The Castle is a movie about a family living in Australia near (next to) the International Airport. They are threatened with take apart from his house due to expansion plans of the airport. The man of the family, Mr. Kerrighan, has an important role when fighting against the people that want to buy his house in order to expand the airport tracks. This movie shows that home is one of the most valuable things people consider in their life when they are part of a family.
The Australian family in the movie is somewhat alike a medium class Mexican family in terms of where they live and the way of living. According to the movie, the Kerrigans live in a suburb near the airport; as in Mexico, there are a lot of houses around the international airport in Mexico City. The head of the family is the man, the responsible or “backbone” – as mentioned in the film- of the family. He has to work to provide food, health, education and other basic things. Similarly, in Mexico a man is also considered the backbone using the same point of comparison. Mrs. Kerrigan is quite similar to women in a middle or working class in Mexico; she is the one that works at home doing household chores and attending the family.
The conflict with the airport management and Mr. Kerrigan is the main point discussed in the movie and has similarities with the conflict in Atenco, Mexico in 2001. The news when someone told Mr. Kerrigan that because his house was near the airport and a private company would pay money to buy it in order to grow the airport, were not accepted by him. He felt both worried and sad, his wife saw him. But soon he knew his neighbors had the same offer, then he contacted a lawyer to ask for help and take the case to the Supreme Court.
This conflict is virtually the same as conflict in Atenco. Unlike Australia, in Mexico the international airport in Mexico City is located inside the city, with a lot of surrounding houses. However, the airport management was planning to build another terminal near the airport but outside Mexico City, in properties of farmers in the town of Atenco. As in the movie, the management of the airtport offered a payment for his lands, but people did not accept the deal. In contrast with the movie, when Mr. Kerrigan fight legally in the Supreme Court and finally he won the case peacefully, in Atenco the people fought against (literally) the police in the streets to avoid workers began to build the new terminal.
Both Mr. Kerrigan and people of Atenco were offered money to buy their properties, but the difference between them was considerably greater. While, Mr. Kerrigan had a house, in Atenco just were farming lands and the company of the airport wanted to pay less than the real value that they would get if the new terminal were built.
It is fair people get they wanted for their properties, if they want to sell them. What is unfair is that other people force them to buy their properties. I agree with the movie to fight and protect our house at any cost, this is what we have because our job through the years and nobody should touch it without our concession.
Although in the movie the Kerrigans were happy in the end, in Atenco finally some people sold his lands after soon to private owners, of course at the price they needed or wanted.
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