By Lee Pfeiffer
Director Robert Rodriguez' forthcoming film Machete is causing considerable controversy. The film concerns an illegal alien from Mexico who is recruited to assassinate a U.S. senator (Robert DeNiro) who is a leading advocate for cracking down on immigration violations. The timing of the film is especially incendiary, with Arizona the focal point of controversy regarding recent laws that are designed to stem the flood of illegals into the state. Advocates for the aliens say the laws will allow police to unjustly stop anyone of Hispanic descent and harass them by demanding to show proof of legal residency. The laws have prompted costly boycotts of Arizona by those sympathetic with the plight of the illegal aliens. Those who advocate the new laws point out that Arizona is a magnet for a tidal wave of illegal immigrants, some of whom are members of violent drug cartels that have brought Mexico's on-going drug war into the state and that both the Bush and Obama administrations have failed to adequately protect the border. As the real-life controversy plays out, the "reel-life" controversy is also heating up with some critics saying that Rodriguez' film is a dangerous plea for illegal aliens to take up violence as a method of protest, especially since one of the film's tag lines is "They Just F--ed With the Wrong Mexican". Others say that the film is simply a thriller in the style of old grind house action movies. For more click here