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Stephanie Beatriz

Encanto: Cracks in the Foundation

November 23, 2021 by ScreenFish Staff Leave a Comment

By Seun Olowo-Ake

Encanto is the story of the magical Madrigal family, their sentient casita and the people in their community that they have taken it upon themselves to protect. Written by Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith and featuring music by Lin-Manuel Miranda the Great (Incidentally, that’s how I shall be referring to him henceforth), Walt Disney Animation’s 60th film brings us magic, familial love, bright colours and Miranda’s conversational music style.

As the only person in the family Madrigal that was not blessed with a magical gift, Maribel (Stephanie Beatriz) compensates by helping her family out in any way she can. However, she soon discovers that, rather than aiding it, her efforts put her in the way of the family’s efficiency. This doesn’t deter her though, as when she discovers her family’s magic is in trouble, she decides that she will be the one to save it. Cue awkward dinners, ‘bigger on the inside’ adventures and making amends.

I really love my family and the idea of family in general so, even though it shocked me, I was not surprised to find myself teary eyed by the end of the movie. Seeing the Madrigals siblings, cousins, parents, tias and tios–all led by the graceful Abuela (Maria Cecilia Botero)–helping each other out made my heart very happy.

Encanto conveys different themes: from the importance of family (where the true magic lies) to the weight that comes with having to be perfect/having nothing go wrong with you to finding and understanding your gift when everyone around you seems more exceptional than you are, as seen in Maribel who is determined to prove her worth to the rest of her family.

However, by the end of the movie, I found myself asking an important question: what is good leadership?

Abuela and the Madrigals are the centrepiece of the community, and it is their magic that keeps it running. But when that magic starts to fade, the problem is not just that their family is losing their magic. It is that they are leaving their community vulnerable. Abuela understands this and tries to sell the illusion that the magic is okay for as long as possible. To me, she exemplifies the type of leader that feels they must always project strength, even when that strength is lacking. This need to show strength has been passed on to the rest of her family who eventually crack under the weight of that pressure, forcing them all to reckon with the fact that though they are the “strongest”/“most gifted”, they need their community. The film tells us by the end that good leader doesn’t just do everything in their power to take care of those in they lead. They also empower those under their influence to become leaders themselves.

A good leader understands they can’t do everything alone, and a good leader is not afraid to ask for help when they need it.

Now, I’m going to listen to the soundtrack on repeat because, believe it or not, this fast-talking rap music lover could not fully understand what was going on in some of the songs. Personally, I blame that on the fact that I watch everything with subtitles. (Or maybe I’m getting up there in age. Lol)

Encanto is premieres in theatres on November 24th, 2021.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Reviews Tagged With: Disney, Encanto, John Leguizamo, Maria Cecilia Botero, Stephanie Beatriz, Wilmer Valderrama

7.22 Charting a New Legacy IN THE HEIGHTS

June 20, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Though most know him best as the creator his mega-hit HAMILTON, Lin-Manuel Miranda got his start with IN THE HEIGHTS. Set in the Washington Heights community in New York, HEIGHTS tells the story of Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), a young man who has big dreams of leaving his home and returning to his birth country. When a blackout knocks out the power for days, Usnavi and his friends must navigate life, love and moving forward. This week, The Dream Team returns! After a long hiatus, Jolie Featurstone (TO Film Files) and Julie Levac reunite to talk about what it means to leave a legacy, celebrating community and the tension between the way out and the way back.

You can stream the episode on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Amazon Podcasts! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

7.22 In The HeightsDownload

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Podcast Tagged With: Anthony Ramos, In The Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Melissa Barrera, Stephanie Beatriz

In the Heights: A Portrait of Dreams, Community, and Identity

June 10, 2021 by Heather Johnson Leave a Comment

This movie wasn’t for me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I didn’t love every single moment of it, because I did. I was entranced by the story of this tight-knit Latino community as they navigate their way through life, their struggles, their dreams, and even the brutal New York summer heat. 

I’m not saying that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s lyrics and music weren’t mesmerizing, because they were. After one viewing I was already humming “Piragua” without realizing it and, even though I was watching on my laptop, I still felt as if I was watching it on Broadway (where it originated in 2008). 

I’m not saying that the ensemble cast of Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Corey Hawkins, Olga Merediz, Gregory Diaz IV, Stephanie Beatriz, and Lin-Manuel Miranda wasn’t an effortless performance that transported me into these lives and stories, because it was.

Basically yes, everything about In the Heights was stunning, but it wasn’t made for me. 

The best way I can describe it is if a family member handed me an old love letter from years ago. Intimate and personal but voluntarily shared with me, the offer of this letter would be as if to say “hey, I’m inviting you into this part of my story so that you can witness and understand things that aren’t part of your daily life.” And so I read the letter – not from a position of voyeurism or entitlement – but from a place of respect for the person who placed it in my hand. And when I finish the letter, I look up into the shining eyes of the one who owns it, they smile gently and nod and, for that moment, I am transported into a story that lives and breathes as it is passed down from generation to generation.

It isn’t my story. But oh, how I long to help steward it. 

Most viewers are going to be able to connect with the central theme of fulfilling dreams and destinies. Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) runs a corner bodega, a small convenience store that connects the community of Washington Heights with good coffee and charisma. Longing for the return to his roots in the Dominican Republic, everything Usnavi does is to support that dream – from supporting his young cousin Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) to caring for the neighborhood grandmother Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz) – every day moving closer to that realization. But in the midst of pursuing his “El Sueñito” (Little Dream), those closest to him are navigating their own life changes and dreams. Nina (Leslie Grace), the pride of her family, friends, and entire community, has returned from her first year in college lost and homesick. Leaning into her old flame Benny (Corey Hawkins) while arguing with her father Kevin (Jimmy Smits), Nina has to decide where her future lies and what she will do with it. But while she is yearning to stay, aspiring fashion designer (and Usnavi’s crush) Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) is doing everything in her power to move out of town and into high society. Together they all have to work through uncovering not only who they are, but what they are meant to do. 

It is through the cultural strength of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s composition that this story is told, and it is here where I am back to reading that love letter. I can’t fully grasp the pain of being treated as less-than, or the fear that undermines the hope for their future. I don’t understand the language (literally), and I don’t know if my definition of community will ever be as robust as what I witnessed during this film. But I saw it. I heard it. I felt it. And this is where I hand that love letter back, forever changed by its contents and with a small piece of it engraved upon my heart and in my mind. Never to forget the beauty of a story that pulled back the veil just enough for me to see beyond my own view, while still preserving the intimacy between the author and the recipient. And I am grateful.

In the Heights is now streaming on HBO Max and in theaters.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, HBO Max, Reviews Tagged With: Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Gregory Diaz IV, In The Heights, Jimmy Smits, latino community, Leslie Grace, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Stephanie Beatriz

5.10 Deconstructing THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

February 25, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

http://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/5.10-The-Lego-Movie-2-The-Second-Part.mp3

With the release of LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART, Emmet, Wildstyle and the crew find themselves in the worst possible scenario—when everything isn’t awesome. When an attack from DUPLO invaders further disrupts their post-apocalyptic world, Emmett must travel to the far outreaches of the Systar System in order to rescue his friends from the unmalicious queen Watevera Wanabi before she enacts Armomageddon, destroying the entire universe. This week, we welcome back Heather Johnson and Alan Sharrer to talk about the film’s understanding of growing up and the toxic gender wars. 

You can also stream the episode above on podomatic, SoundCloud or on Spotify! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or more!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

5.10 Lego Movie 2 – The Second Part

Thanks Heather and Alan for joining us!


 

 

Filed Under: Film, Podcast Tagged With: animation, Batman, Charlie Day, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Emmett, Stephanie Beatriz, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Tiffany Haddish, Warner Bros., will arnett, Wyldstyle

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