Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno, born Rosita Dolores Alverio is one of Latin Americas most iconic figure in show business. Through her successful career, which is still on going at the age of 85 years, Rita has been awarded every prestigious award in Hollywood. Through her success, Rita has given inspiration to Latinos who previously thought a career in Hollywood, for them, would be impossible. One such Latina, Jennifer Lopez, has told countless interviewers of how she was hugely affected by Rita’s acting in the film ‘West Side Story’."Watching this beautiful, strong Puerto Rican woman command a screen with her talent in a time when Latina women did not have every door in this industry open to them made me feel as a little girl, watching in …show more content…
Although Rita has won these esteemed awards she had to face hard times in Hollywood, as being a Latina in Hollywood came with many stereotypical and close-minded perceptions. Life for Moreno as a Latina actress was filled with typecast roles. Along with being typecasted Moreno was never given a leading lady role in a film. This was because by the time she debuted on the Hollywood screen the image of Latin Americans had been turned into a sexualized myth and thus Latinos were viewed in a stereotypical way. Therefore, the roles offered to her were typecast and a misrepresentation of a Latina woman. Moreno more than often played the role of ‘the other’ in films. This included Hollywood directors representing Moreno as different ethnicity to that of her Latina one. Moreno “played a Siamese girl from Thailand…played an Arabian girl…played a lot of American Indians… I was never able to do just A …show more content…
In an interview with The Miami Herald in 2008 Moreno explained that “Before West Side Story I was always offered the stereotypical Latina roles. The Conchita’s and Lolita’s in westerns. I was always barefoot. It was humiliating, embarrassing stuff. But I did it because there was nothing else.” Moreno played these roles because the door into acting jobs in Hollywood, for Latin Americans was, as described by Ricardo Montalban, “ajar” . Moreno had to push her way through the ‘door’ just so she could get an acting job, even if the roles she got were leaving her being represented in a stereotypical
It is also interesting to mention how in a subtle way it also portrays Vergara’s character as a “gold digger” because of her marriage with an older man. The stereotypes are still present in films and shows “although substantial improvements have occurred over the decades, in many ways these groups remain defined by a limited volume and range of representations” (Tukachinsky, Mastro & Yarchi, 2017). As mentioned before, Latinos are the second largest ethnic group in the U.S., which means the diversity that exists within the group is huge; however, the stereotypes seems to be always the
Sandra Cisneros “Never Marry a Mexican” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are stories that reflect on the cultures in which the characters grew up in. In Never Marry, Clemencia, the narrator, reflects on her past sexual relations as well as her childhood. She speaks of her parents’ marriage and then transitions into her relationship with college professor and his son. In Oscar Wao, Yunior, the narrator, gives a second-hand retelling of Oscar’s experiences in New Jersey growing up as well as in the Dominican Republic. A person’s identity is largely influenced by their culture, this is especially the case in Hispanic cultures. The social constraints that these cultures place on social class, sexuality, and gender norms can be very detrimental to a person’s self-esteem.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rex Ingram. 1921) provides us with an inaccurate portrayal of an assimilated Latino character. First and foremost, it is important to note that Julio Desnoyers (the Latino character in question) is played by Rudolph Valentino, a non-Latino. This in itself makes him seem "un-Latino" to the Hispanic audience. Also, Julio represented the prototypical Latin Lover during t...
The author highlights the Latino stereotypes and their effects on those stereotyped and on society. By carrying out a satirical tone, the author is able to manifest how Mexicans are treated; thus, achieving this through the secretary’s rejection of each character represented. The satirical tone elucidates on how people may acknowledge their own prejudices and comprehend how Mexicans feel. Through the Mexican-American character, the author makes it clearly evident of an attempt to end prejudice in itself. The author illuminates the ludicrous hypocrisy behind labeling; this play serves to help society see the injustice of their opinions and to meet their
Rodriguez views California as a reconciliation between comedy and tragedy. It is both the place where many Mexicans immigrated to and the place where Americans move to escape the constraints of society. Mexicans hoped to experience the comedy of California-where it is possible to change your sex, divorce, and become famous. Even Rodriguez’s parents moved to California, and live in a house with many telephones and televisions.
Actors and actresses, drag kings and queens have much in common. They all constantly try on new identities and project personas that onto the world. In the movie “Todo Sobre mi Madre,” the idea of authenticity is explored through the various character present in the movie. The movie touches on the idea of realness in gender projection and presentation, the notion of being out, and also transcends the standard tragic transgender character depiction. Through the usage of Judith Butler’s Imitation and Gender Insubordination I will explore the central ideas presented in the movie.
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
Latino portrayals in the media of theatre and movies have had negative affects for the Latino community but there are roles that are slowly becoming positive for their community. Not only have Latinos been portrayed negatively through stereotypes but they have also been ignored from American Media. When Latinos are actually present in different forms of media a very consistent type of Latino is portrayed. The words Hispanic and Latino already come with an image of that specific person who has dark features and an accent. When it comes to stereotyping Latinos in the media whether it be Hollywood or Broadway they tend to translate everything negatively through the roles they play. The audiences’ lack of understanding different Latino cultures allows the media to manipulate and reinforce myths on Latino communities. Rita Moreno from the film West Side Story had to overcome many stereotypes in order to achieve her fame. "Before 'West Side Story,' I was always offered the stereotypical Latina roles. The Conchitas and Lolita’s in westerns. I was always barefoot. It was humiliating, embarrassing stuff. But I did it because there was nothing else. After 'West Side Story,' it was pretty much the same thing. A lot of gang stories”
In the stories “La Migra”, “Everyone's Abuelo,” and “Sally”, we learn that many Latinos struggle with being confident in their identity because they always seem to seek acceptance from others. For example, in the story “Sally”, we read about a young Latina girl that struggles to be accepted by her peers which ultimately led to her “becoming a different Sally. [Who] pulled her skirt straight, rubbed the blue paint off her eyelids, and [stopped] smiling” (Cisneros). This quote leads us to believe that Sally wasn't confident with who she was because she changed her entire image in order to be accepted by others. This in turn, ultimately led to Sally's unhappiness because she wasn't being her true self. If she had just been comfortable in her own skin then she probably wouldn’t have been chasing after acceptance from her peers.
In an interview on Telemundo, Olmos criticized Jennifer Lopez for not being Hispanic enough. He said ‘You have to understand that the future is in your hands, and I hope you use it not only to advance who you are but also to promote what we represent, as Latino women and men. She has done a lot of things, but she has not dedicated herself to her culture, and that is the most important thing to me”. One thing I love about Edward is that he loves to express that he is Chicano. He is the idol and pride that many famous Chicanos should represent. There are many famous people who have a platform and do not really show that they are Mexican American. Edward James Olmos is not afraid to show where he comes from and that is a big recognition towards
...se, watching Moreno touch home plate is like the narrator being welcomed into the arms of the “brown people” (30). Because of his difficult home life, the narrator finds comfort and love in the midst of baseball and his Mexican culture.
White actor George Chakiris played the role of Bernardo. Although Chakiris did have features that would resemble a Latino man such as brown skin, his unnatural skin color made him look like an imitation. This also applies to Natalie Wood who played the character of Maria. Wood’s facial complexions are very different from the typical Puerto Rican. Maria and Bernardo’s facial appearances did not look very authentic. One can easily make assumptions on anyone, regardless of their race. Since the Latino race is considered to be a minority, people tend to make assumptions due to their lack of knowledge about the specific culture. Latinos are automatically considered to be people with brown skin. Due to this common assumption, the directors of the film decided to add the brown skin features. This mistake could have been easily fixed if the characters were played by true Latino actors. The artificial accents that these actors had also took away the meaning of the Puerto Rican identity. Throughout the film, the Puerto Rican characters spoke English with a heavy yet forged accent. Accents are another main stereotype that is commonly assumed among individuals who lack knowledge in other cultures. People tend to conclude that all Latinos talk with an accent because they are less educated than natural born Americans. The main goal of the
When accepting a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, Gina Rodriguez, who plays the main character in the TV show "Jane the Virgin", dedicated her award to "a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes." There are a multitude of different ways to represent immigrants in the media. While news articles tend to dehumanize immigrants and lack realistic representation of immigrants, TV shows and movies are able to give immigrants personalities and stories, without generalizing all immigrants into one category. The TV show "Jane the Virgin" follows the life of Jane Villanueva, a Latina woman living in Miami, and her close relationship with her mother and grandmother. Through the analyzation of episode sixty-one's discussion and call to attention
The movie “Selena” is based off the real life, Spanish-American singer, Selena Quintanilla. Not so well-known at the time, Jennifer Lopez had played Selena in the movie. Selena was a person full of big dreams and aspirations. From the start of a young age, she knew that one day that she will become a superstar in the music industry. She was right. Her goal was to inspire her fans through her Spanish-American music. It took time and dedication to get accepted into the Hispanic music world because her Spanish was unsteady, but she did it. At the age of 23, she had sadly left her mark in the music industry because Selena’s fan club manager and close friend, Yolanda, had shot her to death. Metaphorically, this shot her dreams of continuing to be
Suaréz, Lucia M. “Julia Alvarez And The Anxiety Of Latina Representation.” Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 5.1 (2004): 117-145. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 25 Mar.2014.