1 Lecture 5: How about some Latino stereotypes? Professor Daniel Bernardi / Professor Michelle Martinez

2 In the last lecture… Semiotics of Stereotypes Falling Down (1993) Reception of Stereotypes Ben Shahn, Conversations, 1958

3 In this lecture… Stereotypes & Story Six Latino Stereotypes Resistance is Possible –Progressive Images –Latinos Playing Latinos Dolores Del Río You can pause the lecture at any point, click on one of the hyperlinks (text that is underlined) to visit a site or view a clip, and then return to the same point in the lecture when you’re ready.

4 Stereotypes & Story Lecture 5: Part 1 Shot from Flying Down to Rio (1933)Flying Down to Rio

5 Remember Semiotic Process From Noodle Tools

6 Remember Signs of Stereotyping Image/Sign = El Bandido Traits/Signifiers = Color, Sombrero, Smirk Signified = Connotative Meanings (race, nation, morality, etc.) “A mediated stereotype, then, operates by gathering a specific set of negative traits (signifiers) and assembling them into a particular image (sign).” – Charles Ramírez Berg

7 Remember Triangled Viewer Hegemony Archetype Hero + Viewer - Stereotype Audience Invited Into Triangle Asked to Take a Side –Hero (in-group) –Other Character (out-group or just minor) Easiest Way into Movie is Assuming Positive Point (hence, identification)

8 Start with Characters Entrenched Storytelling Conventions Goal-Oriented Protagonist –White, Handsome, Straight, Protestant Stereotypes and Minor Characters –Villains, Sidekicks, Temptresses –Provide Hero w/ Opportunities to Display Moral, Physical and Intellectual Preeminence

9 Consider Cinematic Elements Contributing to Stereotypical Signs Mise-en-Scène Cinematography Editing Sound Costuming & Make-up Performance Shot from Falling Down (1993)Falling Down

10 Move to Narrative Structure Beginning = Equilibrium Middle = Disruption End = Restoration of Status Quo “The status quo posited in the movies as the best of all worlds is one that is safe, peaceful, and prosperous. But it is also one that is white, upper- middle-class, Protestant, English-speaking, one that conforms to Anglo norms of beauty, health, intelligence, and so forth.” – Charles Ramírez Berg

11 Stereotype Commutation Test Try to substitute another ethnicity into the role being analyzed. If the part can be played just as well as another ethnic, national, or, for that matter, gender group, then it is probably not a stereotype, but rather a stock comic or dramatic type (the jealous husband, the flirtatious wife, the deceptive best friend, and so forth). If no other ethnicity can be readily substituted for the role, then chances are that it relies on specific stereotypical traits of a particular cultural group to make its comedic or dramatic impact.” – Charles Ramírez Berg.

12 Six Latino Stereotypes Lecture 5: Part 2

13 The Six Types El Bandido Harlot Male Buffoon Female Clown Latin Lover Dark Lady Jacqueline Obradors Jacqueline Obradors in Six Days, Seven Nights (1998)Six Days, Seven Nights

14 Historical Point “Sometimes the stereotypes were combined, sometimes they were altered superficially, but their core defining – and demeaning – characteristics have remained consistent for more than a century and are still evident today.” – Charles Ramírez Berg Douglas Fairbanks Antonio Bandaras

15 El Bandido Dirty, Unkempt, Oily Hair Scars and Scowls Vicious, Cruel, Treacherous Irrational, Emotional, Violent Inability to Speak English Frank Silvera Frank Silvera in Hombre (1967) Hombre Al Pacino Al Pacino in Scarface (1983) Scarface Click Here to See Scene from Scarface (1993)

16 The Harlot Corresponds to El Bandido –Secondary Character Hot-tempered, Slave to Passion Inherent Nymphomania –Sex Machine –Innately Lusts for White Men Linda Darnell Linda Darnell in My Darling Clementine (1946)My Darling Clementine Jacqueline Obradors Jacqueline Obradors in Six Days, Seven Nights (1998)Six Days, Seven Nights Click Here to See Scene from Six Days, Seven Nights (1998) Click Here to See Scene from My Darling Clementine (1946)

17 The Male Buffoon Second-Banana Comic Relief Simpleminded Cannot Master English –Heavy Accent –Mispronounces Words Butt of Joke Leo Carrillo Leo Carrillo in The Cisco Kid (1950)The Cisco Kid Alfonso Arau Alfonso Arau in ¡Three Amigos! (1986)¡Three Amigos! Click Here to See Scene from ¡Three Amigos! (1986)

18 The Female Clown Counterpart to Male Buffoon Neutralizes Latina Sexuality –Allows Hero to Reject for White Woman / Maintain WASP Status Quo or Equilibrium Sullied and Ridiculed Lupe Vélez Lupe Vélez in Honolulu Lu (1941) Honolulu Lu Jacqueline Obradors Jacqueline Obradors in Six Days, Seven Nights (1998)Six Days, Seven Nights Click Here to See Scene from Honolulu Lu (1941) – Under Construction

19 The Latin Lover Established by Valentino Primal Sexuality Sensuous but Dangerous Romantic Promise that Could Get Out of Control Rudolph Valintino Rudolph Valintino in The Sheik (1921) The Sheik Antonio Bandaras Antonio Bandaras in The Mask of Zorro (2005)The Mask of Zorro Click Here to See Scene from The Sheik (1921) Read More About the Latin Lover on Hispanic Online.com

20 The Dark Lady Counterpart to Latin Lover Virginal, Inscrutable, Aristocratic Arouse White Man’s Primal Desire More than White Woman Harlot Deep Down Inside Dolores Del Río Dolores Del Río in In Caliente (1935) In Caliente María Conchita Alonso María Conchita Alonso in Colors (1988)Colors Click Here to See Scene from Flying Down to Rio (1933)

21 The Big Point Part of Hollywood Moviemaking Paradigm Fundamental to Storytelling Convention Common, Repeated, Naturalized –Shift and Change at Denotative Level –Connotative Level Remains Consistent Date Back to Early Cinema –The Greaser’s Gauntlet (1908)The Greaser’s Gauntlet –Broncho Billy and the Greaser (1914)Broncho Billy and the Greaser Read Short Essay on Distorted Images from Digital History

22 Resistance is Possible Lecture 5: Part 3 Shot from Flying Down to Rio (1933)Flying Down to Rio

23 Critical Caveat Keep in mind that film texts are complicated, as are most texts found in popular culture. They contain contradictions. They are rarely monolithic. “Hollywood cinema,” as Ramírez Berg notes, “is not simple, static, or ideologically one-sided as that.” Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lopez in Anaconda (1997)Anaconda

24 Ideological Conflict Dominant Films Contain Elements of Contradiction and Conflict Dominant Films Often Contain Progressive Elements Latino/a Actors Embed Irony and Subversion in their Performances Suggested Supplemental Reading: The Bronze Screen by Rosa Linda FregosoThe Bronze Screen Rosa Linda Fregoso

25 Five Cinematic Categories Featuring Counter-Stereotypes Partly Stereotypical / Partly Progressive Depart from Hollywood Paradigm Ideologically Oppositional Feature Latino/a Actors Subverting Types Made by Latino/a Directors to Counter Hollywood Paradigm

26 Conflicts in Flying Down to Rio (1933) Stereotypes (Buffoon, Dark Lady) Supports Whiteness as Supreme Yet Includes Stereotypical Reversal –Scene on the Beach –Ending w/ Bicultural Romance –Julio’s Noble Sacrifice

27 Contemporary Example: Anaconda (1997) Jennifer Lopez’s heroism undermined the Hollywood paradigm: “the ritual commemoration of WASP male heroism is hostile territory (and, ideologically and symbolically, of U.S. imperialism in the Third World).” – Charles Ramírez Berg Click Here to See Scene from Anaconda (1997)

28 Latino/a Playing Latinos/as Avoid Problem of Brown Face –Remember Charlton Heston as Vargas Facilitates Greater Verisimilitude More Accurate Characterization Click Here to See Scene from Touch of Evil (1958)

29 Problem with that Argument Latinos/as are Heterogeneous –Can Puerto Ricans Play Chicanos? Authenticity is Reductive Latinos/as Engage in Stereotyping Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan (2002)Maid in Manhattan

30 Progressive Hollywood The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Salvador (1986)Salvador “Although these films do follow the ‘WASP adventurer in the Third World’ formula, they nevertheless make some pointed critiques of U.S. interference in the internal affairs of Latin American nations.” – Charles Ramírez Berg

31 End of Lecture 5 End of Lecture 5 Next Lecture: To assimilate or not to assimilate ?