Creating Safe Spaces On TV Show La Gata

Scope

Write an essay on TV show.

 In this report, we will focus on “la gata”, a TV show, meaning the stray cat, two different kinds of spaces seen in the TV show, the safe cultural space, and unsafe space.

In this TV show, we see two distinct areas, safe and unsafe area. The safe zone is where one can freely express oneself, feel comfortable, and his or her rights are respected. Where one's views are respected, one's cultural standings and believes taken care of and also understanding and respecting others cultural backgrounds. In the video, those who live in poor housing with little space, no clothing, no clean water and unclean environment are undermined and disrespected by the wealthy who live in posh areas.

The aim of this report is to show the benefits of having a safe space to everyone. Basic needs are essential to each. Everyone is entitled to a safe space. The government has a role to play to ensure that each and every citizen have a safe space through the provision of a clean environment, water, proper housing and better security for them and their property, whether in the slum areas or the posh areas. All these will make one feel comfortable, relaxed and to express themselves fully; that is creating a safe space for everyone. 

In this TV show, we see two friends, Esmeralda, and Pablo, that they eventually become lovers. The two live in different spaces. The boy lives with his parents in a well off area enjoying every basic need he requires, food, clothing, education and better housing. On the hand, the girl lives in the slums with little or no food, no clothing, and inadequate housing, and she does not know who her parent are, and she is lives by a guardian, Mrs. Rita, who is also poor and cannot provide all the basic needs she wants. Her guardian cannot afford to take her to school and thus she never goes to school in spite her thirsty for education. The girl is raised in the slums and gets used to the kind of life there; she finds everything normal for her. The boy’s parent undermined the girl because of her state, and they made her feel uncomfortable as she could not express herself. Later the girl finds out that her father was in prison; he was in unsafe space because in prison you are uncomfortable, and one cannot relax or express her or himself. He is later released, reunites with her daughter and eventually enjoyed his freedom as a freeman.

Aim

A safe space is a fundamental factor to every humankind. One can ask what is the meaning of safe space, cultural intelligence and capabilities and cultural self-awareness, it can be defined as; a place where anyone can relax and to adequately express, without fear of being made feel uncomfortable, or unwelcome. Cultural intelligence is the skill to relate and work effectively across cultures. Cultural self-awareness is the foundation of communication, and it involves the ability to stand back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions. Understanding all these will help in creating a safe space for everyone in the society. It will contribute to understanding all cultures, beliefs and accepting them as part of the community. It will help in appreciating each member of the community. It is essential for one to understand his/her culture very well so as to claim to have a safe space and also for one to know and understand the true meaning of having a safe space. We believe we are equal, and all have our rights which should be respected, through this we should learn to respect other people cultural beliefs and practices, that is cultural intelligence.

In the TV show the space where all these happen is a wide area. The slum area where the poor people live including the Esmeralda is a vast territory. All the houses are temporary one made of carton and plastic bags. The population of the residents is high. The posh area is just a distant from the slum area. Most houses are permanent and in great condition, beautiful homes. The population of the residents is small compared to the slum area.

A range of words used in the show, polite words, and harsh words. The girl’s guardian always used very harsh words; she was never happy. The boy always used polite words to the girl. When the girl went to the boy’s home, the mother used harsh words on her and also raised her voice very high on her. Most of the boys in the slum area were vulgar and often used loud voices, rude words towards any person of the community.

It is evident when the girl visited the boy’s home and met his mother, she was not fast enough to read the girl’s body language and react appropriately this scenario displays the lack of cultural intelligence. Eventually at the show, the girl forgives the boy, and they finally reunite this shows we see cultural information coming in but earlier before that the girl displays the lack of cultural intelligence when she refuses to allow the boy to express himself.

Summary of Video Clip

In the show, after the Esmeralda had become very close friends with the Pablo, one day she decides to visit him at his home. Approaching his home, Pablo’s mother notices her from a distance. She was shaky, a thing which made the boys’ mother despise and looked down upon her. The girl created a safe space and greeted her, but she turned down, she created an unsafe space because which made her feel uncomfortable and unable no express herself freely as she expected. She was obscene to the girl and accused her of coming to steal her belongings. The woman did have what is known as cultural intelligence or the ability to adjust to another culture; she did not read the girl’s body language, and she was not able to change her approach appropriately to make the girl feel safe in that new place. When the boy’s mother after realizing that the two were in love, she was very mad at the kid warning him against the girl, terming her as dirty and nobody as she came from a poor background and never belong to their social class. The boy felt uncomfortable and never given a chance to express himself, this was an unsafe space created, a thing which made his father send him to another country. The girl got pregnant; she was triumphal about the issue only to be disappointed by the boy’s father when she went to tell him and the father was not happy about the news about the pregnancy. They tried to separate the two by altering the letters she used to write to him. They also changed the messages send by the boy to the girl to appear as if he never had any interest in her. It made the girl so mad about her boyfriend, and she did everything to forget him in her life. Later the boy returned home only to find his girlfriend very crazy about him and did not want anything to do with him anymore. She had given birth to twins without the boy’s knowledge. The girl becomes very bitter and never trying to see him again, and she never gave him the chance to express himself. It continued for a long time but eventually, they came into terms and resolved their differences.

 To make the space safer for everyone in the TV show, I recommend that the poor should not be looked down upon in the society. Equal chances to be given to any other person and will make them feel confident about themselves, through this, they can express themselves freely. The government should ensure that citizens get access to basic needs. It will make sure that every citizen gets basic needs and through this they will feel part of the society and that their need are taken care of, and they can gain confidence to express their opinions and views as a safe space the government is making for them. We should have cultural intelligence and be able to read body languages of other people quickly and adjust our approaches appropriately to make the others feel safe in a new place through this a safe space is created to make other people feel comfortable, relaxed and freely express themselves. Poor people should not be seeing as thieves, robbers or criminals just because of how they may be because of how they look; we should have Cultural self-awareness among us. We should always feel free and comfortable to interact with people from different backgrounds, cultures, social class and capabilities and through this, we can create a safe space for ourselves.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the TV show covered a broad view of two different aspects of livelihoods, two separate people with different family backgrounds, one with both parents and a well family the other being raised without parents and a poor experience with little access to the basic needs. Two classes of people trying to come together despite facing many challenges. Most of all trying to display the two kinds of spaces within a human, the safe and the unsafe areas. The TV show tries to show how safe spaces can be created within our reach as well as dangerous spaces. It also indicates the meaning of safe space, cultural intelligence, social capabilities and cultural self-awareness and most of all a genuine sense of safe and unsafe space within our daily lives. 

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