Latin American Stereotypes

Moreover, an accurate portrayal can show a shift in how American film companies put effort into making their movies historically and culturally up to date, compared to previous American produced films that reinforced the Latin America stereotypes as seen in movies Viva Zapata! and

I do have personal experience with stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. As a Dominican I have been facing stereotypes since I was in middle school in Puerto Rico in the 80’s, people were making jokes , saying that I was an illegal immigrant even thought I migrated from my country with an legal status already established. I was a child so didn’t understand, until I begin watching the news and reading newspapers and realized that I was mistreated by others, because of the stereotype , they believe that I was just another Dominican is coming to Puerto Rico in a boat like some of them did. I was really frustrated that I just adopt the Puerto Rican accent and hide my nationality as much as I could possibly hide.

These negative portrayals of Mexicans fuels an already existing stigma. Griffin reinforces these archetypes through film and this in turn can lead to the

The Latina women, even throughout the era resistance cinema, have not been able to make much progress in overcoming the degrading stereotypes that Hollywood has created for them. Despite the many advances that minorities have made in the cinema in recent years, Latina actresses still take on the roles of the "dark skinned lady" and other such stereotypes with strong sexual connotations. It is often debatable whether or not the role of the Latina has undergone dramatic changes since the days of Dolores Del Rio and Carmen Miranda dancing with the fruit baskets on top of their heads. However, in recent years there has been an emphasis by various Latinas in the film industry to combat such stereotypical roles and redefine themselves

In the essay “Getting Down To What Is Really Real,” John Jeremiah Sullivan discusses the reality TV show “The Real World”. In his essay, Sullivan gives us an inside experience with the main stars of the show in order to give us a glimpse of what their real lives are like. He argues, “the single most interesting thing about reality TV, is the way it has successfully appropriated reality”(Sullivan 97). Similarly, Hispanic culture has been portrayed stereotypically in TV shows and films throughout the years. Latino characters on TV mostly take roles of maids, thugs and Latin lovers who have a heavy accent and immigration problems (Nittle). Movies like Maid In Manhattan and A Day Without A Mexican have represented these stereotypes quite clearly, and that sadly reflects how people see them. However, most recently, the TV show Jane The Virgin is applying a more complex and realistic depiction of Hispanic characters by breaking these stereotypes.

In a diverse society, America is home to many types of people, whose beliefs and experiences may arise conflict among the races. To diminish discrimination and show that there is a connection that unites each and every individual, films offer a different perspective of the lives of whom may be misunderstood and enable audiences to discover that others live under similar circumstances as themselves. How might the depiction of 21st century Latino immigrants be compared to that of 19th century southern slaves in feature films? Time nor race is a boundary that can stop two groups from relating to each other, such is the case with African-American slaves and today’s immigrants in the U.S. Like slaves, most immigrants work for a low wage in plantations, both these two group’s motives are also similar: the struggle for freedom. One

Stereotypes are uneducated opinions towards a certain group, most commonly used within races, skin colors, and cultures. Stereotypes are usually from a majority group towards a minority group. Most of us do not think about it much but, Stereotypes are in our everyday lives, and everyone has taken part of a stereotype, either they have been the one stereotyping or they have been the victim of a stereotype and has been stereotyped. Throughout my life, I have heard a lot of stereotypes towards my kind, and more than likely it is always a negative stereotype. Some stereotypes through time die-off but as they die-off, new stereotypes flood or society. I am a minority, I am Mexican-American and classify myself and embrace myself as one. The stereotype that I have experienced the most is that all Mexicans are unintelligent delinquents. The stereotype of Mexicans being unintelligent and lazy was influenced by the media. Media sources in our lives skew the way we judge people. This stereotype may be taken lightly by everyone who iterates it but what is not taken into account is the effect this stereotype has in the community for those of us that are Mexican. It has a negative impact on my community, I noticed that the negative effect of this stereotype starts by influencing a couple of individuals and then expands to the community as a whole. The stereotype that Mexicans are these unintelligent delinquents gets planted in our heads at a young age and that affects the way some of

“He’s a young Latino what is he doing in this neighborhood? he must be lost, he has to be poor.” that’s just one of the stereotypes I hear often. “Hispanic people are poor” When in fact most Hispanics are well off. Yet repeatedly I have heard that stereotype in movies, songs, shows, and school. I have been through this many times as I have lived up through 19 years of existence. Its something that I have gotten accustomed too.

Have you ever had a loved one deported? Thousands of Central Latin American families have been deported. These families have crossed over for a new start, hoping to pursuit a better life for their children. Last year the Immigration and Custom Enforcements got a hold of 72,000 deportations of parents who claimed to have U.S born children. I do not believe people should be deported because it causes families to be separated, kids grow up without their parents, and it causes emotional distress for everyone.

Hispanics or Latinos are persons residing in the US who descended from a Spanish speaking country of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. The population listed in the US under the term "Hispanic or Latino" is very significant; 17% of the total population in the U.S, so its presence in the mass media is notorious and important. Further Hispanic or Latino ethnic group are the second fastest growing in the entire US population, behind Asians. According to the demographic projections of the Census Bureau, in 2060 the Latino population will reach 31% of the US population.

Hollywood does not portray Latinos very often and when it does, it typically presents them in a predictable and unfavorable way. Latinas have always been stereotyped as loud, curvaceous sex symbols. Latinas should be known for their acting skills not for being trophy wives and having amazing bodies. Hollywood shouldn’t have the media believe that all Latinas are the same when in fact they are all different. Latinas should be offered roles that have a positive impact not only in the Latin community but in Hollywood as well.

Being Latina hasn’t always been easy. At first I really struggle with being able to accept myself and not caring what others are saying. I was always told that my loudness comes from being Latina but actually that is just how my personality is. I was always told that my skin, hair, and eyes were always too light to look like a Latina. I was always told that I didn’t fit the “normal” girl image because I was too curvy…because I was a Latina. After time all these different stereotypes took over my mind and everything that I would do or say was beginning to be dictated by this. They would tell me all these lies day after day and as time passed I would believe more and more of what they would say to the point were I wouldn’t even think for myself.

As a catalyst for economic improvement, the United States would use Hollywood as a tool to focus its objective in trying to win over the South and Central Americans support. For that reason, the "U.S. film producers thought that by making "Latin" films they would appeal automatically to financially attractive Latin audiences, but the films created according to this naive premise reduce the different South and Central American countries to an homogenization" (Roberts 8). Hollywood failed to meet expectations from these countries due to the misunderstanding and lack of appreciation for Latin culture. The homogenization of Latin culture and people undercuts the already established cultural and ethnic differences seen within the Latin community. For example, Miranda's "foreign accent is emphasized by comic malapropisms and mispronunciations of English, suggesting that foreigners are incapable of good English and, by extension, promoting a "primitive," ignorant stereotype" that leads to false misrepresentation of Latin people (Roberts 11). Her lack of proper English pronunciation further supports the claim in the mainstream narrative that not all people of color can speak English

Rarely do we see Romantic comedies in which the “fiery latina” is the one to find love, and even less often to we see Native American women playing substantial roles in these types of films. These limitations sustain and perpetuate the belief that white women are more desireable as significant others than women of color, and these beliefs actually have real-world consequences. Because of lack of representation in the media, women of color are much more likely to experience abuse and sexual assault than white women and are often seen as less desireable to hire for certain roles, even if the character was initially meant to be a woman of color, therefore whitewashing Hollywood and making it that much more difficult for women of color to survive in the film

Movies have depicted Hispanics as humorous buffoons, lazy peasants, and vicious bandits. The Hollywood motion pictures seem to ignore the positive impact of Hispanics to the American culture and life. The directors cast Mexicans for the roles of vile screen villains who rob, murder, cheat, gamble, among other vices. The films also show Hispanic women as temptresses or senioritas, which translates into dependent, unintelligent, feeble, and passive individuals.