Artists are Not Bullet-Proof

What really impressed me about Natalia Almada was how dedicated she is to the truth. In her film The General, she shows the Mexican ex-president, who is her great-grandfather, in a balanced way. He is both a man with good intentions but also someone who is seen as a dictator. It must have been difficult for her to handle the film in a neutral way, since she is writing about someone from her family, but she does it well. She also goes on to show the struggles of the poor, who try to cross the border in hopes of better opportunities. She is not shy about showing the violence, abuse and drug trafficking involved in the process. She says, “I am not the one to judge it. It’s time itself.” You can really see her passion toward truth and filmmaking in her film.


The honesty of her film is admirable. The General was made in 2007, but today the violence at the border has increased. Almada says the she will continue to show things as they are, which is one of the roles of an artist: to show the reality of a situation through their work, even if it is difficult or unpleasant. However, this made me realize the danger of being a filmmaker. People in dangerous areas do not always respect artists or the media. Artists can find themselves in dangerous situations, or even be killed as a result of pursuing their desires. The work of Almada, and many like her, is the result of a gamble with their own lives. This is both honorable and terrifying to think about, and reminds us that artists are heroes, who risk their lives to bring us what they have seen.