The Motorcycle Diaries is a 2004 film on the journey of a 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara, who went to become the iconic Marxist guerrilla leader ‘Che’ Guevara. It based on the trip diary of the young man who had taken a break from his medical studies.
The film recounts the 1952 expedition, initially by motorcycle, across South America by Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado. Besides being a road movie, the film is a coming-of-age film; as the adventure, initially of youthful pleasure-seeking, unfolds into life changing experiences.
Through the poor peasants and the inmates at a leper colony where they stay, the duo witness first-hand, injustices that the deprived face. They are exposed to social classes they may have never encountered otherwise. As a result, the trip plants the initial seed of cognitive dissonance and radicalization within Guevara.
Alberto said
of the film, ‘it shows what we were, which was two young men who went looking
for adventure and found the truth and tragedy of our homeland.’ And that is the
most pertinent message of their trip. The truth is out there and we have to go
meet it.
So often, so many of us build up our understanding on single perceptions from a static position. We must to step out of our comfort zone. We must wander to encounter and experience the predicament of underserved and deprived human beings.
Our privilege prevents us from noticing the obvious discriminations. It is only when we live alongside the strugglers that we understand the injustice of it all. It is the experience that will lead to understanding and empathy. Attempt for solutions will follow.
Step out to truly know…
With
an open mind, Go!
~ Pravin K Sabnis
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