I’ve received a few emails touching on an issue that I thought would make for an interesting series of entries. The issue can be summed up with one statement, “Loca is not a role model”. Before I address this issue I thought it would be interesting to see if I could find the ideal Latina role model on public television. Being that I’m limited to a blog entry, I narrowed the experiment to characters and not actresses, after all LittleLoca is a character too.
Here’s what I found:
A. From “My Name is Earl”, Catalina is an illegal immigrant, that works as a maid for a cheap motel. In this photo, she’s working as an exotic dancer. Summation; Catalina is the hot sex vixen. Show producers are Greg Garcia, Marc Buckland and Bobby Bowman.
B. From “Desperate Housewives”, Gabriella Solis is a divorced, self-centered, adulterer. Summation; Gabriella is the hot sex vixen. The show creator is Marc Cherry.
C. From “Ugly Betty”, Betty Suarez, is a sweet, intelligent and hard-working assistant. Summation; Betty is the oversized peg in the petite round hole in the fashion industry. The show creators are Salma Hayek, Silvio Horta, Ben Silverman, Jose Tamez, James Haymanand and Marco Pennette.
D. From “Grey’s Anatomy”, Callie Torres is an orthopedic doctor. Summation; Callie is passionate, intelligent and dedicated to her profession. The show creator is Shonda Rhimes.
E. From “American Family”. I believe the show it is no longer on air.
F. From “George Lopez Show” the females are as follows: Benny, George’s mother, is a loud mouth, obnoxious mother that drinks, smoke and curses. Angie Lopez is a bit of a bubblehead and dresses in tight clothing. Show creators are Bruce Helford, Deborah Oppenheimer, Robert Borden and Sandra Bullock.
After going through the list, based on the criteria that is placed on the Loca character, all these Latina characters, except for one, should be rejected and banished by the Latin community. Here are the guidlines I gathered from Loca detractors and applied it the characters listed above. 1. The character must be portrayed by a Latina actress or created by a Latina. 2. The character should have no faults or negative behavior.
Well, as you can see that leaves one character, Betty Suarez from Ugly Betty. Here you go ladies, your role model; the image that society buys, embraces and projects across half the world. It’s hard to argue against the success of the show. It is one of the most successful show across Latin countries, as well as being Emmy worthy here in the states. I’m being political correct here by excusing the ugliness as a fault, after all Betty is a cute, ugly, if there is such a thing. For my taste, I think the show’s environment is cartoonish, the characters are cliché’s and the storylines are too over-the-top to make the characters believable and realistic. But then again, I'm not Latina so my I'm probably not the intended demographic for this show, and the show is not designed to retain my interest.
For my liking, I think there’s a better role model than Betty but I had to dismiss her according to the criteria. I’ll have to tell you who she is in my next entry. Until then, I invite you to watch and examine these characters and ask yourself, do I think these characters are role models? Are they stereotypical or not? Are they racial or not? If they are role models (like Ugly Betty), do Latinas pay attention and learn from them? If they are detrimental then why aren’t they being bashed like LittleLoca? Of course you know I have an opinion on these questions, and I promise I’ll try to be “ugly” with them.
Happy TV watching!
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4 comments:
I was going to start this out with something very Loud, sarcastic and vindictive. But the better angels of my nature have taken over at this point… And being censored sucks! And I know you are not above that….
Should there be more Latino Directors to reflect the society of AMERICA if not only California? Hmmm YES... Does that mean that the Latino actors that are out there should not work for White Directors when the roles occur... NO! This argument is so sophomoric its embarrassing. I am embarrassed for you.
If you want to make Little Loca the poster child for the Chola community in LA by all means just do it and quit bitching about it. Take a stand with pride and shout it from the roof tops how happy you are about making this choice and how amazing the choice is... If you want to say it is ok for people to portray other people of different colors anyway that they desire so long as they can somehow prove that they are intelligent and good dancers, just do it...
But THATS NOT what you want... you want to be able to call it Art and not have anyone say anything to you at all about it... You may even want them to congratulate you on your accomplishment.
The only problem with that is the sound of this response... It keeps ringing in your ears and twanging your gut with a feeling... What is that Feeling?
It is the feeling you get when you thought you were eating tamales with red Chile inside and instead you got a sweet tamale with raisins in it. And as we all know raisins should not be put in tamales. Unless you warn the people that are going to eat them that there are raisins inside. Because the sweetness of the raisins can catch you off guard and even make you sick a little its sweet yeah but something wrong. Not to mention the fact that there are many Latinos who are allergic to raisins... All in all a disgusting dried fruit anyway.. Still… That’s the feeling you get.
ANd what do you hear? You hear a sound that does not ring true... Its the same sound Latinos hear when they watch the shows you mentioned. Why doesn't it ring true? Because its like all the pieces are set in the right places and check mate is inevitable but player who's turn it is cannot see the move. He cannot make the final Mate... Instead he opts for a stalemate which the Latinos gladly accept. Meanwhile everyone cheers and pats him on the back and tells him "that was a wonderful show you put on." While the Latinos sit around scratching their heads wondering why in the world didn't they do the move. Well maybe that’s a bad analogy but the point should be clear. Fake is Fake! If you want to point to a Latina Role model most Latinos never have to go further than their own Mother... Maybe some of us come from broken homes.. And mama sucks dick on the weekends and sells drugs on the corner... At least she loves us though...
Being caught up with media because it plays such a vital role in America distributing information I can see how APATHETIC it all seems for the Latina women. But if any Latinas read this I hope they can take solace in knowing that there are positive Latina Role models out there in the Media. Maybe they are on the News as an Anchor.. May be they hold the Camera or do the make up or do things that not everyone sees. Or maybe they are just like Little Loca and no one ever gave them a Camcorder to make video's of themselves because camcorders are fuckin expensive and your little bother needs a new pair of chones... Either way if you watch the media looking for truth you will be let down.
I mean doesn't it seem Ironic that a white woman is playing a Latina character. And the only other Latina she knows just happens to be silent. Convenantly censored. I wonder if the back story is false and they silence her simply because she is latina... But don't get me wrong she at least IS being shown. Maybe that would fit this Latina Goddess search you are trying to do. An actrative silent latina that knows her place.
YEt still You can find truth in art. But you can’t find it when the artists of the world lose their gumption… If you are having a problem choosing a Latina champion I will give you one free of charge with no strings attached…
She will be a REAL Latina… She will be poor. She will have made thousands of errors and mistakes… She will have slept with one guy that used her and she will have sworn off them for a while… She will be getting straight F’s for not going to school. Her mother will be dead.. And her father will drink too much… She will have a sister that has a mental illness and a brother that thinks he is a rapper. But she will still have a back bone. And she will be intelligent. She will be outspoken and strong but no one will call her a loud mouth. Not at least with out a fist fight… And she will make her life what she wants and choose where she wants to go.
And she must be played by a Latina. And let the vultures decide who should direct it...
One guy said the same thing in 1 sentence..."I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" ~Peter Finch, Network
But I can't fault you on that, I'm a talker too.
First off, let me commend you for at least attempting to begin your essay in a manner that warrants response. I agree with you 100% about people not looking to the media to find the perfect role model. If we look for perfect anywhere in the physical world, we will not find it. Now, onto the meatiest point of your post, your heroine. I dare you to love her! Write a script or a book and make her real. Don't just leave her here on a blog that nobody really reads except for you, me, Robert and Paul. And PLEASE don't wait for the world to karmically create her so that you can again complain about what was missing. Outspoken and strong with no one to call her a loudmouth? Interesting! Is she a poet? A painter? How does she survive all this and what COMPELLS us to watch or care? Is she funny? Is she like you? Perfect? If not - people will inevitably call you names. "Oh, Anonymous is such a hypocrite, anonymous is holding back the Latino people, anonymous is hiding, anonymous isn't even Latino or a woman, what the heck does he know..." But no matter what, love your Latina missionary and then find someone to believe in her enough to grow your vision beyond your own limitations.
In your story about tamales the main problem is that the eater ASSUMES what he's getting will be what he wants. After so much swallowing, learn to ASK before biting or learn to make your own. But if you expect the world to stop making yucky tamales, you will continue to be dissapointed.
It seems you insist on holding to your presumptions about me, Paul and our motives for creating. For someone who has so much to say, do you never ask questions? You remind me of someone I know; all this passion inside you and it's boiling over but lacking self control (an important element in hearing or being heard). It's a hard lesson, one that I daily try to master.
Angel
By the way, Anonymous, Silent Girl is not Latina either (if you want the truth, you can find it and it will set you free).
I find it interesting that "anonymous" seems to think that all Latinos/Latinas have had the same life experiences.
My wife and I are a mixed race couple. She came to this country when she was 15 years old. Over staying a visiters visa. I met her at work and started dating her. I didn't know much Spanish, she, not much English. Somehow we communicated though because we wanted to. I thought she was the most beautiful women I had ever seen. That was 25 years ago. Her life had been hard, not speaking English and being undocumented. Her parents had split up when it was discovered that her dad had another family. Even amoung her own siblings that experiance was differant because they stayed with their father, my wife with her mother. My point is that you can't say that this is an authentic Latin character, and that one not, based on your own experiances. Everyone has had different ones.
I for one, am puzzled by the whole furor over "Little Loca". Both my wife and I think she is very funny. She reminds us of Gilda Radner's "Rosanna Rosanna Danna" of S.N.L. It was obvious that she wasn't trying to make fun of anyone. Just commenting on things. We knew that she was Anglo from the first time we saw her. Our initial response was "oh look there's a white girl pretending to be a Latina". I don't think my wife is "a traitor to her race" For enjoying Little Loca. We all need to be able to laugh at ourselves sometimes.
Try not to be so thin skinned. You can't take offence each time you think someone has slighted you. We all of us, have our own cross to bear each day. It can take many forms. We just don't know what "the other guys" cross is.
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