Selena, our Savior

When I was in highschool, I watched Selena almost every year in Spanish class. I remember the first time I saw it and how I cried at the end of the film. It's J Lo's first big movie, and Spanish teachers everywhere around the country own it and play it right before major vacations when they know that no real teaching will be possible in the classroom anyhow.

The best thing about Selena is that you can claim that it is a cultural exercise: the whole movie really is shaped about an identity crisis of the Mexican American woman. She lives between two worlds, never finding a real place in each, and finally winning over the hearts of both. But even if you don't decide to approach the cultural context of the film, it's just a damn good movie and the kids really like it.

I'm pulling the ultimate cop-out with option two: we aren't really analyzing the film, but rather just enjoying it before Thanksgiving break. I gave the kids a packet of busy work to do to keep them somewhat quiet during the film and sat correcting tests and entering grades. Just one more day of this malarky and I'll be home free...

Until then, an official thank you to Fox Studios for producing a film that saves every Spanish teacher in America at this time of year. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Sincerely,
Tori Hornstein