"There are still people without electricity, welcome to reality."

Against The Romanticism Of Resiliency

1. Often when viewing a film about trauma and tragedy, viewers surface words such as “strength” and “resiliency.” In what ways might these reactions be critiqued as patronizing to those who have survived? How might they be interpreted as a shirking of responsibility at a structural, governmental level, and to whom does the burden of survival fall? How does LANDFALL resist these figures of speech and what they represent?
2. The film is threaded with the voice of Lale, the filmmaker’s collaborator, who says, “Something interesting about Puerto Ricans, myself included, is that we have a short memory. We always try to move on. This is our motto, ‘Pa’lante: onwards, always.’” Pa’lante was also used post-María as a marketing slogan on consumer items ranging from beer cans to t-shirts. What is the danger of this sentiment when co-opted by government and corporations?
3. On the flipside, Lale’s framing of the Pa’lante phenomenon as an idea/ideology among the people themselves reveals a question about the origin of the statement itself. The motivation behind the term is a derivation of the failing capitalist system that led to widespread collapse and devastation on the island. In the reverse, what is the danger of the Pa’lante sentiment when the people are upholding and reproducing it, and accepting it as their new “normal”?
4. An alternative slogan has surfaced from activists post-María: DISASTER IS POLITICAL. What does that mean? How is it different from “Pa’lante?” What is the difference between resilience and resistance as a framework for discussing the spirit of a people in the aftermath of large-scale disaster?

Engage and Create: Slogans of Resistance

Moving from “Pa’lante,” which cheerfully papers over the structural reasons for the natural and economic disasters in Puerto Rico, to “Disaster is Political,” which emphasizes and points to the structural nature of the exploitation and violence, you’ll be creating slogans that refrain from using resiliency as a driving message, and instead embrace the concept and act of resistance.

Before you begin, choose a cause you care about and write a “brain dump” of all words, ideas and concepts connected to this cause. For example, if I chose Anti-Racism as my cause, I might write words such as racism, police, Black girl magic, non-monolithic, protests, history, etc.

Next, write a paragraph mission statement that encapsulates the change you hope to propel. What do you stand for? What do you affirm? What do you rally against? Black Lives Matter, a slogan developed to combat police and vigilante violence against Black people, writes the following in the about section of their website:

#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.

We are expansive. We are a collective of liberators who believe in an inclusive and spacious movement. We also believe that in order to win and bring as many people with us along the way, we must move beyond the narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities. We must ensure we are building a movement that brings all of us to the front.

We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.

We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise.

We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.

The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation.