"The Official Story" Exercise

It is now five years after the closing scene in the movie. Alicia (the adoptive mother) and Roberto (the adoptive father) have separated. During their frequent visits, Sara (the birth grandmother) and her family have begun telling Gaby (the child) that people like Alicia, who kept their eyes shut to what was happening are nearly as responsible for what happened to her birth parents as people like Roberto, who actively cooperated and got rich from their involvement while turning a blind eye to the atrocities. As a result, Alicia has also had a falling out with her daughter's birth grandmother. All three are fighting for custody of the girl. Each of the groups listed below has to craft an argument to make to the judges, requesting a particular custody arrangement and justifying their request. The justification must include the rule or standard that should be used to decide the case and a brief argument about how the case should be decided under that rule. Pick a spokesperson to present the argument. As you write down your ideas, keep in mind the questions included below.

Group 1: Lawyers representing Alicia. Question: how might Alicia feel about sending her daughter to live with people who are going to teach her that people like Alicia and her former husband are responsible for the horrors of the repression?

Group 2: Lawyers representing Roberto. Question: how might his politics (especially how he feels about the "subversives" who died during the repression) color his attitude about who should raise his adoptive daughter?

Group 3: Lawyers from the group called Abuelas (Grandmothers) of Plaza de Mayo, who are assisting Sara (as well as many other birth grandparents who want to recover the children of disappeared sons and daughters). Question: how might the inherently political work they are doing affect their actions with respect to Sara, Gaby, Alicia and Roberto? In particular:

How would they feel if Sara wanted to cooperate with Alicia and Roberto?

How would they feel about sending the message that if you (like Alicia) just kept your eyes closed during the repression, you are an innocent victim too?

How would they feel about permitting Roberto to teach Gaby his political views?

Group 4: lawyers representing Gaby, who is now about 10. Question: how might she feel in light of the things she is learning about her father, whom she clearly loves? Who does she want to see? Who does she want to live with?

Group 5: Judges who have to sort all this out. What's your decision? Do your politics affect how you feel about the case?

Groups discuss what arguments they want to make to the judges 15 minutes
Judges circulate among the groups.

Each group gets about 5 minutes to make an argument to the judges about what they want and why they should get it. 25 minutes

Judges withdraw to make a decision. 15 minutes

The whole class discusses the decision sitting as a legislature to craft rules to guide judges in future cases.