Film Review of "Sleep Dealer"

This film begins in Oaxaca, Mexico in a small village where many Mexicans leave to seek a better life. Set in a future not so distant from now, the U.S. Mexico border has been closed completely to immigrant workers. However, through a "Cybracero" program Mexican workers can hook themselves into machines located all over the Unites States in order to complete various jobs such as construction or farm work, all while still living in border towns such as Tiajuana. The details of the situation of Memo, the main character, delve much deeper than this, but for the sake of enticing you to watch the film I will leave a bit of mystery. My overall opinion of this film is that it is simple, honest, and tugs on the heart strings in the right places. Even though I am not of Mexican descent I have seen Memo's story in thousands of migrant workers who come to the United States each year and this is a great one. It's main themes are water control issues, (aqua) terrorism, family, hope, and making connections. The trailer below will give you a glimpse of this masterpiece, "Sleep Dealer".

Border Angels

Each year thousands of people attempt to cross the US-Mexico border in hopes of a better life for themselves and their families. However, the hardest part is not the actual border crossing, but rather the arduous journey through the scorching desert to the nearest source of civilization, and in most cases, water. In the September issue of Ode magazine, an article features the evidence of border angels--those who go out of their way to help people crossing the border by providing bottles of water to those along the journey. According to the article, it's only illegal to help undocumented immigrants, not to leave water in the desert for anyone to find. The article also features a water-finding GPS application for many cell phones which are sold in Mexican border towns. Those people making the journey can easily purchase these phones and applications to help with contacting family and finding water through GPS coordinates.

When I first read this article I didn't know where to put myself: such a delinquent move on one side of the perspective, but also such a selfless action made by so many people on the other side who just want to help humanity. The magazine's website did not provide any further details on the article, but simply through searching "border angels" in Google I was able to come up with a number of hits. BorderAngels.org is the website I recommend looking into if you're interested in hearing these people's stories and donating to this non-profit mission.

The Immigration Game, It Does Exist!

Oh, the internet. You've taught me things no one else could.

Just today, I thought I'd enter "the immigration game" into good ol' Google, just for kicks and giggles--and because the title of this blog is "The Immigration Game."

And lookie here what I found! An actual multi-player fact vs. fiction game about illegal immigration! That's right, the people at Gadkin Games LLC were kind enough to help out the unfortunate, un-informed masses of the United States by creating this very informative game.

It sounds like all fun and information, but the facts are biased and the creators are unrealistic in their concern for this country. Check out the game here, and even test your knowledge!

Want to meet the creators? Thanks to YouTube, now you can! Propaganda tool