I watched the 1989 film Do the Right Thing produced, written and directed by Spike Lee. As the movie progressed, I identified with the character Tina because she too was a Puerto Rican. I did not realize that my ethnic identity was so salient but this makes sense because it is something you are faced with every day. By this I mean, some social identities can be changeable such as one’s religious preference, but someone's ethnicity cannot. Growing up, I constantly heard Spanish being spoken in my home, I noticed my meals were different than my friends, and cultural aspects such as a tight knit family were very familiar to me. All of these characteristics led to the development of my identity and thus why I can relate to Tina’s character. For …show more content…
Pino then rebuttals that they are different because they are more than just black and that they are not really black. According to Janet E. Holmes, Pino’s white racial identity could be classified as in the contact status, meaning he is unaware of his racism. He embraced the black stereotype as someone who is ghetto, troublesome and on the streets so when Pino sees black people who do not fit this stereotype, he convinces himself that they are different than the ‘regular’ black person. This internalization of a negative stereotype on black people, shows just how ignorant Pino is of his own …show more content…
In the film, Tina (the Latina) plays the love interest of the main character Mookie. Together, they had a child in which he does not care for often which leaves her very angry. However, when Mookie arrives in her home, he immediately tells her to take her clothes off, and after one protest she complies. In media, the stereotype for the Latina is that she is sexy, fierce, and loud - this movie did not portray the Latina any differently. Perhaps it was out of context for this type of movie, but in general I wish there was more representation of Latinas in different roles. Growing up, I have never seen a Latina in the fields of academia, medicine, business or anything except for housekeeping, which can be discouraging to a girl’s self-esteem. The Latina women I have been exposed to were all known for their looks or assets and not their personal talents. For instance, Sofia Vergara often plays the ‘spicy’ Latina and most people acknowledge her for her beauty and not her acting. While this may not be entirely negative, it still only portrays a slim view of what Latinas are and what they do or stand for. While the issue on the surface may be that Latinas are hypersexualized, the deeper implications are that placing a label to define Latinas under one category limits their abilities and fails to acknowledge the variations of all the different Latina
Spike Lee was the director and producer of the 1989 movie “Do the right thing”. Do the right thing is a movie about a boy name Mookie (Spike Lee) that lives in a black and Puerto Rican neighborhood in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with his sister name Jade. He works at Sal’s Famous Pizzeria, which is owned by an Italian-American owner who has owned it for 25 years, name Salvatore “Sal” Frangione. Sal has two son, Pino and Vito, and his oldest son known as Pino is a racist and detests the place likes a sickness” and holds many racial scorn for all the blacks in that community. Do the right thing is an ordinary film that pro different cultural meaning behind it and deals with mostly with racism between Blacks and other groups;
For my shot analysis I chose a shot from the Spike Lee Movie Do the Right Thing. This is the second shot following the climactic riot scene. It features Da’ Mayor and Mother Sister reacting to the hellacious events of the previous night. The block was just devastated by a melee that broke out because the police killed Radio Raheem after he and Sal got in an altercation that was triggered by the volume of Radio Raheem’s boom box. Though at a very superficial level the fight was about the loud stereo, the real significance of the fight had more to do with the culmination of anger and tension between the characters of the film caused by prejudice and ignorance. This paper will analyze this shot from a technical standpoint.
As showed in the film, Latino American often misrepresented and underrepresented both in front of and under the camera. American Hispanic often portrayed as lazy, unintelligent, greasy and criminal. Hispanic women often pictured comfortable sexuality as prostitution in film production; while Hispanic actors limit to criminal characters such as drug dealers, gangster, and provide the power for the white American. Audiences have less interaction with Latino in their real world might be easily framed by media images regarding the race and ethnicity. The lack of Hispanic history and culture understanding allows these media portrayals to change and form unfavorable behavior and attitude against Latino communities.
Latino women in Hollywood films are often portrayed as stereotypical submissive characters. A submissive female character is usually the nurturing figure in a household - she can be found doing the interior housework, teaching the children in their homes, and doing as she is told, no matter what the task at hand is because she just wants to please the person that they deem as authority. Jennifer Lopez’s character, Marisa Ventura, in Maid in Manhattan can be read as a perpetuation of this common female stereotype; in this film she embodies a lowly and inferior female character in her both in her physical stature and her actions towards her male counterpart, Chris Marshall. By making this female protagonist a Latina Cinderella, being swept off
All through time, the world has been racist and intolerant of people different from themselves. Countless millions have suffered due to the bigotry of people that couldn't understand change or differences among one another. There was a time when any soul that wasn't blue eyed and blonde haired in Germany, anyone with darker skin where immediately classed as inferior and not human. Even now, when you are not aware, racism is still a considerable problem. But sometimes it isn't one person being racist against another, but rather one person being racist against them self. The movie crash shows good examples of how racism against oneself, caused by fear and misunderstanding, is just as malevolent and evil as racism against another person. Fear is what makes people act racist. Farhad is one of many examples in the movie of a person who recognizes his own race and paralyzes himself through his own fear. Farhad believes that since he is Persian he is immediately being persecuted against and cheated. He flips out at the gun shop when the owner was insulting him which just furthers his fear of Americans. After the events on 9/11, which are referenced a lot in the movie, Farhad thinks that anyone who is Middle Eastern isn't welcome in America. Even after the gun shop owner was rude; his shop was destroyed by racist people who hated him. It is this same fear of being cheated because of his race that makes him very untrusting to people he doesn't know. He calls a lock smith to come fix his door because it won't lock. He immediately thinks that Daniel is trying to cheat him and steal money from him just because of his past endeavors.
Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks” (71). All these objects listed by McIntosh are things I have access to and certainly take for granted. Due to a history of non-white racial oppression, which transformed into decades of racial discrimination that still lingers today, the white race has dominated our society in terms of resources and prosperity. The ideas of wealth, higher-level education and ambition to succeed are all traits commonly linked to people of the white race that collectively define privilege. The aspect of privilege can also produce disadvantages for people of the white race as well. In the book Promoting Diversity and Justice, the author D. Goodman notes that people of advantage groups develop a sense of superiority, which will sometimes lead them to wonder if, “their achievements were based on privilege or merit” (107). Along with a diminished sense of accomplishment, the cost ...
Some stereotypes of Latinas are housemaids, house cleaner, Mexicans. Alicia Machado was Miss Universe in 1996, “Trump to ask Machado and Miss Universe staff -- who Machado said were often aghast -- 'who she thought she was, ' on multiple occasions. In both angry conversations and casual ones, Trump referred to Machado as Miss Piggy, Miss Housekeeper,’ and Miss Housekeeping,’ who should know her place and do as she was told. He said it to her face. And he said it to Miss Universe staff” (CNN Politics by Daniel Diaz) it interferes with Latinas identity. Latina actresses take on roles of being maids or being minor roles, for example, in Family guy Consuela is a house cleaner who cleans everyone houses she is portrayed as a an middle age Mexican women that can 't not speak English and speaks broken English she called everyone “Mr.” and “Mrs.” and uses incorrect sentences always wears a uniform and rubber cleaning gloves and spends most of her time asking for “Le-mohn Pledge” while walking around spraying everything with Windex she seen as stereotypical Latina housemaid. In one episode, the Griffin family’s youngest son Stewie Griffin (the talking baby) accuses Consuela of stealing his play money (with yet another stereotype that all maids are thieves. Not just Hispanic women portrayed horribly, but black women even in the media are portrayed negatively they are given names as Baby Mamas, Gold
Latina women have long been known for their passion, their sexuality, and their skills in housekeeping. It's a lucky man that finds himself married to a Latina: her fiery personality will never prove boring, and the house will always be spotless! Never mind that this isn't necessarily true, this is how they've been portrayed by television programs, radio, and word of mouth, so there must be something to it, right? Stereotypes often occur out of ignorance, be it for another group’s style, traditions, or history. If there's a way to group people, there's a stereotype pertaining to them, and stereotypes can provide a sharper cut than any blade. Three examples of this follow: the first cut targets a sole Latina, next, a slice into Irish ideals, and finally, a brutal stab into the heart of the Mexican perspective.
In the quietness of unfair racial discrimination lurked an unquestionable desire to taste the realities of justice, fairness, and freedom. African-Americans were alienated and divided in a way that forced them to lose the essence of they were as a collective body. An identity was ascribed that presented African-Americans an imbecilic and inferior race. They were given an undesirable identity; one encased in oppression. Webster dictionary defines identity as the “condition or character as to who a person is.” Without having a sense of identity, the true nature of the person is lost. The African-American was lost in America. They were forced to assimilate with the masses, assuming their identity and culture while shedding their own. This is a dangerous state of existence; an existence marked with mockery and shame. Nothing can be worse than loathing of self. Questioning why your skin is so dark, why your hair is a different texture, why your nose is so broad and your lips so full. When looking in the mirror the reflection glaring back was one filled with anger and despair. This was the collective mindset of many blacks as the result of continued confrontation with “irrational prejudice and systemic economic exploitation.” In response to this continued subjugation, black advocates declared a quest for “their own liberation by rhetorically constructing an ideology with a new collective identity for themselves.” An identity addressing black “ideological alienation” while focusing on black solidarity and nationalism. The historical analysis of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. presents multiple perspectives concerning his philosophical outlook on black identity. These perspectives ignite a creative dialogue between the past ...
Judith Ortiz Cofer, a professor of english and creative writing, tackles gender roles as well as cultural stereotypes in “ The Myth of the Latin Woman” and challenges them by attempting to replace the stereotypes with the realities. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman” Cofer discusses her life in America as a Puerto Rican woman. She also shares her stories of when she was stereotyped and how gender roles play a role in how Latinos are viewed. Stereotypes will follow you around because of your appearance and how the media portrays Latinas.
...of mixing the cultures and the identities of women. Her voice is what emphasizes the article to show how the goal is to redistribute the language and culture not criticizing the “New World”. This is what affects our future as a whole and challenges us to be “bridge the gap between marginal Latino/a culture and the American mainstream.” If society does not at least try to blend together, then it will cause into a huge war that possibly could never end. Just being that woman to show her passion and influence, can cause a great impact and force this world to acknowledge we all are the same.
What color are nationality are you? It’s a question that is often asked in many cultures within our society. Many people tend to think that if someone looks like they are black then they are black. The movie, Skin, has opened my eyes even more to this misconception that one is simply defined by the color of their skin.
It is unfortunate that intolerance continues to exist in our nation (or anywhere else for that matter). Racism, one of the largest and most prevalent forms of intolerance, commonly destroys relationships and can eventually lead to violence. The existence of such hateful ideologies is so prevalent in our society that popular culture is constantly trying to challenge the ignorant basis of racial conflict. Spike Lee’s film, Do the Right Thing, connects with this concept of racial conflict that is so foreign to my past. Through the application of my social and political views, I will demonstrate how the film is difficult for myself to relate to and, in my opinion, conveys a misleading message.
The article I chose is called, “Coco is the movie Latinos have been waiting for” written by Raul A. Reyes. It was published on November 28, 2017 by CNN. The article talks about the film ‘Coco’ and how it connected with the audience. As well as, the positive reactions it received due to the cultural accuracy the film represented of the Mexican culture. This film is important to society because it teaches people a different perspective about Latino culture, family, and strength. Which is important because we are currently going through a time where there is a lot of discrimination towards people who have immigrated to the United States, particularly Latinos. My purpose is to explain this article through both cultural and linguistic anthropology.
The Latino women and girls in the novel are extremely concerned about their appearances, because they feel that if they aren't attractive then they won't be noticed by men, and they are raised to believe that they need a man to fulfil their life, and that they need a husband to support them, and if they don't look attractive then they are not going to be noticed, and if they are not noticed, then they think they won't end up getting married. A good example of this is Marin. When Marin talks about a real job Marin says that the best place to work is downtown, not because of the work that is there, but because "you always get to look beautiful and were nice clothes." She also tells the girls that the only thing that matters is if your skirts are short, and your eyes are pretty, so that you are noticed by guys.