The first scenes of Memories of Underdevelopment is an immediate dismissal of any formal expectations the viewer might have of the film. The first sounds of the film are chaotic drum beats, furious to the point of discomfort. There are sporadic shots at askew angles of the drummers playing violently. The audience is thrust into the middle of a tumultuous, almost tribal gathering of people dancing uncontrollably. The camera is knocked into and jolted by the sweaty, trance-like people surrounding it. At this point the camera and viewer assume each other's positions and seem to become one. "...the audiences identification with an actor is really an identification witht he camera. Consequently the audience takes the position of the camera. (Benjamin 1984 228)". Directly amid all the commotion, the viewer is made to feel claustrophobic and uncomfortable. At points some of the surrounding people even look directly into the camera, causing the viewer to feel invaded while at the same time feeling like an invader. At the peak of the audience's discomfort, Alea introduces various shots of Sergio, the film's protagonist. Sergio appears different from the rest. Physically he is light-skinned, appearing almost European. He seems to be as lost and confused as the viwer feels, creating an immediate connection. The audience identifies with Sergio, and this is Alea's way of establishing an important relationship between Sergio and the viewer. All of a sudden there are gunshots. One person is dead. There is no apparent change in the mood of the people. The drum beats continue.
This first scene is one of the most important of the film. In a very documentary-like manner, Alea is introducing his audience to the reality of Cuba. The viewer is meant to feel uncomfortable. alea is informing the audience in the raw honesty of a documentary that the reality of Cuba is not aesthetically or emotionally pleasing. It is confused, furious, and chaotic and Alea is insisting that the audience will feel this fully throughout the film. Sergio's awkward presence in the scene is Alea's introduction of the viewer to its partner throughout the observation of Cuba. Sergio will be showing the audience the grotesque pulse of Cuba. He relates to the viewer as a guide and a critic in the midst of a Cuba outsiders rarely see. In an interview with Julianne Burton, Alea described this relationship between Sergio and the audience. "The film plays with this identification, trying to ensure that the viewer at first identifies with [Sergio], despite his conventionality and his commitment to bourgeois ideology (Gutierrez Alea, Burton 119)".