Examining Chicana/os in Media through Gun Hill Road Latino and Latina representation in film and media is scant and when represented they usually fall into narrow categories. Latino men find themselves stereotyped as a highly sexualized Latin Lover, a treacherous criminal, or the violent macho (Alcalde, 2014). In Addition to being type-cast, Latinos are also more likely to be depicted as having a lower social status, lower intelligence and heavy accents (Schmader, Block, & Lickel, 2015) The film Gun Hill Road, presents at face value, the classic macho criminal, with the character Enrique. However, Enrique’s representation as a Latino male is called into question on multiple fronts: he has failed to be there for his family due to his being in prison and his “son” has adopted a female identity in his absence. Typical media representation of Latino masculinity is confronted in …show more content…
The trailer presents scenes of escalating tension between Michael and Enrique, that culminates with with Enrique finally acting on his discomfort and perceived betrayal by roughly shearing off Micheal’s long hair. By robbing Micheal of her hair he attempts to force her back into gender conforming behaviors and into the role of a son. With this act he also asserts his role as the dominant patriarchal figure. The hegemonic and Latino construction of masculinity are typically ones of subordination of women, which is typified by the Macho who defends his masculinity and views through violence. This construction thus encourages violence against women who challenge their idea of masculinity, as well as men that do not embody the ideal of the dominant heterosexual male (Alcalde, 2014). Enrique’s actions stem from his understanding of masculinity, Michael is violating what Enrique thinks a son should be, so he tries to subvert this behavior by destroying the symbol of her gender violation: her
Within each book, it questions the message of “culture and gender” (Louelí, “An Interpretive Assessment of Chicano Literature and Criticism”). Clearly, positive figures influenced how the Chicano community acted then and now. Rudolfo Anaya and other Chicano writers
The stories of Junot Diaz feature various elements of social and personal issues that are highly prevalent in young Latinx men, primarily the compulsion and adverse effect of machismo, the poignancy of being an outcast in one’s community, and the lack of a father figure in a boy’s life. The first set of short stories prominently feature Ysrael, a Dominican boy whose face was disfigured by a pig when he was an infant. In “Ysrael”, he is the object of Yunior’s fascination, and the victim or Rafa’s (Yunior’s brother) torment.
The Bronze Screen introduced both positive and negative portrayals of Latinas and Latinos in film. While there are plenty of positive Latino roles in films, Latinos and Latinas should be included in more positive roles because the negative roles Latinos have in films cause negative stereotypes. Positive and negative representations of Latinos in films has always fluctuated throughout history, however the more negative ones seem to always overpower the good ones. The film, “The Bronze Screen”, gave many examples of the negative roles Latinos played in films throughout film history. Early films included Latino actors, however they did not always have a lead role or even a positive one.
Released September 29, 1950, Sunset Boulevard is a film noir of a forgotten silent film star, Norma Desmond, that dreams of a comeback and an unsuccessful screenwriter, Joe Gillis, working together. Ultimately an uncomfortable relationship evolves between Norma and Joe that Joe does not want a part of. Sunset Boulevard starts off with an establishing shot from a high angle shot with a narrative leading to a crime scene shot in long shot (a dead body is found floating in a pool). The narrative throughout the film established a formalist film. Cinematography John F. Seitz used lighting and camera angles in such a way to create a loneliness and hopefulness atmosphere.
Many stories embody the cultural aspects of Mexican-Americans and their struggles with living in a discriminatory society. Stories like With
Mise-en-scéne is crucial to classical Hollywood as it defined an era ‘that in its primary sense and effect, shows us something; it is a means of display. ' (Martin 2014, p.XV). Billy Wilder 's Sunset Boulevard (Wilder 1950) will be analysed and explored with its techniques and styles of mise-en-scéne and how this aspect of filmmaking establishes together as a cohesive whole with the narrative themes as classical Hollywood storytelling. Features of the film 's sense of space and time, setting, motifs, characters, and character goals will be explored and how they affect the characterisation, structure, and three-act organisation.
The changes that need to happen must come from the readers that see how gender bias, manifested through the lenses of machismo affect the life of Rafael Torro and those around
The immigrants entering the United States throughout its history have always had a profound effect on American culture. However, the identity of immigrant groups has been fundamentally challenged and shaped as they attempt to integrate into U.S. society. The influx of Mexicans into the United States has become a controversial political issue that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their cultural themes and sense of identity. The film Mi Familia (or My Family) covers the journey and experiences of one Mexican-American (or “Chicano”) family from Mexico as they start a new life in the United States. Throughout the course of the film, the same essential conflicts and themes that epitomize Chicano identity in other works of literature
From our previous film showing, High Noon, we got a taste of how the Western genre portrayed Chicano/a characters. The late 1970’s saw a decline of the western, and “with the decline of the filmic western came the rise of the urban violence film” (Cortés 134). The 1980’s and 90’s saw film after film released portraying gang violence, and the Latino gang film was a “natural crossroads for sex, violence, and ethnicity” (Cortés 135). Some see these Latino gang members “as updated, modern variants of the Mexican bandit type” (Treviño). 1993 brought us the film Mi Vida Loca, which shows us the life of teenage Chicano/a gang members living in Echo Park, focused on the character known as Sad Girl.
Victor Rios begins chapter six by describing the way the Latino boys he studied used masculinity as a rehabilitative tool. He describes how the boys are constantly “questioning” each other’s manhood as a way of proving their own masculinity. “The boys’ social relations with one another and with community members were saturated with expressions and discourses of manhood” (pg.125). Rios continues to describe the affects criminalization and its gendered practices has influenced these young boy’s mentality of what it means to be masculine. In chapter six, the author explains that although the boys had easy access to weapons, they rarely used them because of their clear understanding the consequences associated with such violence.
In the altar’s center is “a plaster image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, quarter-life size, its brown Indian face staring down on the woman” (Paredes 23). The implication of the stare is of criticism as the Virgin, symbolic of an ideal Mexican womanhood, looks down on Marcela, whose Anglo features starkly contrast with the Virgin’s, and whose actions are in opposition to the values that she represents. This carefully constructed scene is meaningful. Marcela’s lifeless body lies between the bed and the altar, and opposite to the altar is Marcela’s shrine dedicated to Hollywood movie stars. These are the visual images of the opposing forces that characterize the Mexican-American struggle for resistance against American cultural hegemony.
“The common denominator all Latinos have is that we want some respect. That 's what we 're all fighting for” - Cristina Saralegui. Judith Ortiz Cofer published the article, “The Myth of the Latin Woman,” where she expresses her anger towards stereotypes, inequality, and degradation of Latin Americans. Cofer explains the origins of these perceived views and proceeds to empower Latin American women to champion over them. Cofer establishes her credibility as a Latin American woman with personal anecdotes that emphasize her frustration of the unfair depiction of Latinos in society.
According to a study conducted by National Hispanic Media Coalition shows that people who watch entertainment or news programs about Latinos that convey negative images hold the most unfavorable and hostile views” towards them. The study also showed that even the people who are inclined “to hold positive views about Hispanics are adversely influenced when exposed to negative media images.” In addition to this we rarely see Latinos playing a leading role in a film or tv show where we can see them being portrayed positively and even though there are character who are beginning to break the stereotypes there is still a long
I chose this film because it showed how hard the union workers and families worked in fighting racial injustices, and because it inspired myself to move forward with strong ideologies and pride. 2. Stereotyping in mass media was an important concern of Chicana/o media activists because it imprinted a demeaning label by only casting Chicana/o actors with "minor roles: villains, sidekicks, temptresses, where their main function is to provide the protagonists, typically a handsome white
“Hacksaw Ridge”: the Film Review Hacksaw Ridge is a war drama based on documentary materials; it was directed by Mel Gibson and first demonstrated in 2016. The film tells story of Desmond Doss, a man with difficult fate. The character does not want to interact with weapons because of his faith and negative previous family experience, like an assault on his brother with a brick or an attempted assassination of own father, which hit his wife, Desmond’s mother. But Doss decided to join the army despite of his believes; the main part of plot happened in Japan in 1945. His refusal of weapons’ usage created contentious relationship with officers and fellow soldier; Doss even fell for tribunal, but was saved by his father, who participated in the Great War.