Week 7: Diversity and Inclusion III - Instructions Not Included

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Introduction 
This week in my FYE class, we watched the film Instructions Not Included. In the first five minutes I was very skeptical of the movie, and I honestly did not know why we were watching it for our FYE class. The movie is about a man who lives in Acapulco, Mexico, who gives a very obvious appearance of being the bachelor of Mexico. His life is then flipped upside down whenever one of his hookups, who happened to be a tourist from America, show up to his house with a child claiming it to be his. The film is ultimately very interesting, and it provoked many emotions. The film did not live up to my expectations, but in a good way. I thought that it was a great movie, and I would watch it again! The most eye-opening scene was the ending scene whenever Maggie died. The entire film I thought that the dad was sick, and it honestly never crossed my mind that the child was sick. Some things began making more sense once I realized that she was sick. For example, I was so confused on why Julie just decided to be a happy “family” again, and it also shows why the dad not put a major emphasis on school. Before watching Instructions Not Included, I had not watched a box office film entirely in Spanish I had only watched documentaries and soap operas. I actually really enjoyed it because not only was it culturally more diverse, but I also had to really pay attention since I am not fluent in Spanish. However, I do believe that some things were lost in translation. For example, in class we discussed that the truck driver in the film was named “Lupe,” which is a female name. I would have never known that if I was not told. Also, the title itself is different in English than in Spanish. In Spanish, the title is actually No Returns (as seen in picture number 2). That title is a lot less heart warming, and invokes a different message without even having to watch the film. 

Class Discussion 

In class, we discussed the film, and different topics and themes that came from it. I personally enjoyed the questions that were at the bottom of one of the handouts that we got on Wednesday. I am going to answer some of the questions for my blog post. 

“How did you discover the importance of selfless love? Who was instrumental in that growth in your life?”

I discovered the importance of selfless love first through the way my parents loved and sacrificed for me. The way that they love each other in their marriage and provide for our family amazes me daily. However, ultimately I discovered perfect, encompassing, and selfless love when my eyes were opened to what Christ did for me. 

“When Valentin’s father scared him in order to give him courage, he was attempting to prepare him for life. How did your parents prepare you for the dangers of life?” 

I believe that my parents prepared me for life by being open with me during the rocky times in their personal lives. They were also always very open with me about things that were going on in our own family, so I think I was able to see not only how they dealt with those issues but how everything truly affected them. 

“The final crisis that brought Valentin and Julie together opened the door for healing. What has occurred in your life to bring healing to the relationships you have that were broken?”

In my life, thankfully no relationships have been truly broken before, however I have had relationships in the past that have been rocky during certain times. For example, my brother and I have not always had the best relationship, but over the years through family members passing away and other events occurring, our relationship has really grown.