The Over-Glorification Of Che Guevara

Question: Was Ernesto “Che” Guevara the revolutionary hero as depicted in today’s pop culture, or was he a vicious murderer, obsessed with the destruction of capitalism?

Over the course of ches journey, he discovers a deeper connection to South America. This is a form of spiritual awakening as he explores deeper into the heart of the continent, his paints a picture of the landscape with his words like “The full moon is silhouetted against the sea, smothering the waves with silver reflection”. The descriptive image che relays through his journal is spiritual in a sense as it conveys his connection and love for the land. Che also develops a spiritual connection as he discovers the historical significance of the ancient structures that exist throughout Peru. Che describes Machu Picchu being “The most important and irrefutable thing, however, is that here we found the pure expression of the most powerful indigenous race in the Americas… The spectacular landscape circling the fortress supplies an essential backdrop, inspiring dreamers to wander its ruins”. This highlights ches greater discovery of the significance that these magnificent buildings have to the people of South America. The exploration of these cultural buildings leads Che to a greater understanding of the historical significance in which they represent a lost civilization. His greater understanding of South America transforms his appreciation of the land into a spiritual connection.

The government saw whoever opposed the revolution should be punished. In the story, Nieve went to an art gallery and saw or heard someone get apprehended by the police for opposing Che Guevara. Guerra wrote, “Someone got taken to prison for stepping on an image of Che on the floor of an art gallery”(207). This shows that law enforcement also make sure that the people believe in what the media say about Guevara, as a smart activist who wants justice for the people. The government tries to make sure that the people think the way they want the people to think, however, the government and media can't reach everyone.

Che Guevara was a revolutionist, a liberator, and a medical school graduate. He was also an anarchist, murderer, and communist. It is possible to see Guevara through either fo these looking glasses. The same goes for Chris McCandless, a young man trying to escape society, or a reckless idiot who wandered around the country full odf himself. Regardless of how they are perceived, they both met the same fate, death.

These events shape Che’s ideology as he sees the U.S. as an

This religious aspect of society reflects the puissance of Che, his ideals, image, and the hope he provided the poor and less

Ernesto “Che” Guevara was a part of the 26th of July Movement in Cuba. He became a revolutionary leader who inspired many and brought the guerrilla to victory in 1959. He was a part of the eighty-two men who sailed on the Granma from Mexico to Cuba in December of 1956 (Staten 114). The biographical film, Che: Part One directed by Steven Soderbergh, shows the journey of Che and the guerrillas as they attempted to defeat Batista’s military. Che: Part One is not simply just a depiction of Che’s life, but it brings you right into the action of the armed struggle the guerrilla faced. The revolution shaped Che into the leader he became. He started out as a simple doctor who wanted to bring the people of Cuba what they deserved. Che went through changes as the periods of the revolution went on. He grew to be a leader that would bring his people to the victories they achieved. Throughout the portrayal of the revolution, it can be seen how Che changes and adapts based on what situation he is facing and how the movie shows it. The film goes back and forth between the times Che is in Cuba fighting and after he wins the revolution and talks about his experiences.

Guevara’s memoir exemplifies this notion for his discoveries evoke several emotions within him that transform him as he goes through Latin America. The memoirs are structured sequentially, allowing the audience to witness Guevara’s progression as a person. When Ernesto examines a woman with asthma in Valparaiso, his language becomes increasingly emotive, the woman described as “the poor thing was in a pitiful state” before he goes on to generalise the poor who are especially ill, feeling himself long “for change: a change to prevent the injustice of a system.” Here, Guevara witnesses the harsh life the poor endure; a provocative discovery that pushes him towards revolutionary thought, suggesting that often harsh discoveries are the most provocative. The exposure to communism has another profound impact upon Ernesto as his diary entries become more political, particularly in ‘Chuquicamata’, where he describes the mine to be like “a modern drama” whose beauty is “imposing” and “glacial.”

In the movie Evita, the narrator, Che Guevara, enforced these certain myths about Eva Perón as a slut, wife, and First Lady of Argentina. The movie is set during Eva Perón’s life, yet Che Guevara was a revolutionary figure from the time period after her death that critiqued her life throughout the film. The song “Oh What a Circus” in the film discusses how Che Guevara critiques Eva Perón on how she did not keep her promise to the people of Argentina and was not a great ruler to them (Evita, Alan Parker). Che is the main character who constructed the myth of Eva as a slut, wife, and First Lady of Argentina, while Eva constructed her own image of herself as a saint and powerful leader of Argentina.

Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto “Che” Guevara is an autobiographical account that outlines the journey of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, then a 23-year-old medical student. Che and his friend Alberto leave their hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January 1952 on the back of an asthmatic and sputtering motorbike. Guevara inadvertently goes on this journey of self discovery where he witnesses the social injustices of exploited mine workers, persecuted communists, ostracized lepers, and the tattered descendants of a

In The Motorcycle Diaries, Guevara experienced a number of discoveries during his journey across South America which challenged his understanding of the widespread poverty. From a young age Che lived a relatively happy life; having received his preliminary education and enrolling at the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine. In this sense according to the standard of the culture at the time, his upbringing was one of privilege and wealth. It was only during his journey that he witnessed the abject poverty and serious inequality between the have and have nots, broadening his understanding of the world. For example, in Valparaiso, while talking to swarms of beggars huddling under dark staircases Che writes: “...we plumb the city’s depths,

Che Guevara’s personal journey throughout the motorcycle diaries and Vaelins journey in blood song are excellent examples of how discovery can lead to new values and perspectives. Che begins his journey as a relatively sheltered child of a wealthy family with the little to no ideas as to how the other half lived but throughout his journey he encounters first hands experience of the proletariat and the inequalities they have faced. The book Blood song by Anthony Ryan shows how it is easy to remain ignorant of injustice just because you have never experienced it personally and how coming face to face with it can challenge the way one see’s their world.

I decided to write this research paper because we were assigned to find an issue or subject within Latin America to write about. One of the most widely known and influential revolutionary figure in the history of Latin America is Ché Guevara. Ché knew how to use his intelligence and judgment in all the circumstances he encountered taking advantage of each moment as if it was a highly intensive chess game he was sincerely

Like the much used stencil of Guevara's determined visage, the general perception of his life is flat and two-dimensional. No where more so, it seems, then in the country richest in Guevara's history, Cuba. An article printed July 21st 1997 in Newsweek, entitled 'Return Of The Rebel', explored Cuban society in the wake of the long-awaited discovery of Guevara's skeleton in Bolivian town of Vallegrande. In it journalist Brook Lamer explains how 'the Cuban Government played a pivotal role in creating the Che mystique, and it is not about to let its franchise slip away'[2].

It is hard to travel anywhere in the world without seeing somewhere the iconic image of Che Guevara on a T-Shirt, souvenir, or poster. The original photographer, and the Irish artist who turned that photograph into a print, are virtually unknown. However, their image has been redistributed to the point where it can effectively be called an icon or a meme. There is no small amount of irony in the fact that an icon of communism has become an emblem of capitalism: as the image has been bought and sold countless times in countless countries around the world. The iconic image of Che Guevara has a hipster chic to it, but also political panache. To don the Che Guevara image means one does not agree with the establishment and is part of the 99%. However, Che Guevara is a controversial figure too. The image has been banned in some parts of the world, because Che was a radical revolutionary who was not against the use of armed uprisings in communist revolts. Therefore, the iconic Che Guevara image created first in Cuba and turned into pop art by an Irishman is a paradoxical and typically postmodern cultural meme.