2. Because all of the traffickers are Mexican, the distributors are Latino, and the dealers are African-American. She says that he may have only thrown in the "positive" characters to "detract from criticisms of negative stereotyping". She also states that Frankie Flowers having an American name and his Mexican name (Francisco Flores) shows that he is a negative entity in Mexico and America, suggesting that Mexican infiltration in America is a negative thing. She reinforces this by mentioning the fact that Flores is gay, and since he is so one-dimensional, this comes across as homophobic and a way to make him more unlikeable. Also, there are no Mexican or Latino users, which she thinks says that they are not victims of the drug culture. And there is no mention of corruption in the US law system.
3. Anglo-Saxon America is given a blue tone, which gives it a connotation of being cold and metallicized. Mexico is given a sepia look, and the yellows suggest a parched, lacking, underdeveloped country. She said that the shifts in color suggest 1st and 3rd world, completely disregarding Mexico's modernity. She notes how unrealistic this is because there is a shot when one character is looking through binoculars at Mexico, and through the binoculars it is sepia-toned, but when we see him he is in full color, which shows that it is not the light in Mexico, it is the American view of Mexico.
4. He shares many of the characteristics of a Mexican bandit: violence, psychopathic tendencies, involvement in illegal exploits, sadistic, and power-hungry. He also reinforces the idea that the US government is not corrupt, yet the Mexican system is corrupt because he is a drug trafficker, and his counterpart Wakefield is not. Javier's role to show Mexico as a country in need of US guidance is conveyed in the way that he only becomes successful when he tells the US that Salazar is involved with the drug war. It suggests that "the good Mexican cop can only get results if he works for the US agency". It also suggests that Mexico does not have an effective way of persecuting Salazar, and only the DEA can do anything to stop him.
5. It advocates DEA intervention in Mexico. Mexico is portrayed as corrupt and unable or unwilling to take care of its drug problem, so it reflects America's projected need to go in and have jurisdiction in Mexico.
6. He learned that it is important to want to be on a film set. When he was working on The Underneath, he had forgotten what it felt like to be excited about making movies, and Richard Lester helped him realize where he was in his career. So by making Schizopolis, he branched away from what he had been doing, and just made a movie the fun way, which reignited his love.
7.He defines "personal filmmaking" as making a film that you want to make, essentially. It is not necessarily a film about you, or a film about your life. He says that he only does movies that he likes, he wouldn't work for a year and a half on something that he "doesn't give a shit about". He says that with his earlier films it was like he didn't go out of the house, and kept the blinds closed. He liked Erin Brockovich because it was someone else's story, not his own.
8. There was much less time between set-ups so actors could stay in the moment. He said there would only be about two minutes between shots, which made it a day where you were mostly shooting. He said that he couldn't even leave to go to the bathroom until lunch, because they were always on task and getting things done. He also didn't rehearse much on set because he says that it takes away from the magic of just going for it and seeing what you get.
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