Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. (2015). McFarland, Usa. U.S.
Aguero, M.; Avelar, S.; Bello, M.; Costner, K.; Duran, H.; Fisher, E.;
Martinez, R.; Ortiz, J.; Pratts, C.; Rodriguez, R.; Saylor; M.;
and Directed by Caro, Niki.

Guide:
Who the Whites are-Jim’s Prejudice
Start to see their culture-Overpass
Minute 63 Dinner with Diazes
Minute 67-70-91-Quinceanera
Minute 111-Jim’s Cultural Humility
Conclusion

Cultural Humility in Kevin Costner’s Portrayal of “Jim White”:
Kevin Costner (“Jim”), Maria Bello (movie-wife “Cheryl White”), Elsie Fisher (oldest daughter “Jamie White”), and Morgan Saylor (youngest daughter “Julie White”), portray a caucasian family of four that move to a predominantly Latinx- populated and impoverished neighborhood. Jim and Jamie respond to a painting in the living room of their new home, a painting of a Latinx woman depicted in a dress and holding a large bowl of vegetables. Jim’s immediate reaction is “paint store, first thing in the morning,” while Jamie adds, “assuming there is one,” [Walt Disney Studios, (WDS), 2015]. At the restaurant Tacos El Cazador, Jim asks for burgers when the restaurant clearly does not offer them. After food, four vehicles with suspensions low-to-the-ground, proceed slowly by the family, which prompts race and stereotype-driven anxiety in Jim and he runs over a parking bump with the family’s jeep. For the viewer it is painted very clearly early-on that Jim holds implicit racial and cultural bias. This is evidenced by Jim skipping over acknowledging the existence of a Latinx maintenance person on a ladder and the Latinx teacher at the copy machine, to introduce himself to the caucasian woman behind the school’s office desk. There was noticeable cultural tension returned to Jim from both the Latinx teacher and the Latinx principal, as they expressed surprise at Jim living local to town and at his approaching the school for work. Jim’s lack of understanding of other cultures is made clear by the absence of him apologizing for mispronouncing Latinx surnames and his snide question regarding the Diaz brothers, “Diaz…Diaz…Diaz… popular name where you guys come from,” (WDS, 2015).

At the 22-minute mark “Senora Diaz” (3 brothers’ mother played by Diana Maria Riva) wakes her three boys up before sun-up with the comment, “the world doesn’t wait for you,” (WDS, 2015). This is where the viewer sees the brothers go work in the fields before school, and the viewer of the movie begins to take away that there is a difference in their culture and in how hard the kids work everyday. Shortly after Jim works to get the seven Latinx students together on a cross-country running team, the McFarland students encounter racially-charged harassment. At the 37-minute mark, caucasian runners from another school jab, “I hear they can’t run without a cop behind them or a Taco Bell in front of them,” (WDS, 2015). Halfway at the 52-minute mark [with student “Thomas Valles” (actor: Carlos Pratts) sitting on an overpass railing] Jim exhibits cultural humility by asking Thomas about the differences in their cultures. He explains to Jim that Valles’ father “is just a picker, not a Foreman like Senor Diaz…whatever work he can find, Arizona, Texas, wherever…got back yesterday and found out his baby-girl is pregnant…so he just started hitting the wall,” (WDS, 2015). One minute later, Valles elaborates for Jim why Valles got hit in the face, “tried to get him to stop, and I got in the way… if he hurts his hands, he can’t work,” (WDS, 2015).

Jim has a transformative experience with developing cultural humility when “Senor Diaz” (actor: Omar Leyva) tells his three boys to stop doing the running team at the 63-minute mark of the movie. Senora Diaz invited Jim inside for eating, and kept loading Jim’s plate up with Enchiladas as he was finishing one- he would get another from her. Jim notices they have extended family members all sitting together at one long table. A powerful moment is when Jim attempts to say no, to Senora Diaz, regarding taking a plastic tupperware tub of enchiladas home for his own family. Senora Diaz explains, “don’t say no to me, their father working every day but always sitting at the table every night- how you going to be family if you no eating together?” (WDS, 2015). This explains a powerful difference in mindset and culture between Jim’s mindset and the Latinx Diaz family culture. Senora Diaz is trying to impress upon Jim the importance of eating with your family and of the collectivism involved in a family identity characterized by being there for each other. After dinner at the Diazes’ home, Jim attempts to ask one of Senor Diaz’ sons to translate “just tell your dad it was an honor to be invited into his home,” (WDS, 2015). This moment in the movie is also a moment of cultural humility for Jim, in that he assumes David Diaz’ father only speaks Spanish, but David and Senor Diaz ‘prove’ to Jim that they know English in their responses to his translation request.

Another integral moment in Jim’s transformation regarding his development of cultural humility occurs at the 67-minute mark of the film. Jim had shown up in the early morning in the work truck that usually takes the three Diaz brothers to the fields to do picking- and went picking with the boys. One of the Diaz boys explains to Jim how to protect his body during the picking, “you just gotta lean it over and cut… take off the outer leaves and turn it over… keep your knees bent or it will hurt your back,” (WDS, 2015). During the experience of going picking with the Diaz brothers, Jim is in utter awe when he finds the kids get paid by the field and not by the hour, and that they started working for Senor Diaz when they were ten years old. Both Jim and the kids exhibit cultural humility and earn respect from each other at the 70-minute mark of the film as Jim reaches a bartering agreement with the kids regarding run-practice hours logistics that still meet their father’s picking quotas at the fields. Another example of cultural humility is displayed by Jim when at a car wash and tamale-sale for the running team Jim apologizes to “Javi” (father of one of the students, actor: Rigo Sanchez) for thinking he was a “gangbanger.” Javi levels with Jim, “we’re just a car club… our cars are our babies… plus if we commit a crime man… first thing the witness is going to notice is the paint job,” (WDS, 2015). Another major transformative moment in the evolution of Jim’s level of cultural humility starts at the 91st minute of the film when Senora Diaz organizes a Quinceanera celebration for Jim’s eldest daughter Jamie White. Jim knows nothing about Quinceaneras and willingly learns about them from the Latinx store owner in town (“Sammy Rosaldo,” actor: Danny Mora) in order to do something nice for Jim’s daughter. The Quinceanera celebration goes well except for the parade of cars part of the celebration- because Javi, the kids, and their cars are attacked by a former rival gang member from Javi’s past. Jim’s wife Cheryl (actress: Maria Bello) confirms later in the movie that the Latinx students on the running team pushed their daughter Jamie out of harm’s way and protected Jamie during the attack. There is a mutual understanding of American culture and Jim’s consideration of a job at Palo Alto HS- between Thomas Valles and Jim at minute-103 of the movie- Valles says, “I get it this is America… gotta go bigger… find a nicer place… better pay, with better everything,” (WDS, 2015).

The apex of Jim’s possession of cultural humility for and towards other cultures happens towards the end of the movie at minute-111. Jim fully-acknowledges the crossing of cultures in the McFarland community, and he fully accepts and validates the students’ culture and ways of living. Jim gives a motivational speech in which he acknowledges who the kids are as people. Jim delivers, “they don’t get up at dawn like you do and go to work in the fields… they don’t go to school all day and then back to those same fields… and then you come out with me and you run eight miles, ten miles, and you take on even more pain,” (WDS, 2015).

Jim’s personal and intimate admittance to the boys on the team before the final race of the movie solidifies his growth when it comes to exhibiting cultural humility. Jim (Kevin Costner) states, “I said to myself whatever crappy job I end up in, it’ll never be as tough as that (picking in fields, school, and family demands),” [WDS, 2015]. Additionally, he closes with, “you kids do it everyday, and your parents hope they can do it every day, and they’ll do it for a lifetime if it means a better life for you,” (WDS, 2015). From watching, listening to, and analyzing McFarland, USA, I have taken away a better understanding of cultural humility- working collaboratively to achieve mutual validation and mutual understanding of each other’s cultures and ways of living. In addition to discussing cultural humility, the film also gave me some insight into weighing the pros and cons of decision-making.