A Home Film About Selena Quintanilla

The film Corpus: A Home Movie About Selena (1999) by Lourdes Portillo, is a documentary about the famous singer Selena Quintanilla. The documentary features many of Selena’s performances and fashion. Additionally, it shows how Selena was looked up to by many women and how her fashion, ethnicity, and body type changed the way people view female celebrities. Additionally, the documentary shows news reports on Selena’s tragic death and how she was murdered when she was 23 by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar. Many people were shocked and devastated by her tragic death since she was viewed as a role model and a Mexican-American icon that helped show young girls that you do not have to have blonde hair in order to become successful.

Additionally, the director of the film, Lourdes Portillo, was also female. They both identified as female, and did not shows any indication that they were unhappy about their gender. This is associated with the film because it strictly shows that a female who is identified as a female is the director of the film. She is in power, which shows the importance of women in power. Additionally, having Selena as the center of the film gives importance to female artists and show that they should not be overshadowed by men. It recognizes that women are important in society and that their contributions should not be ignored. Additionally, by including women’s opinions and perspectives, it gives women a chance to be heard and to use their voice. It shows that female’s opinions and perspectives are important as well and should not be

As the film states, Selena was often turned away from venues due to her gender. (Corpus) Many people did not believe a female should be singing a genre that was strictly for “males.” Despite this, Selena did not give up and continued to sing and produce music. She questioned why only males should sing a certain genre of music. She wanted to show that females could be successful in male dominated genres. This shows that the film does represent a feminist view. Both the director as well as Selena wanted to question the way that females were being shunned at the time. Selena still continued to produce music that was reserved for males, and the director, Lourdes Portillo, wanted to make sure that this was included in her documentary. Additionally, the director included many interviews with women and children who stated that they saw her as a role model since she was a woman who was proud of her body and her outfits. For example, one woman stated that Selena looked “normal and like me.” (Corpus) Additionally, many people in the film stated that she didn't have “blonde hair and blue eyes,” (Corpus) which further proved that she identified more with “normal” people. Furthermore, Selena was known to wear revealing outfits, which many people either agreed