Harvest of Empire

Obligatory Viewing for All Americans

Harvest of Empire is a brilliant film. It is a fascinating and wonderfully clear historical review of U.S. intervention into the affairs of Latin American countries. It is also an impressive and convincing laying-out of the reasons behind Latin American immigration to the U.S. The upshot is: the U.S. has gone into many countries, engineered the internal politics on behalf of U.S. business interests, thrown the countries into turmoil--and been responsible for poverty, unrest, and violence, which has, in turn, made it impossible for the people there to lead peaceful, productive lives. The immigrants we "harvest" as a result, the film shows, are, in fact, a great boon! A new and important perspective on immigration all Americans should see.

This is what's missing

... from the superficial debates and careless assumptions about immigrants to the US from Latin America. Clear thinking and respectful talking about immigration and the demographic changes in our country needs to be informed by this complex history - often saddening and infuriating - but so intelligently presented in this film. I like that the film doesn't tell viewers what to do or think, but challenges them to confront this story and its implications.

IMMIGRATION ILLUMINATED

This is a must see for everyone participating in the immigration debate! HARVEST of EMPIRE sheds light, provides facts and context on the long complicated history of immigration to the US from South and Central America. Excellently researched with rare historical footage, the filmmakers Getzels and López present us a long chain of cause and effects: How US foreign policies and military / economic interests contributed to mass emigration to the North American continent, why US immigration politics in the past decades has failed and why the narrative of immigration to the US needs an update in the history classroom of American schools and universities.

unexpected journey

Takes one on a fascinating journey into the legacy of the largest ethnic minority in the USA -- their heritage, hopes and culture. Tremendous unseen archival footage that provokes new conversations regardless of political perspectives in the hopes of breaking stereotype bias.

The Story Politicians Avoid

Finally! The stories our papers fail to report about US/Latin American politics and immigration, unequivocally assembled in Harvest of Empire, make sense out what we see AND what we get. This gripping film is a must see for anyone concerned about the role of the US in global affairs. The truth about why immigrants come to the US may surprise you. Its not what the politicians talk about. Why? The complicity of our government becomes clear as the film connects the dots in country after country. If the American people have a voice in shaping policy, we need to base our views on the story our politicians won’t tell us.

The cold, hard truth....

This is a well-made documentary portraying the cold, hard truth of Latin American immigration into this country. To understand how the number of migrants swelled at different period, one must understand the politics playing out at the time. Peter Getzels, E. Lopez along with the team at Gordon Getzels productions have done a masterful job telling this important story.

The Other (the Real) Story

What a wonderful retelling of the history we all learned in elementary and high school--except this film, based on a fine and finely written book of the same name, gets the story right. Finally the negative impact of American imperialism, based at first on the doctrine of "Manifest Destiny," is made clear for all to see. The stories of how the U.S. economic domination destroyed indigenous cultures (both "C" and "c") are told with clarity and precision. This is a film that everyone, children, adults, the aged, should see (the book is also excellent reading). Film and book changed the way I think by telling me what I somehow already knew.

Harvest of Empire is a must see movie for anyone who cares

I am the grandchild of Mexican immigrants and have worked providing healthcare for over 30 years to those who toil at picking our fruits and vegetables and manning our factories. I am so grateful to this film for giving me a stronger understanding of how and WHY we are here. I always understood the economic necessity part but now I understand how this country's government has acted over and over again and often given carte blanche to large corporations in Latin America to pillage the natural resources that we profit from. I loved this film!

Finally a Harvest of Understanding

As someone involved in Latin America for decades, and as an American who hears others complain about the "illegals" here in our country, Harvest of Empire gives me the understanding and historical facts, all in a non-polemical way, that I can use to educate and perhaps influence those with strongly held views. Better yet, it would be much more effective for me to just sit them down before this marvelous film. What a tremendous work of research and clarity.

Harvest of empire

When I saw the screening of "Harvest of Empire" at the Brooking Institute, the movie blew me away!Giving us many historical facts, movie clip and old pictures this movie by E.López and P. Getzels tackle the subject of decades of 'immigration problems' and help us understand WHY people flee their homes in Central America & the Caribbean islands. Our politicians like us to believe immigrants are the problem but fail to understand WHY thousands flee their own countries. J.Gonzalez shows us the interconnection between the US business/US politics and immigration. At the end one cannot help but feel shame, pain but above all ...understanding about the reasons behind immigration.The movie is a new base to start the immigration debate! Go see it!