The movie Bread and Roses tells the story of Maya, an illegal immigrant who becomes a janitor at an office building in Los Angeles. The working conditions for Maya and the other janitors are less than ideal. Since some of the employees at her job are also illegal immigrants, the mangement takes advantage of this because they know that without a job, these people cannot survive. One day a labor acitivist, Sam, comes to Maya’s job and tries to get the janitors to unionize. This is great and all but I felt as if this movie played very much into the savior complex. It is great to want to help people rise up and better their situation. However, I think the best way is to empower these marginalized groups and allow them to make their own decisions accordingly. I feel as if this movie was more like, “I’m Sam, and we are going to do it my way.” Whether or not his way works or not, it makes him the “savior of the oppressed” and I do not think this is the best way to make a lasting change in any issue.