concomitant issues: domestic violence within the context of structural violence. In the presented construct, two adult male siblings live at home with their mother. In addition to that, the oldest brothers live-in girlfriend, Susana, and their baby, Rodrigo, are also under that same roof. Whereas such a family unit would not necessarily be indicative of a

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problem within the Mexican context, the fact that the younger brother, Octvio, and Susana are unemployed while the older brother, Ramiro, cannot make enough money neither to support his family or help out with the household expenses does pose a shift to the paradigm. Out of this matrix of economic deprivation, internal friction sprouts and leads to progressively greater issues of domestic violence which are exemplified by a pattern of different abusive behaviors which range from emotional to physical aggression. The case at hand, as illustrated in the movie, appears to be symptomatic of a generational and systematic social issue rather than a mere isolated episodic instance. Therefore, whereas, from a macro perspective, the family unit at hand is the victim of a socially negligent conjuncture which is self-evident, each individual within that family unit, from a micro perspective, concomitantly becomes one anothers victim and perpetrator; a situation which is allusive to Plautus assertion that man is wolf to man which is, to some extent, corroborated by Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Out of a personal conviction, I have long defended that the family unit is the building block of society and that, as such, our collective well-being relies deeply on how well this institution does. Therefore, if the family unit is subjected to structural violence due to a coercive sociopolitical model, the core concepts of its modus operandi will adjust and, in doing so transgenerationally, improper functioning will result. Susana and Octvio illustrates how societal structural functionalism can become deeply affected by both poverty and lack education, which, in my opinion, are indicative of a learned helplessness, a component of a larger culture of underprivilege that has its own different set of values and beliefs. Within the earned helplessness mindset, getting out of poverty is not an option. Therefore, in order to make the best of their situation, one must live in the moment and experience what they can when they can, which, in turn, only serves to perpetuate the cycle.

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In addition, several facets of domestic violence are also depicted throughout Susana and Octvio. Octvio falls in love with Susana and, despite her unclear feelings for him, he keeps harassing her until both have an affair. While this situation places Octvio as an active perpetrator, it also allows for Susana to become a passive perpetrator in that their affair gives her the opportunity of revenge at Ramiro. Then, while planning to run away with her and his nephew, Octvio is faced with the issue of financial support for this new family unit and, thus, ventures into the underworld of illegal dog fighting for easy money thereby indicating that the whole family unit has fallen victim to the conjuncture. While Octvios newly acquired finances give him the upper-hand in that he can provide things for his nephew which his brother, the babys father, cannot, it is nothing but another indicator that he has once more fallen victim to structural violence. Humiliated, Ramiro confronts Octvio who, in turn, breaks Ramiros nose in public. For revenge, Ramiro later brutally beats Octvio in the shower with a golf club; all instances which adequately illustrate the praxis of violence as conflict resolution tool in that psychological/emotional violence evolved into actual physical violence. At some point, Susana feels guilty about her affair with Octvio, but does not know that Ramiro himself is also having an affair with another woman. Thereby, Susana and Octvio presents a Helsinki Syndrome scenario where Susana, being constantly emotionally and sometimes physically abused by Ramiro, sympathizes with her abuser. Parallel to Octvios illegal behavior, Ramiro is also robbing pharmacies at gun-point; evidencing the presence of structural violence in that the system has not been able to prevent them from evading non-criminal behavior as means of subsistence. Back to the realm of domestic abuse, Octvio has Ramiro roughed up pretty badly. His intent is that Ramiro will get scared and run away, leaving Susana and Rodrigo behind. Nevertheless, by taking Susana and Rodrigo along, Ramiro, who never suspected of the affair,

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strikes inadvertently back at Octvio who gets further emotionally victimized when he finds out that Susana has taken all the money he had entrusted her with for their getaway plans. From this point on to the end, I felt as if structural violence were the theme at hand. As Octvio continues in the dog fighting business, eventual rivalry issues arise and, as a result, Cofi, Octvios moneymaking dog, gets shot. In an outburst, Octvio stabs Jarocho for having shot Cofi. Out of this, a high-speed car chase ensues through the streets of Mexico City. There is an eventual car crash which leaves Octvio seriously injured his friend Jorge dead; all of which are undisputable indicators of structural violence. Concomitantly, Ramiro, in order to support his family, starts robbing banks until he runs out of luck and ends up shot dead. During his Ramiros funeral, Octvio once again asks Susana to go to Ciudad Juarez with him, but she never turns up at the bus station. So, Octvio vanishes into the night. So, despite being a fictional piece, Amores Perros allowed for Octvio, Susana and Ramiro to be in one anothers shoes, which was interesting and not altogether impossible to happen in real life. A cinephile myself, I found that the neorealist nature of Amores Perros, while firmly standing on some specific cultural elements of the Mexican continuum, shows how comprehensively, and distinctively, violence presents itself within different social strata, which, in my opinion, exemplifies somewhat of a human commonality rather than a Mexican singularity.

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Bibliography
Irritu, A. G. (Direccin). (2000). Amores Perros [Pelcula].