As a born and raised Dominican I've grown up around the negative view the media has portrayed to the Latin community, our culture and views. Its not only dominicans who have to undergo the pressure of the media, but every hispanic nation.
For instance in the states if you speak the language Spanish you are autimatically assumed to be Mexican and an illegal immigrant. Movies have had a great deal in portraying this negative view of all Mexican's where they have tattoes, are in jail, and sell drugs like the movie the came out called "Blood in Blood out" of a group of young and old man in Prison trying to re-enstate their power as the superior to whites and blacks in jail. Regardles of the country itself if we speak the language and our apperance is hispanic we get judged as all been the same. The media portrays all the Latin guys selling drugs like Pablo Escobar from Colombia or Scarface from Cuba. Not to say these man weren't lengends but not every descendent of the Hispanic race sells, does or deal with drugs. We fear it because of the way it has damaged and corrupted our country. Not only do man have a negative reputation from the media but woman in their own way do as well.
When watching t.v and a commercial comes on promoting a new cleaning supply or a hotel laundry mat or the room a hispanic middle age woman who's chubby is portrayed as cleaning the space. We are viewed as cleaning ladies in order to make a living. For instance a huge movie with Jeniffer Lopez called " Maid in Manhattan" trully proves my point. We are not also known as that but as Sl*ts just because the younger generation has a figure and likes to show it off. We get judged on the way we dress and the way we carry ourselves. I've gone out with a bunch of my Latin freinds for a night out and we get looked at very strangely and made weird faces at.
Those are just a few of the way the media has portrayed the hispanic people. The list can go on and on with the way were viewd by the public eye, We like to drink and get drunk and we can't control it, we think were the hottest things around and we have no education because we come from the developing world, and we want to find a ruch sugar daddy to give us everything just to add a few more things.
Discussion Questions:
Is the way I perceive the media to portray my people correct or over exsaggerated? explain your answer.
Who else either then Latin people have to watch the media give their people a negative view to the public?
If you seen the movies blood in and blood out or Maid in Manhattan, did you think it was a realistic view on the Hispanic popilation?
What about them?
ReplyDeletehahahaha!!! i was trying to figure out how it worked and all of a sudden it just posted by tittle~ hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteJust something I realized about media and how it stereotypes is that almost every race has one stereotype; from your post about Latinos to the post about Muslims, even "white" people have the stereotype of having no culture. I think these stereotypes affect every culture, race and religion out there.
ReplyDeleteAlso I don’t think you see it as over exaggerated because the media over exaggerates the negative stereotypes.
1) I think you hit it spot on. I have heard many people who have joked or made up disses regarding Hispanic/Latino people (BORDER HOPPERS, IMMIGRANTS, NO EDUCATION, ETC.), but I think that these stereotypes apply to not just Latinos but to many other groups that are from developing countries. Other people view them as dirt, just because they have lived in a "perfect world" all their lives, seeing to pain, torture or problems of any kind. I think people should respect Latinos because of the things they have endured through the on going drug wars and such.
ReplyDelete2)I'm a Muslim, and I have been called a terrorist (well not directly). It is the same idea. I remember this guy once told me that I could not be Caucasian, because I was Muslim. Excuse me for the rude language but WTF?
The sad part was that me was Canadian and claimed to be Caucasian. Let me explain, Cacasia is located around Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey (some of Turkey) etc. My ancestors come from the Caucus mountains. The REAL CAUCASIA. In the end this individual who was questioning my heritage/background understood how narrow minded he was.
3) Not too sure about this one. Sorry
I hope that answered your questions. :)
he was Canadian* .....typo
ReplyDeleteThis comment is by Halimo Ghelle
ReplyDeleteI remember watching Hispanics in America, a documentary by CNN. They interviewed a Hispanics actor and I recall him saying it was difficult to get an acting role besides one that consisted of him playing the role of a cleaner or gardener (or something of that sort). I do agree that maids in movies are typically portrayed as older Latino women. Generally I don’t think you exaggerated too much in your perception of how the media portrayed Latino's, those stereotypes you mentioned definitely exist in the media. Minorities in the west are pretty much stereotyped in many ways but closer stereotypes to Latinos would be that of Blacks. Im just a bit confused as to what you meant when you said you and your friends recieved strange stares while out. Were you looked at differently just because your were latino?
Greidy, great job on getting the post up! I must agree 100% with you here, it seems that not only with hispanics, but other races/cultures contain a globe of stereotypes within them, in what the media preceives them to be. I do not think you are exaggerating at all when you are explaining how the media protrays your people because the majority of my friends happen to be of the Spanish background, and I myself, a (quarter spanish). Many of them tell me about how people sometimes protray them in public or at work, and they all match with what you have mentioned already.
ReplyDeleteHahahah!!! Jamal thnks your awesome:)proud of you too!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd what I meant was that we get harrased in the streets, parties and clubs with guys trying to get with one of us just because they perceive the Hispanic population of girls to be easy and trashy and they perceive were like that because of our backgrounds.