Dia De Lo Muertos

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2018)

Day of the Dead is a holiday based on remembrance of loved ones. During this holiday people put up photos on their ofrendas, light candles, and celebrate life while honoring the dead. The movie Coco represents Day of the Dead and the Latino/a culture accurately. I don't believe that it undermines the culture in any way, shape, or form.
In the movie, Coco Miguel steals from one of his family members. He soon ends up in the spirit world. During this holiday family members are supposed to give to the dead and they have to put their photos on the ofrenda. The legend is that when they do this the spirits can cross over from the spirit world to the living world. When they get to the real world they celebrate with their family members and have the time of their lives. According to a 2007 Business news article, "The souls of deceased loved ones come back on El Dia de Los Muertos and mingle among us."(McClatchy) This evidence shows us how much the movie actually relates to Day of the Dead and tells a story about it. Not many movies about different cultures truly represent the culture, as well as Coco has.
In the movie, his great-grandfather cannot cross over the bridge to the other world because he does not have a picture in his ofrenda. Having a picture on your family's ofrenda means more than people actually think. According to TCA Regional news, "Gifts, keepsakes, and food--things that the departed enjoyed--generally are placed at the altar.- The traditional belief is that these offerings, or ofrendas, will coax the dead to visit the living."(Jones) I believe the movie didn't show this as well as it should have. In the movie, it seemed like the dead only wanted to spend time with their family and the things that they placed on the altar didn't lure them out of the darkness instead it was the life of their family. I believe that the movie should have shown this side just as much as seeing their family.
Many people undermine this holiday they think it's creepy how people want to remember the dead. This holiday is more than honoring the dead it's a vibrant cultural tradition to celebrate the life that we have. We should always enjoy the little things and look to the future instead of dwelling in the past. These family members and friends should be remembered as best they can by living your life and not being sad that these people have passed. According to Antiques and collecting magazine, "Day of the Dead is, despite its name-a vibrant celebration of life,"(Trecker) I feel like this movie portrayed this very very well. It may have been a sad story but it showed us that even though this holiday is about recreating memories of loved ones and remembering who has passed, it's really more a celebration with your family. It's also about all the great things they did in their life.
This movie is one of my favorites and part of that is by how much I actually learned about the culture. It doesn't show any false representations about Day of the Dead instead they figured out a way to make it more entertaining. It did not undermine the Latino/a culture instead it made people understand the culture more accurately. Coco is one of the best cinematic representations of Day of the Dead.