306:. His father wants him to participate in growing crops on the meager family homestead. Memo's passion, however, is electronics and hacking. The homestead also has dried up because of a dam built nearby and owned by the private corporation Del Rio Water. Memo and his father must trek on foot to buy water by the bag while monitored by security cameras armed with machine guns. The media on American hi-def TV shows glimpses of a technological dystopia, although in a positive light with superficial spin-doctoring. Memo is building an electronic receiver that can tap into communications as a hobby. As he continues to work on it, its range increases to faraway cities.
310:
brother watch a live TV broadcast about a drone action that is about to destroy a building known to be intercepting drone communication. They quickly realize that the building is their own home, where Memo has his equipment, and run to save their father, whose life is in danger. However, they are too late, and the vehicle launches a rocket at the father, wounding him. The drone pilot then faces their father, seeing him through the drone’s camera, before killing him. The drone pilot is a
Mexican-American named Rudy Ramirez. Memo boards a bus to the city of Tijuana to find work.
437:’s cultural impact relates to its social commentary on contemporary issues through the lens of science-fiction. Javier Ramírez remarks that Rivera’s “innovative deployment of science fiction encourages us to question our present reality, by projecting into the future.” Through his imagining of a possible future, Rivera critiques today’s issues including immigration, drone warfare, and technological advances. His film is part of the emerging genre of speculative fiction called Latinxfuturism or
330:
hole in the dam, directly where Memo's father had once tossed a pebble in helpless frustration. Memo receives news from his home and neighboring subsistence farms, celebrations of returning ancestral waters, albeit not necessarily a permanent one. Ramirez goes farther south in Mexico as he can no longer return to his family in the US. Memo moves on with his life in
Tijuana.
246:
462:
provides representation of people of color and humanizes political issues through characters such as Memo and Luz. David
Montgomery of The Washington Post comments that the film “puts a human face on all” the problems explored in the movie. The significance of seeing oneself in the stories told about
449:
de-familiarizes the familiar and challenges the status quo of society by re-imagining reality or providing alternative representations. In his film review in the New York Times, A.O. Scott writes that “Mr. Rivera’s vision of
Tijuana…is…an unsettlingly plausible extrapolation of what that city already
467:
works is situating people of color as the protagonists in the representations of what our world could be. Montgomery goes on to comment, “The whole world has a future, yet ‘Sleep Dealer’ is one of the first science fiction films largely set in the underdeveloped parts — a milestone in film history.”
454:
represent for
Mexicans and society as a whole to project a dystopian possibility of what its progress may become, making the audience question current conditions. The possibility of complete human exploitation of foreign labor markets through the use of nodes becomes a little less fictional with the
329:
Memo rejoins Luz and recruits her help to connect
Ramirez to the network. He accesses the Del Rio Water security network to control one of the company's drones. Upon discovery that Ramirez is not heeding orders, other drones pursue Ramirez. After heated aerial dogfighting, Ramirez manages to blast a
321:
Luz tries to upload more experiences. TruNode makes her reveal feelings rather than just the story. The person who requested the information is revealed to be
Ramirez working for Del Rio Water. Luz and Memo open up to each other and have connected sex. Upon receiving the next upload, Ramirez has his
313:
Luz Martínez also boards the same bus. Memo notices that Luz has nodes on the wrist for interfacing with the digital network and asks her where he can get them for free. She tells him that he can find someone, known as a coyotek, to connect him by asking around in a certain alley. Luz has loans and
231:
depicts a dystopian future to explore ways in which technology both oppresses and connects migrants. A fortified wall has ended unauthorized Mexico-US immigration, but migrant workers are replaced by robots, remotely controlled by the same class of would-be emigrants. Their life force is inevitably
309:
One summer, a remote-controlled military aerial vehicle operated by the security forces of Del Rio Water catches Memo monitoring a frequency used by the drones. This act warrants a brutal attack. He disconnects in time before the drone can locate him with certainty. On another occasion, he and his
301:
Memo Cruz works at a factory, one of several sleep dealers. Here, workers are connected to the network via suspended cables that plug into nodes in their arms and back, allowing them to control the robots that have replaced them as unskilled labor on the other side of the border. The sleep dealers
317:
Memo is robbed of his money during his first attempt to seek a coyotek. He finds an abandoned shack in which to stay at the edge of the city, where other node workers live. Luz gets a sale for her memory of Memo and a prepaid offer for her next memory of him. Luz finds him and learns he is out of
325:
Memo discovers that Luz has been paid to upload her memories of him, and so he leaves her feeling betrayed. He works overtime at the sleep dealer, risking exhaustion. Luz writes to him and mails him a recording of her memories as a parting gift. In the meantime, Ramirez has crossed the fortified
411:
wrote "Exuberantly entertaining — a dystopian fable of globalization disguised as a science-fiction adventure…. Mr. Rivera — a brilliant young director — takes his audience into a future of “aqua-terrorism” and cyberlabor that I wish I could dismiss as implausible..." in his review of the 2008
425:
wrote "Adventurous, ambitious and ingeniously futuristic, "Sleep Dealer" is a welcome surprise. It combines visually arresting science fiction done on a budget with a strong sense of social commentary in a way that few films attempt, let alone achieve..." in his review of the film.
297:
is set in a future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor, and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, where three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the technology barriers.
29:
491:
argues for and instantiates the production of alternative futures that fight against not only obsolescence but also obfuscations of the past that paved the way for the colonization of the future.” That is to say,
500:
contributes to the
Latinxfuturist works that try to represent people of color as well as re-imagine a future without the colonialist androcentric oppressive forces that mark today’s society.
745:
391:
383:
326:
US-Mexican border to meet Memo. As
Ramirez explains himself, Memo tries to run, perceiving danger. Ramirez catches up and explains he was under orders and offers to help.
314:
may default. She makes a living by uploading memories to an online memory trading company, TruNode, where viewers pay for content. She uploads her memory of meeting Memo.
1001:
399:
371:
571:
1006:
595:
318:
money. She helps him get a node job at a bar that has the equipment. She is the coyotek, having learned from her ex-boyfriend, and she does him a favor.
386:
for the Best
International Film at The Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, and a special mention Amnesty International Film Prize at the
302:
are called so because one may collapse if one works long enough. The story is told as a flashback, as Memo remembers his home in Santa Ana Del Rio,
256:
906:
509:
387:
941:
901:
946:
916:
778:
921:
966:
936:
926:
896:
395:
981:
976:
471:
The placing of people of color within a pre-existing system is part of the rebellion against hegemonic colonial narratives with which
931:
281:
891:
413:
986:
956:
961:
991:
951:
496:
not only criticizes the current system but works to deconstruct the narrative mechanisms that uphold colonial influences.
996:
971:
657:
Ramirez, Javier (2016). "Sci-Fi-ing Immigration and the U.S.-Mexico Border: An Interview with Filmmaker Alex Rivera".
379:
162:
479:
path is creating alternative systems that people of color exist in without the restraints of the present reality. In
578:
549:
602:
911:
127:
639:
856:
375:
218:
886:
848:
690:
682:
407:
138:
831:
784:
774:
717:
674:
421:
98:
867:
666:
820:
533:
476:
472:
464:
446:
438:
364:
709:
620:
686:
880:
694:
514:
339:
74:
442:
345:
123:
78:
746:"Alex Rivera's lost cult hit "Sleep Dealer" about immigration and drones is back"
814:
480:
463:
the future is not lost on the film makers or its reviewers. Part of the goal of
451:
222:
54:
42:
108:
788:
721:
678:
455:
referential point of Tijuana today, thus, de-familiarizing what is familiar.
670:
450:
represents.” In this way, Rivera uses the reality of what Tijuana and the
28:
825:
596:"Sleep Dealer Wins Alfred P. Sloan Prize at 2008 Sundance Film Festival"
303:
771:
Migrant futures : decolonizing speculation in financial times
239:
232:
used up, and they are discarded without medical compensation.
807:
266:
by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise.
458:
Arguably the most important cultural impact of the film,
322:
doubts confirmed that his work made him kill a good man.
263:
363:
was generally well received by critics, with a 70% on
202:
192:
182:
172:
144:
134:
114:
104:
92:
84:
68:
60:
48:
38:
21:
400:Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature
572:"2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Awards"
8:
836:
27:
18:
621:"Big Ideas in Deceptively Small Packages"
510:Speculative Fiction (by writers of color)
282:Learn how and when to remove this message
526:
1002:English-language science fiction films
640:"A nightmare that looks all too real"
7:
739:
737:
396:Gotham Independent Film Awards 2008
1007:English-language independent films
14:
638:Turan, Kenneth (April 17, 2009).
390:. The film was nominated for the
744:Montgomery, Davis (2014-07-14).
414:New Directors/New Films Festival
257:too long or excessively detailed
244:
351:Luis Fernando Peña as Memo Cruz
907:American science fiction films
769:Bahng, Aimee (16 April 2018).
619:Scott, A.O. (March 26, 2008).
441:, of which both have roots in
372:Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
1:
942:Mexican science fiction films
902:Alfred P. Sloan Prize winners
710:"Tale of an Anxious Wanderer"
947:2000s Spanish-language films
917:2000s English-language films
857:Alfred P. Sloan Prize Winner
601:. 2008-01-25. Archived from
577:. 2008-01-26. Archived from
253:This article's plot summary
922:American multilingual films
708:Scott, A. O. (2009-04-16).
392:Breakthrough Director Award
380:2008 Sundance Film Festival
1023:
967:Films scored by Tomandandy
937:American independent films
927:Mexican multilingual films
897:2008 science fiction films
153:January 19, 2008
982:Mexican independent films
977:Films about privatization
863:
854:
844:
839:
773:. Duke University Press.
550:"Interview - Alex Rivera"
388:2008 Berlin Film Festival
26:
932:Films about telepresence
892:2008 multilingual films
487:, she points out that “
33:Promotional film poster
987:2008 independent films
957:Films set in San Diego
687:10.2979/chiricu.1.1.07
671:10.2979/chiricu.1.1.07
419:Kenneth Turan, of the
163:Sundance Film Festival
962:Films set in Colombia
644:The Los Angeles Times
376:Alfred P. Sloan Prize
217:is a 2008 futuristic
992:2000s American films
952:Films set in Tijuana
475:contends. The other
219:science fiction film
997:2000s Mexican films
972:Films about drones
714:The New York Times
625:The New York Times
408:The New York Times
370:The movie won the
139:Maya Entertainment
72:Luis Fernando Peña
16:2008 American film
875:
874:
864:Succeeded by
780:978-0-8223-7301-8
422:Los Angeles Times
292:
291:
284:
210:
209:
99:Jeffrey M. Werner
1014:
845:Preceded by
837:
811:
810:
808:Official website
793:
792:
766:
760:
759:
757:
756:
741:
732:
731:
729:
728:
705:
699:
698:
654:
648:
647:
635:
629:
628:
616:
610:
609:
607:
600:
592:
586:
585:
583:
576:
568:
562:
561:
559:
557:
552:. Crossed Genres
548:Crossed Genres.
545:
539:
531:
384:H.R. Giger Award
287:
280:
276:
273:
267:
248:
247:
240:
160:
158:
31:
19:
1022:
1021:
1017:
1016:
1015:
1013:
1012:
1011:
912:Cyberpunk films
877:
876:
871:
860:
852:
821:Rotten Tomatoes
806:
805:
802:
797:
796:
781:
768:
767:
763:
754:
752:
750:Washington Post
743:
742:
735:
726:
724:
707:
706:
702:
656:
655:
651:
637:
636:
632:
618:
617:
613:
605:
598:
594:
593:
589:
581:
574:
570:
569:
565:
555:
553:
547:
546:
542:
536:Box Office Mojo
532:
528:
523:
506:
485:Migrant Futures
477:Chicanafuturism
473:Chicanafuturism
465:Chicanafuturist
447:Chicanafuturism
439:Chicanafuturism
432:
430:Cultural impact
405:A.O. Scott, of
365:Rotten Tomatoes
358:
348:as Rudy Ramirez
342:as Luz Martínez
336:
288:
277:
271:
268:
264:help improve it
261:
249:
245:
238:
197:
187:
175:
168:
156:
154:
147:
130:
126:
119:
117:
97:
77:
73:
64:Anthony Bregman
53:
34:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1020:
1018:
1010:
1009:
1004:
999:
994:
989:
984:
979:
974:
969:
964:
959:
954:
949:
944:
939:
934:
929:
924:
919:
914:
909:
904:
899:
894:
889:
879:
878:
873:
872:
865:
862:
853:
846:
842:
841:
835:
834:
823:
812:
801:
800:External links
798:
795:
794:
779:
761:
733:
700:
649:
630:
611:
608:on 2008-06-25.
587:
584:on 2008-12-18.
563:
540:
534:Sleep Dealer,
525:
524:
522:
519:
518:
517:
512:
505:
502:
431:
428:
357:
354:
353:
352:
349:
343:
335:
332:
290:
289:
252:
250:
243:
237:
234:
208:
207:
204:
200:
199:
194:
190:
189:
184:
180:
179:
176:
173:
170:
169:
167:
166:
150:
148:
145:
142:
141:
136:
135:Distributed by
132:
131:
122:
120:
115:
112:
111:
106:
102:
101:
94:
90:
89:
86:
85:Cinematography
82:
81:
70:
66:
65:
62:
58:
57:
50:
46:
45:
40:
36:
35:
32:
24:
23:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1019:
1008:
1005:
1003:
1000:
998:
995:
993:
990:
988:
985:
983:
980:
978:
975:
973:
970:
968:
965:
963:
960:
958:
955:
953:
950:
948:
945:
943:
940:
938:
935:
933:
930:
928:
925:
923:
920:
918:
915:
913:
910:
908:
905:
903:
900:
898:
895:
893:
890:
888:
885:
884:
882:
870:
869:
859:
858:
851:
850:
843:
838:
833:
829:
828:
824:
822:
818:
817:
813:
809:
804:
803:
799:
790:
786:
782:
776:
772:
765:
762:
751:
747:
740:
738:
734:
723:
719:
715:
711:
704:
701:
696:
692:
688:
684:
680:
676:
672:
668:
665:(1): 95–105.
664:
660:
653:
650:
645:
641:
634:
631:
626:
622:
615:
612:
604:
597:
591:
588:
580:
573:
567:
564:
551:
544:
541:
538:
537:
530:
527:
520:
516:
515:Weird Fiction
513:
511:
508:
507:
503:
501:
499:
495:
490:
486:
482:
478:
474:
469:
466:
461:
456:
453:
448:
444:
440:
436:
429:
427:
424:
423:
417:
415:
410:
409:
403:
401:
397:
393:
389:
385:
381:
377:
373:
368:
366:
362:
355:
350:
347:
344:
341:
340:Leonor Varela
338:
337:
333:
331:
327:
323:
319:
315:
311:
307:
305:
299:
296:
286:
283:
275:
265:
260:
258:
251:
242:
241:
235:
233:
230:
226:
224:
220:
216:
215:
205:
201:
195:
191:
186:United States
185:
181:
177:
171:
164:
152:
151:
149:
143:
140:
137:
133:
129:
125:
121:
113:
110:
107:
103:
100:
95:
91:
87:
83:
80:
76:
75:Leonor Varela
71:
67:
63:
59:
56:
51:
47:
44:
41:
37:
30:
25:
20:
866:
855:
847:
827:Sleep Dealer
826:
816:Sleep Dealer
815:
770:
764:
753:. Retrieved
749:
725:. Retrieved
713:
703:
662:
658:
652:
643:
633:
624:
614:
603:the original
590:
579:the original
566:
554:. Retrieved
543:
535:
529:
498:Sleep Dealer
497:
494:Sleep Dealer
493:
489:Sleep Dealer
488:
484:
470:
460:Sleep Dealer
459:
457:
452:maquiladoras
443:Afrofuturism
435:Sleep Dealer
434:
433:
420:
418:
406:
404:
369:
361:Sleep Dealer
360:
359:
346:Jacob Vargas
328:
324:
320:
316:
312:
308:
300:
295:Sleep Dealer
294:
293:
278:
269:
254:
229:Sleep Dealer
228:
227:
221:directed by
214:Sleep Dealer
213:
212:
211:
174:Running time
146:Release date
128:This is that
124:Likely Story
88:Lisa Rinzler
79:Jacob Vargas
22:Sleep Dealer
849:Dark Matter
481:Aimee Bahng
223:Alex Rivera
96:Alex Rivera
61:Produced by
55:David Riker
52:Alex Rivera
43:Alex Rivera
39:Directed by
887:2008 films
881:Categories
755:2020-05-05
727:2020-05-05
556:29 October
521:References
272:April 2018
203:Box office
178:90 minutes
157:2008-01-19
116:Production
109:Tomandandy
49:Written by
789:982533289
722:0362-4331
695:151938192
679:0277-7223
402:in 2009.
398:, and an
356:Reception
206:$ 107,559
193:Languages
183:Countries
118:companies
93:Edited by
504:See also
483:’s book
105:Music by
69:Starring
840:Awards
659:Chiricú
394:at the
378:at the
262:Please
255:may be
198:English
196:Spanish
155: (
787:
777:
720:
693:
685:
677:
382:, The
374:, the
304:Oaxaca
188:Mexico
161: (
861:2008
691:S2CID
683:JSTOR
606:(PDF)
599:(PDF)
582:(PDF)
575:(PDF)
868:Adam
832:IMDb
785:OCLC
775:ISBN
718:ISSN
675:ISSN
558:2012
334:Cast
236:Plot
830:at
819:at
667:doi
883::
783:.
748:.
736:^
716:.
712:.
689:.
681:.
673:.
661:.
642:.
623:.
445:.
416:.
367:.
225:.
791:.
758:.
730:.
697:.
669::
663:1
646:.
627:.
560:.
285:)
279:(
274:)
270:(
259:.
165:)
159:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
