Intercultural Management - Argentina

Argentina culture seen through

« El secreto de sus ojos»,

Staggering and outstandingly led, this movie appears like a "breath of fresh air". In spite of stereotypes, or rather thanks to stereotypes clearly defined, Juan José Campanella offers a relevant presentation of Argentina's culture. The following insights will illustrate my own point of view through "The secret in their eyes".

Firstly, this movie doesn't claim to be political, but everything is political, especially justice, in period of dictatorship. The important thing about political is not only the tip of the iceberg but also what we don't see, what we don't say. Basically, nothing expressly sends back to politics in this movie except the wink to Peron through a TV report. Argentina's political history is marked by scandals, corruption and violence which make that today the politics became a sensitive stake and subject to discords in a society considered as one of the red lanterns of corruption. These unspoken reveal deeper causes which soaked the Argentine culture for decades. The lack of justice, the lack of morality, the corruption and the breach of trust inside judicial systems, the repression of soft feelings by questions of social character, the political eternal problems of Argentina, shown in a "Peronist populism" didn't exempt from a corruption.

Insight 1: Argentina's society (and by extension Argentina's culture) is suffering corruption and injustice (cf. "Which justice?")

The fragility of Argentine's society through the dictatorship makes only growing up the gap between an Europeanized social class and the middle class. «The secret in their eyes» exploit the idea of this two tier Argentina and the cohabitation between classes.

Insight 2: A two-tier Argentina's society

All this is an opposition with the permanent and platonic values, clearly exposed through the morality of the characters, as the concept of friendship and loyalty symbolized by Sandoval and Benjamin Espósito. Argentineans grant importance in the membership, in the family and traditional values. We feel it throughout the movie, feelings, love, friendship, all which makes the man a Human being, is protected. (Through the relation between Mr. ESPOSITO and Miss HASTINGS).

Insight 2: Argentineans are attached to membership, family, friendship, love and feelings

In '70s Argentina, things are rarely what they seem to be on the surface. The narrative moved in a melodrama of unspoken, where it's necessary to learn to read on the eyes. We conclude that eyes have a particular sentimental value for Argentineans. So, eyes translate the truth and they determine the reliable level in a relation. Moreover, the body