Gregorio Cortez, Reaction Paper Example

The Ballad of Gregario Cortez is a film that follows the life of a man by the same name. Cortez was a Mexican American outlaw who was a popular figure during the times of the Old West. Even though he committed many crimes, he was able to often avoid the police. When caught, he was often able to escape harsh sentences by providing compelling speeches to the juries that tried him. The legend of Cortez became more popular in the 1950s, inspiring author Americo Paredes to write a story of his life, which angered many individuals, and inspired the creation of this film.

The story is interesting because it highlights the notoriety of Cortez. Much of what is known about him is purely legend, and this is emphasized as the film continues because his story constantly changes. Ultimately, people cannot determine which aspects of Cortez are fact and which are fiction.At the same time that the film depicts Cortez’ life as a mystery, the film also emphasizes the ordinariness of his life. When we see him, he acts just as a normal individual would and the setting is one that we would expect of a Western.

While the story was compelling and well-done for its particular time period, the audience would be able to connect with this story more closely if it were digitally retouched. Since the film was made in the 1980s, it looks very archaic compared to what can be done with film today. Therefore, even though director Robert M. Young presents a timeless story, the means in which it was presented was not timeless, and should be reformatted so that younger generations could enjoy what he put fourth.