Since the online release of Society of the Snow on Netflix, the movie has gathered recognition worldwide, going as far as being nominated for two Oscars (Best International Feature, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling). The movie follows the true story of a Uruguayan flight that crashes in the Middle of the Andes and the harrowing journey that the survivors faced. This recognition of the event has been significant for the Latino community as it brings attention to our cultural history—in this case, Uruguay— and opens the door for more exposure to Latin American films.
Sadly, the miracle and tragedy that is Society of the Snow are being overshadowed by the romanticization that young girls and even adult women have towards this movie and the actors.
I have seen people speak of this movie and only mention how hot the actors are, or how “Society of the Snow is my Roman empire.”
To call a film that portrays in the most realistic aspect possible the horrors these men and women went through a “Roman Empire” is simply disrespectful. This movie is not just another one with hot actors that will flood your “For You Page” with thirst trap edits, or edits with sad songs behind them, but a movie that shares a story that is still spoken about and remembered in Latin America.
Only a few of the survivors have consented to share their stories. Some were never able to meet the families of the victims in shame of what the situation forced them to do (eat their friends), not to mention the survivors’ guilt that has followed them for more than 50 years.
This film took a decade to be produced because the director wanted to share the stories of each person who was inside that plane. It was not made for people to romanticize this situation and reduce such a heartbreaking story into, “all the actors are so hot,” as another girl stated once a conversation about the movie came up.
We should not reduce the value of Society of the Snow to the attractiveness of the cast; yes, Enzo Vogrincic is an extremely attractive man, and his portrayal of Numa Turcatti was mesmerizing, but it should not be all that’s spoken about when it comes to the movie.
Instead, talk about how reporters shamed the survivors for having to participate in cannibalism, talk about the fact that the family of one of the victims believed their son had survived, and traveled from Uruguay to Chile just to discover he was never alive. Talk about the differences between the movie and the book, how not all survivors left on the same day the helicopter arrived, and had to spend another day in the mountains. How one of the rescuers was so afraid of being eaten by the survivors when he had to spend the night with them; he didn’t sleep at all that night. Or most importantly, how this entire plane crash happened due to the negligence and mistakes of the pilot.
There is so much to learn and converse about when it comes to this miracle that’s being lost to the romanticization of the actors and the events portrayed in this film. That being said, please be respectful of the history of other countries, and of the tragedies that took place in them. Just because you didn’t grow up knowing about what happened doesn’t mean it allows you to be disrespectful about what still haunts families to this day.
It is undeniable that the cast of Society of the Snow are all very talented and handsome men. The moment the movie appeared on the ‘Top 10 Movies’ on Netflix, a variety of edits of the actors started infiltrating TikTok’s For You Page. This wouldn’t be an issue (in fact, it’s something that has been happening to most TV shows/movies for a long time) were it not for the people romanticizing the tragedy, going as far as to write fanfiction about Y/N and a victim/survivor of this story as they “fall in love” during those months at the mountains. These attitudes become sickening and disrespectful to not only the survivors and the families of the victims but to the country of Uruguay and the entirety of Latin America.