[Marxism] Raising Cane, Cuban American Fantasy Land

[David Walters <dwalters@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Cuban American TV (in English) have made the big time with the premier 
last night of "Cane". Cane tells the story of a "hard-working" Cuban 
American who worked his way up to become one of Florida's leading 
sugar-empire builder. This is a story about a rich, a very rich, 
Cuban-American family. Now, before anyone gets too turned off, let me 
just say at the outset that one has to really, really suspend one's send 
of disbelief, in the same way you might when watching Field of Dreams or 
Star Wars.

I will say this, much of the script is in Spanish with English 
sub-titles. Not a lot but more than on any other network TV show I've 
ever watched.

The cast is VERY good. Héctor Elizondo, Rita Moreno and Jimmy Smitts. 
All Puerto Ricans (Smitts is half Dutch, half Puerto Rican). The only 
Cuban-American is Nestor Carbonell who plays the bad-guy & corrupt son 
of Elizondo, the patriarch of this sugar baron family. I was sort of 
surprised that the three leads were of PR descent and there was only one 
of Cuban. I don't know why that is. I think both Elizondo and Moreno are 
outstanding actors. I have a soft spot for both of them anyway since 
they were both part of the San Juan Theater Festival that my father 
directed (who is not Puerto Rican but many thought he was) in 1958-1959. 
I was TWO, and we were in San Juan when Fidel marched into Havana and 
all the little kids were wearing fake beards and cigars running around 
playing Fidel, or so my parents told me).

The Smitts character plays the adopted son of Elizondo, but not so 
adopted Jimmy Smitts couldn't marry Elizando's daughter, and of course 
have beautiful kids, etc. In the story line to "Cane" Smitts is sent out 
by his counter-revolutionary parents when the Revolution triumphs by his 
never-heard-from-again parents.

The underlying "politics" is this sort of mythical sugar-empire and 
rilvary between Elizondo and his family on the one hand and the 
"Samuals" family, a rival barony of Anglo sugar-growers whose patriarch 
is played by Ken Howard. He has equally corrupt children, the daugher of 
whom has an affair with the natural born son of Elizondo, played by the 
actor mentioned above, Nestor Carbonell. It's all rather incestuous. In 
fact, it is really a soap-opera. Smitts is the "good" but not natural 
born son, Carbonell is the flashy corrupt playboy natural born son. 
Elizondo hands the company over to Smitts because he recognizes the 
potential to make ethanol from sugar, instead of corn, etc. etc. 
Fireworks ensue and the rival - brothers situation is set up.

The one redeeming quality to Cane is that Smitts has his own demons, his 
own way of dealing with problems that rivals that of any gangster from 
the Sopranos. So, things are not all that sweet in Sugar city. I give it 
a B-. I'll watch the next episode and decide from there.


David

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