MovieChat Forums > Romancing the Stone (1984) Discussion > Could use some research about COLOMBIA!!

Could use some research about COLOMBIA!!

posted 19 years ago by juanpa1-1
85 replies | jump to latest

I've waited for a looong time to take this out of my chest. This movie is ok, it's entertaining blah blah blah, but it kinda started the Colombian subject on every movie dealing with stereotypical drug dealers. Just to quote some there's the Harrison Ford movie, recent Mr. & Mrs. Smith... you know there's a lot.

It would be nice if Hollywood people did some research about Colombia. I live in the capital city Bogota. Remember they had to take a funny bus to go to Bogota? well guess what, Bogota has an airport! also, like some dumb UnitedStatian asked me several years ago YES we wear shoes. We don't have monkeys on trees even if you travel from one city to another. Bogota is not some hot tropical city as they depict, it's average 13 celsius. We have some pretty amazing stuff that never gets mentioned in any movie that takes advantage of us! They don't even bother shooting those movies here, because it would take all the stereotype down, and they claim it's dangerous blah blah blah. Every foreign person that I know who have been here has left in love with Colombia. If you're out of places to say bad things about, at least make it up somehow!!

[–] jeanlolonnais 18 years ago

"dumb UnitedStatian", OK whatever...watch who you call 'dumb' when you dont sound so bright yourself. Maybe ignorant, but at least the 'dumb UnitedStatian' asked and ,in asking, learned.

Anyhow. Colombia is very dangerous, there is no hiding it.Nobody thinks the place they call home is dangerous and obviously anybody who lives there would be offended by the representation of their country as a lawless haven of druglords. However you're right people should research instead of trusting what they see on t.v. or in the movies.For those of you interested in learning about the dangers of Colombia, check this link out it should give you plenty of food for thought. .http://www.comebackalive.com/df/dplaces/colombia/index.htm

well, for me, the action is the juice.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] daisie59 17 years ago

"Get a Colombian girlfriend, probably your bad mood is because all those blood sucking do-nothing fat chicks up there"

"Bravo! American (USA) chicks have a real problem. Spoiled little (or not so little) bitches."

I find these statements to be very hypocritical. You ask not to be stereotyped yet you turn around and do the same to American women. we are not all spoiled, we are not all do-nothing fat chicks and I, as do many others I am sure, resent the implication. how can you ask for tolerance, yet show none yourself?

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

[–] Samus Aran 17 years ago

Americans are from america, not just the United States.

What do you mean by that ? "American" no longer means a person from North America, if that is what you were referring to, it means only "a person from the United States".

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] juanpa01 13 years ago

Hey I didn't say you were all dumb, just this one guy. And obviously the people who did this movie didn't "ask and learn". I know this is an old post but I wasn't able to post until recently. Thank you all for the support on this topic.

[–] Movie_Tech 18 years ago

All your bordering countieis are worried about viiolence from Colombia and yet all you can do is bash Americans and make some odd statement about monkeys in trees. We all know it's tropical along the coastal and lowland areas and cooler in the highlands. If you were trully being objective in your post you would have mentioned the horrid air pollution in Bogota or that Colombia has recently implentented a criminal code based of the US laws. Or perhaps acknowledge that Colombia's most lucritve export is drugs and that insurgants are an everyday thrreat to your way of life. What about the excessive unemployment or refugee issues. that being said, the Colombian gov't has made a great deal of headway in this 21st century to reduce all these negative factors, but there is still a long way to go before Hollywood filmmakers and the public are going to look upon Colombia any differently.

[–] hellogoodbye00 18 years ago

Man there are some STUPID people living in this world. While you people sit on your a$$ and watch stereotypical movies and suck in the "educational" value from Hollywood, I backpack around the world. I have been to Colombia and all South American countries (despite any and all warnings). And guess what? Its F-in gorgeous. The women are beyond belief, its the closest thing to paradise you'll find on earth. The cities are completely safe. Yes there are drug trades but on mountain areas and deep jungles.
.
PS: I am not Latino and I live in US so of course Im not biased.
PPS: I have traveled all over the world so I know more about you.

[–] Movie_Tech 18 years ago

Oh yeah?

[–] gingersnaps1 18 years ago

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=5698&z=3&p=

Check out this article. Even today in 2006, the Colombians are using puppies to smuggle drugs to the US. This is a sick method of doing it.

Ginger

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ReptilianPig 7 years ago

Well, aren't we a pompous turd? The post isn't about the women of Colombia. ye d@mn womanizer.

That's why I drink using a crazy straw - Not so crazy now!

[–] juanpa01 18 years ago

Hey, I'm not asking for the media to show something we are not, just to be fair with us. And I must apologize, I'm not criticizing everyone from the US, just the few hundreds that do these movies, they also have shown the world the stereotypical fat lazy ignorant american, but I've been to the states and I have many gringo friends and they are nice people. The pollution in LA is 10 times worse than in Bogota, don't forget the US produces 30% of the world's pollution and they didn't participate on the Kyoto Protocol. I live a happy life, my life hasn't been threatened in 26 years. I know our government is not the best, but just turn on your tv for news about the worse government in the planet, yours. And I know this is not my fault or your fault, but when things doesn't seem fair I can't just keep quiet. Things are getting better very slowly here. Everyone is invited to visit and stay, and if these posts change at least one person's point of view I didn't waste my time. Thank you for reading up to here.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Holden Caulfield 17 years ago

"US citizens think they are on the center of the world, that everything outside their borders is a jungle populted by rebellious natives...and worst of all, they feel proud of their ignorance, what a pity."

That's what I find curious sometimes. Of course Colombia isn't like it's depicted in this movie, but some people are more than willing to generalize the US and even speak for them. I certainly don't know anyone who takes pride in not knowing about other countries. There are many Americans who don't know a whole lot about the rest of the world, but there's people like that in every country. Probably most people are like that.

PUCCINI007 - based on your "long live to ITALIA" I'm guessing you're Italian. (A wonderful country, and I'm not just saying that.) I certainly wouldn't watch the Italian (and partly American) movie Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era una volta il West) to find out what the American West was like. But does make for good entertainment.

I just wish people would be more kind and thoughtful, but I know this is just an internet forum so I'm not sure why I wrote this. (shrug) Hope I haven't offended anyone.

[–] TRImmoos 18 years ago

"Remember they had to take a funny bus to go to Bogota?"

Bogata was never mentioned. She was trying to get to "The hotel Cartagena in Cartagena", not Bogota. The sign on the bus said Cartagena, then it was switched around to Castillo De San Felipe which sent her in the wrong direction.

It seems your the one that could use some research.

By the way, there isn't a film made that doesnt take some liberties to make it more interesting, just something you have to deal with.

And if you need anything else to trash try Scarface, that film had a few run-ins with Columbian drug dealers and murderous thugs, maybe you can find some sympathy in that message board.

[–] gingersnaps1 18 years ago

Well said TRImmoos.

Ginger

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] colombianax0x0 18 years ago

AND THIS MOVIE WASNT EVEN FILMED IN COLOMBIA. IT WAS FILMED IN MEXICO!!!

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Mekanos 18 years ago

I have to say that Hollywood needs to make a lot of research before falling into these stereotyped films

[–] NicoleBonnet 17 years ago

If you look in the trivia page for this movie, it will give a reason for that, colombiana......

"South Bend... It sounds like dancing!"

[–] rmpp 18 years ago

When i think of Columbia what comes to my mind is:

drug dealers
Juan Pablo Montoya
and that footbal player who was killed because he missed a penalty in a world championship

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] gingersnaps1 18 years ago

No one has mentioned Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria. He is probably the main reason why everyone related Colombia to drugs. You have him to thank for all of the sterotype in the world against Colombia. He was once listed by Forbes magazine as the 7th richest man in the world, but not from investments and other legal business deals.

Ginger

[–] Imajicka1 18 years ago

Who let all these Mutha f'in bigots on this board!!? I'm with the guy who's backpacked the world. People who don't have a clue about the rest of the world and don't know what they are talking about should shut up! I've been to Colombia and it is very beautiful. These couch potatoes probably have never left the country. Does Colombia have problems? Yeah... but first off.. who buys the drug... it would be the US. That's where the demand is from.
I don't think that the first person to post on this thread meant to bash anybody, but the haters had to jump on and start sumthin'.
And to InLikeFlint and rmpp... say stuff like that around my neck of the woods and you'll get your ass kicked.

[–] alex904 17 years ago

First of all, it's really dumb to expect high educational value from Hollywood movies like somebody already said in this thread. Second, Columbia indeed is beatiful, but it's also relatively unsafe comparising to developed countries. Street crime is high and there're a lot of crapholes all around the country where you can be easily killed and nobody will notice. Before blaming Hollywood, think why they prefered shooting movie in Mexico instead of Columbia. Just use your brains before complaining. Botswana is much smaller and very poor country but it was still able to produce such great movies like "Gods must be crazy". Columbia has nobody to blame besides itself for stereotypes.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] colombianox100 18 years ago

Gingersnaps,

If people didn't buy and use drugs, then there would be no drug problem. (North)americans are the world's leading drug consumers, and if there was no demand, then there would not be any supply, it's simple economics. Besides Pablo Escobar and junkies (americans), colombians can also "thank" ignorant Hollywood film makers as well as the negatively-biased media for the erroneous image many people unfortunately have about the beautiful country of Colombia.

ColombianoX

'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] sluido 18 years ago

but they claim that death was drug related, not football related

nevertheless, there is NO way to keep Columbia + Drugs apart, and you can't blame Hollywood for that.

Why should they? It's not their job to clean up other countries' image, and it wasn't really that bad now was it? Some secret police dude using his small troups to hunt down some people...probably happens at least once a year.

[–] colombianox100 18 years ago

"nevertheless, there is NO way to keep Columbia + Drugs apart, and you can't blame Hollywood for that.'

Sluido,

That's only true in your ignorant mind. People in Colombia can live their entire lives without ever seeing any illegal drugs. Can you say the same?

ColombianoX

'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] colombianox100 18 years ago

rmpp,

Well, when I think of Colombia what comes to my mind is:

Some of the friendliest, nicest, most hospitable people in the whole world
The most beautiful scenery imaginable
The oldest democracy in Latin America
The world's most beautiful women
The 'Carnaval de Barranquilla'- one of the best carnivals in the world!
Incredible music, i.e Cumbia, vallenato, bambuco, joropo etc. Produces great salsa too.
The best spoken spanish in the world
The world's best gold museum, 'el Museo de Oro' in Bogotá
The Colombian army has been catalogued as the best fighting land force in South America
Lasik eye surgery was invented in Colombia in 1948
Near-perfect weather year round
Large, modern cities, i.e Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, etc.

Colombia enjoys one of the richest biological areas on the planet
The most fauna and flora per unit meter in the whole world
The second most fauna and flora overall
The highest amphibian biodiversity in the world
The largest number of bird species in the world
The third largest number of mammals in the world
The fourth largest producer of water on the planet

The only country in the world that is Caribbean, Amazonian, Andean, and Pacific
The world's richest coffee
The world's leading producer of emeralds
The world's second leading exporter of cut flowers.
The world's fourth leading producer of coal (alternative energy)
The world's tallest coastal mountain range
The world's only snow-capped coastal mountain range

Nobel-Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his masterpiece 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' (considered by many the best book of the 20th Century)
The world's greatest living painter and sculptor, Fernando Botero
Colombian scientist Manuel Elkin Patarroyo developed a vaccine for malaria that is 70% effective
Shakira- 'feel the conga, let me see you move like you come from Colombia'
Juanes- winner of 12 Latin Grammys
Gold Glove winner MLB Baseball player Edgar Renteria
Carlos Vives
Juan Pablo Montoya
Academy-award nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno
John Leguizamo
Model/actress Sofia Vergara
Great Footballer (soccer player to you) Carlos 'El Pibe' Valderrama
Former NFL Player Fuad Reveiz and his record-breaking 31 consecutive field goals during the 1994 and 1995 seasons.
The world's most successful telenovela, 'Betty la Fea', which has a remake in the USA on ABC as 'Ugly Betty'.

I hope I've educated you a little bit more about Colombia.

Here's some websites about the beautiful country of Colombia:

http://skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=551
http://theotherlookofcolombia.com/
www.ColombianBlog.com

ColombianoX

'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

[–] chansun 18 years ago

I have to agree with ColombianoX. I visited Bogota in December 2005. I found it to be a huge, cosmopolitan, beautiful city. So much so, that we are thinking of relocating there. I walked the streets, both at night and during the day (obviously staying in "safer" areas, but you would in any big city), and never had a problem. I felt safe walking in the craft fair across from our hotel, and shopping in the malls we visited. Most of the taxis we used were clean and felt safe. I felt more danger from the traffic (sometimes scary) than I did anything else.

I was enchanted by the people, who were very friendly, and spoke Spanish so clearly and beautifully. We love eating at fun restaurants, trying ajiaco, salchipapas, and eating at the Crepes y Waffles restaurant at the mall across the street.

My husband travels to Columbia several times a year, visiting Bogota, Cali, or Medellin, and has found all those places to be modern, safe, and beautiful.

We are looking forward to our next visit!

[–] juanpa01 18 years ago

I am truly overwhelmed for how big this post got. Thank you all for your opinions, some good some bad but always speak your mind. Here's some comments:

TRImmoos: Sorry for the mistake, does that mean my opinion doesn't count? And when you say "Castillo de San Felipe" do you have the slightest idea what you're taliking about? hope so. Cartagena has an airport and is our oldest city, which got independence even before the country. And I don't wanna "trash" anything or anybody, just wanted to mention how a few people can make a bad stereotype. It happens to americans (Bush, couch potatoes, Columbine, Irak, ignorance, lazyness, etc etc) and to us (drug dealing, violence, poverty, etc etc) and to everyone else and it is just unfair.

gingersnaps1: It is nice that you know some facts, we say "it is better to be criticized than not to be mentioned at all". I'm guessing you're a puppy lover? well so am I. What about killing almost 50 thousand innocent people in the most unfair and unballanced war in all times? (http://www.iraqbodycount.net) well that must suck. I feel sorry for the puppies though. All that happens is not your fault, and not mine either so why can't we be friends?

hellogoodbye00: You can go on a date with my sister, I'll lend you my car.

xanthesol: I am very happy you liked it here. If you need anything just let me know. Ajiaco Rocks!

Colombiano X: Bien dicho mi hermano! Que viva Colombia!

Imajicka1: Well said man! I have two sisters.

Mekanos: true, true

colombianax0x0: Yes if you Hollywood producers are gonna do stupid movies at least film them here, and give our people your money!

[–] jeanlolonnais 18 years ago

"Americans are from america, not just the United States. And fortunately I know a whole bunch of nice people from the US, therefore I will take your comment as personal. They all love it here. Get a Colombian girlfriend, probably your bad mood is because all those blood sucking do-nothing fat chicks up there"- Juanpa01-2006

WTF are you talking about? You respond to healthy debate with assumptions and personal insults. IF , and thats a big IF, If I ever had a negative conotation about Colombia as a whole, Colombians in general or yourself as an individual it was just reinforced by your comments. Do yourself a huge favor and take this bit of advice: if you want to represent Colombia in a positive way then start with yourself instead of worrying about others.

well, for me, the action is the juice.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] volorkey 18 years ago

This movie is an action film not a documentary. If I wanted to find out what Columbia is really like I'd watch the travel channel. If I wanted to see a good action flick I watch romancing the stone. If every movie was as accurate as some people would like they would be kind of bland. Besides I bet if you watched the Indiana Jones movies you'd find lots of cultural mistakes but they are accepted as the norm in the action/adventure film genre.

[–] hcrapwhitman 18 years ago

I know alot about the tv show 'Columbo', but it's not really the same thing.

[–] CBikle 18 years ago

Well, the movie was filmed in Mexico instead, because a lot of kidnappings were happening at the time (in the movie, Joan's sister is kidnapped)in Columbia.

Basically, Columbia was too much like Columbia. At least at that time.

[–] thewholebrevitything 18 years ago

I would hazard a guess and say mexico is more dangerous than columbia is nowadays.

Visit America, Before America visits you - US Tourism Board

[–] colombianox100 18 years ago

"I would hazard a guess and say mexico is more dangerous than columbia is nowadays."

You're right, Mexico recently surpassed Colombia (spelled with an 'o') as the world's kidnapping capital and those mexican drug cartels are currently much more deadly than the few remaining, weakened colombian cartels.

ColombianoX

'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

[–] nickero13 17 years ago

I came to this movie to post on this topic. I am actually half Colombian and have been to Bogota, Palmira, Cali, a good variety of places. It's kind of sad the way the country and its people are portrayed (e.g. the lady with the pig on the bus, the corrupt law enforcement dude, etc).

Then again, when doesn't Hollywood portray other countries like this? I guess in part its a bit hypocritical because I've enjoyed all those other movies, but sometimes it goes too far and I notice.