Innocent Voices & A Plea for Help

Belen Soriano

Professor Harrison

English 115

1 December 2011

Innocent Voices & A Plea For Help

Social stratification in societies has it’s many pros and cons, while it lays a basis for who  makes up the population and how the government is typically run by the few elites it can also create strained relations between the elite and the rest of the people who make up most of the population. This kind of tension between the elite and the middle to lower classes can cause so much harm and tension that corruption of the government and military is almost inevitable. Because it  causes more harm than good the corruption of government and it’s military affects every aspect of society and those who make up the greater population, which in most cases is the children.

When it comes to the corruption of governments it is easy to see how it affects every aspect of society. Many times you have the elite who have most of the money and the working class and others who live in absolute poverty feeling extremely excluded and taken advantage of by the government. This type of corruption starts tension and furthermore starts and causes people to revolt and take a stand against the government and it’s officials. There have been several fiction and non-fiction novels and movies alike  that illustrate this very situation and especially showcase how a corrupt government affects the children the most.

There has been several fiction and non-fiction movies that have tried to capture the essence of  this prevalent problem of the corruption of government numerous times. Director Luis Mandoki’s interpretation of this kind of corruption came from his highly praised movie Voces Innocentes, which translated means Innocent Voices. The movie is based  during the Salvadoran Civil War where the elite and government had all the power and obtained most of the country’s wealth, while the working class and rest of the population lived in forms of absolute poverty. Yet, what made the movie so highly praised is the portrayal of the Salvadoran government and military in the 1980’s and how they chose to fight against the rebels and guerrillas that the greater popularity formed. Along with being aided with millions of dollars and support by the U.S during Ronald Reagan’s presidency the way the Salvadoran government chose to recruit was in no way just and took away the innocence of the many young boys of El Salvador during the war. The choice of actions the Salvadoran government took in recruiting it’s new members was one of the many reasons that proved just how unjust and corrupt a government can be. The movie follows the story of a young eleven year old boy named Chava, who unlike many young boys his age, he was not looking forward to his next birthday since he knew that when he turned twelve he would be recruited by the Salvadoran military to aid in fighting  against the rebels. For Chava, everyday was a fight to survive and avoid being recruited every chance he gets, because he is the oldest and has no father Chava can’t imagine leaving his working mother with his two other siblings. When thing’s in Chava’s village become worse and he soon finds his home a battle field for the army and guerrillas him and his family are forced to  flee to another village in order to escape the horrors they’re haunted with. Even when fleeing and escaping that village it seems as if the war and recruitments follow them wherever they go and the army continues to recruit these young boys to fight and kill any rebel that questions the government. The Salvadoran government and it’s officials recruit these young boys and train them to kill. Through out the entire movie the inside look into the lives of the innocent citizens and children of El Salvador brings about awareness in who watches the movie and anyone who for even one second tries to imagine how difficult and traumatizing the entire experience must have been. But it also and most importantly shows just how much corrupt governments not only affect the working class but also the children, the ones who are the future generation and who at a young age are taught to kill and fight for their lives.

Many novels are alike this movie and the story it tells was somewhat similar to that of The Hunger Games . The main point  being how often times government has the most control over the people of it’s society and how often because of that power a child’s innocence can be taken away. In The Hunger Games the children of the country of Panem are chosen to participate in these games where the theories of Social Darwinism is prevalent. The struggle to survive is the main obstacle the participants like Katniss and Peeta are told to overcome. The overbearing thought of death and struggle the participants face because the power the capital has is unbearable and it showcases the absolute power and corruption within the government. The main thing the government is trying to prove and show to the children participating in the game is survival and that is exactly what the Salvadorian government and military  did when they would recruit the young boys to fight for them. The used their power and authority to intimidate others with the idea and act of death and killing. The same thing  is done to the citizens of Panem and the scare tactics the government uses by showcasing death and killing. Through out the novel Katniss can be relatable to Chava in the sense that they are both struggling to survive and are none the less involved in a dangerous game of both life of death. They love their families very much and care for their siblings as if the were their own children, they overcome the power love has over them wether it be for their mother or someone like Peeta in Katniss’s case. Both the award winning novel and award winning movie have proved to showcase the overbearing power government has over it’s many citizens and the way they choose to act can be effective in both negative and positive ways especially towards the children.

While the reasons why governments collapse and why they find corruption of the people the only answer to every problem imaginable may still not be clear and after all the rise and falls of governments through out time the one thing that does seem to be prevalent in most cases is corruption. Corruption has been proven to affect every aspect of society and every single person who makes up the greater population both young and old alike. Children can easily be seen as the easiest targets and easiest minds to corrupt when in fact they are the ones who seem to have suffered the most. They are the future of many societies and when the primary thing they are taught is to kill, it makes it hard to imagine just how corrupt their society will be when they grow up. Along with both past fiction and non-fiction works of literature and cinematic films that have showcased this type of corruption in societies, in modern-day times there is always something present in the world showcasing that these types of societies still exist.

Word Count: 1230

Works Cited:

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print.

Voces Innocentes. Dir. Luis Mandoki. Perf. Carlos Padilla. 2004. DVD.