In the next scene, Maria is being mistreated by her male supervisor. He refuses to let her go to the restroom even though she feels nauseated, and then proceeds to demand she clean the mess off the roses after she vomits on them. It is implied Maria takes this kind of abuse on a regular basis. When she next sees her mother and sister, at the local pharmacy, she informs them she quit her job at the factory. They are alarmed and ask when and why this happened. This is sparked by argument over money. It is cultural practice for a Colombian family to all chip in and help out with money, even if it is not equally contributed to. Maria’s nephew, Pacho, is sick and needs medicine. Diana and her mother tell her she is selfish and should be able to deal with her employment issues for the benefit of the family. They ask her to go back, but Maria refuses, saying she will find other work.
This is an example of a socially constructed expectation that works in opposition of women’s rights. Maria is being harassed by her employer; this should be handled immediately by reporting him to a company employee in charge of human resources. Instead, she sees the only way to stop it is to quit. Because her word would most likely not be taken seriously, she takes the blame instead of demanding action. This form of oppression is a form of “muting” an individual because of her gender. Not only does she give up her job, but she is chastised by her own family for not thinking of them first. It is conventional for Hispanic families to function together, even at the expense of a woman’s happiness. Maria is working to take care of her nephew who has no father in sight. Actually, there are no males besides Pacho in the household that are ever mentioned; this leaves only Maria to provide income. Later in the movie, Maria tells Juan she is pregnant, but she does not want to get married. He contends he must live with her, because society won’t accept a “guy living in his girlfriend’s house.” Again, Maria departs from the norm by rejecting the necessity of marriage because of a pregnancy. She even goes further to reject the notion of marriage without love. Maria is comfortable with her independence, even as a single mother—a concept foreign to most women in her position.
Muted group theory is also applicable in this film because it deals with cultural issues. Women often jeopardize their freedom and lives by agreeing to serve as drug mules or couriers to smuggle illegal drugs into another country. Maria is in desperate need of a job because she is obligated to care for her mother, sister, and nephew. She meets Franklin, who at first seemed very innocent, and he mentions a way she could make money if she would take the chance. Franklin delivers her to Javier, the head of this particular drug cartel in Bogat. He explains the arrangements, but not without offering a “charitable” donation so she could get her affairs in order. The direction and quality of her life is no longer in her hands; it is in those of the men in authority positions in her life. Even when she is in the United States, her fate is determined by Don Fernando (the Colombian travel agent who offers help to her and Blanca) and the male drug dealers who hold Maria, Blanca, and Lucy captive. Don Fernando chose not to turn them into the police, but he did betray the women by telling Carla about Lucy’s death and its surrounding circumstances. The drug dealers killed Lucy for the heroin in her body; they had no regard for the life that possessed it. If Maria would have fallen ill, she would have suffered the same outcome. Even after her and Bianca escaped, the men had the ability to harm their families in Colombia. Once they returned to give the dealers their pellets, their own lives were once again endangered. They were fortunate to not be killed, much less receive their payment, but it was not without verbal and physical abuse.
Each of the trials Maria faces is caused by a social norm that demands women’s subordination to men in different areas of her life. Every aspect of her life was affected by this form of inequality: her sexual relations, her relationship with her boyfriend and family, her employment, her welfare, and her basic right to life. Maria Full of Grace is a paradigm for feature films that illuminate the delicate issues that instigate women’s involvement in such reprehensible a exploit as drug trafficking.
