Sasha Sumner

Alas, Bullets – The Chiquita Banana Story (1:30mins)

In English, the word ‘Alas’ is a declaration of despair (most well-known in Shakespeare’s play of Hamlet), but when a ‘B’ is added in Spanish the word means ‘Bullets’.  The simple play on words suggests an uneasy international relationship.  The implication is that US owned banana companies have exploited third world workers and have financially backed the paramilitary violence committed against innocent peoples.
In the US we eat bananas but we don’t know where they come from.  The general population has no knowledge of the history of violence or the relationship between these countries.