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History of mexican americans ESSAY
Essay on Chicano Art
History of mexican americans ESSAY
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Both the popular play and film “Zoot Suit” was written and directed by Luis Valdez. Luis Valdez regarded as the father of Chicano theater in the United States. He directed this film based on a story involving the real-life events of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit Riots, and it was debuted in 1981. Besides that, the movie could not be successful without the actors’ acting, such as Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos, and Tyne Daly. Through the film, I clearly feel the discrimination between Whites and Mexican Americans.
Luis Valdez is an amazing playwright that created the Zoot Suit Play. He is best known as the father of Chicano theater. The Zoot suit play is based on a young man named Henry Reyna who is part of a street gang called the 38th. The opening scene is at a dance, where the 38th street gang get into a clash with the Downey gang. Unfortunately Henry’s brother named Rudy starts a fight from there they both go their own ways.
Written by Luis Valdez, "Los Vendidos" attempt was to focus on Latino stereotypes and their effects on society and on those stereotyped. The Mexican characters in the play symbolized each label cast against the race, allowing people to fully understand the prejudices they may hold against the race. By showing how Mexicans were treated by society through the secretary's rejection of each representative, people might realize their own prejudices and understand the how most Latinos feel. The individuals in the story appear to have their own identities within the Mexican race and each identity stands for a stereotype society generally holds of Mexicans. For example, the farm worker "loves his patrones”, also known as his masters, "goes back to
Clashes between Mexican-Americans and military personnel continued in the days and weeks to come. The play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez, underscores the Zoot Suit Riots that occurred historically in Los Angeles during the 1940’s following the infamous trial “The Sleepy Lagoon”. The play follows Henry Reyna, leader of the 38th Street Gang, along with with the gang’s members and Henry’s family, while seeking to combat the racial prejudice of the era. The play dramatizes injustice in order to educate and awaken responses towards acts of injustice that occur in today’s society such as racial profiling, bias judicial system, and bias media (yellow journalism) that are still present in society
During the Chicano Nationalist Movement, a well-known speaker, Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales, delivered a speech titled Chicano Nationalism: Victory for La Raza. In this speech, Rodolfo Gonzales tries to unify the Latin American people within the United States by using the idea of a family and to create a new political organization for the Chicano people. This speech was a cumulation of various ideas which stemmed from his own life, the experiences of the Chicano people, and the Chicano Nationalist Movement in general. Each of these factors contributed to the context of the speech and how the ideas within the speech are presented by Rodolfo Gonzales. Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales was born to Federico and Indalesia Gonzales, two Mexican immigrants, on June 18, 1928.
The Bronze Screen introduced both positive and negative portrayals of Latinas and Latinos in film. While there are plenty of positive Latino roles in films, Latinos and Latinas should be included in more positive roles because the negative roles Latinos have in films cause negative stereotypes. Positive and negative representations of Latinos in films has always fluctuated throughout history, however the more negative ones seem to always overpower the good ones. The film, “The Bronze Screen”, gave many examples of the negative roles Latinos played in films throughout film history. Early films included Latino actors, however they did not always have a lead role or even a positive one.
In the beginning, Leo Valdez feels worried, devastated, and lonely. He is an outsider from the other six demigods on the quest. “But as he looked at them- three couples, all focused on each other- he thought about the warning from Nemesis, the revenge goddess: You will not find a place among your brethren. You will always be the seventh wheel. He was starting to think Nemesis was right.”
The exotification of Dolores del Rio is evident in an article published by a Photoplay issue in 1934, as she is described as possessing “golden skin, smooth as mellowed ivory and her dark, flashing eyes bespoke the lue of those maidenly ‘senoritas’ who peep at life from behind cloistered shutters… When the young man comes to call on a senorita in Mexico… he brings his guitar” (38). Through the exotification of Dolores del Rio, Hollywood found great success in the United States and in Latin America, one of the most profitable film markets in the cinematic industry. As a white-passing Latinx woman, del Rio was “more easily able to move in and out of ethnic roles” (33). Because Dolores del Rio was a Latinx woman that held “upper-class roles” and a Eurocentric standard of beauty while nonetheless, identifying with her Mexican heritage, she not only appealed to the white American public, but to Latin American audiences as well (Hershfield
The immigrants entering the United States throughout its history have always had a profound effect on American culture. However, the identity of immigrant groups has been fundamentally challenged and shaped as they attempt to integrate into U.S. society. The influx of Mexicans into the United States has become a controversial political issue that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their cultural themes and sense of identity. The film Mi Familia (or My Family) covers the journey and experiences of one Mexican-American (or “Chicano”) family from Mexico as they start a new life in the United States. Throughout the course of the film, the same essential conflicts and themes that epitomize Chicano identity in other works of literature
I chose this film because it showed how hard the union workers and families worked in fighting racial injustices, and because it inspired myself to move forward with strong ideologies and pride. 2. Stereotyping in mass media was an important concern of Chicana/o media activists because it imprinted a demeaning label by only casting Chicana/o actors with "minor roles: villains, sidekicks, temptresses, where their main function is to provide the protagonists, typically a handsome white
Los Vendidos is a play by Chicano playwright Luis Valdez. Luis Valdez was born in Delano, CA in 1940 and worked in the fields throughout this youth. He attended San Jose State University and majored in drama. In 1965 he then created El Teatro Campesino where he performed plays in local community centers and in the fields. With his plays he wanted to inspire the audience to social action, illuminate specific points about social problems, satirize the opposition, hint at a solution, and express the feelings of Chicanos.
Cofer addresses the cultural barriers and challenges that Latinos experience through emotional appeal, anecdotal imagery, parallelism and the use of effective periodic sentences. In her article, Cofer assesses the difficult cultural hurdles of Latin Americans with emotional appeal. She provides insight on her cultural barriers by first conveying the way she had to dress and her struggle, as it shows in this piece of text, “That morning I had organized… which to base my decision” (Cofer 5). This poignancy works to stress an agonizing feeling of uncertainty and restraint towards the author.
This is because the movement itself began as a search for identity in a nation where Chicanos where once classified as White, but never received any of the rights associated with it and where later reclassified as Hispanic. It is also because what was once considered Mexican culture is no more as it has been taken, manipulated, and killed by the Anglos in their conquest. In “I am Joaquin” we see this concept throughout the work in a variety of forms that range from what Mexicans are to the concept of being Chicano. One major example of the search for Identity in the work is shown in the beginning with the paradox question where many young Chicanos are forced to choose between cultural life in poverty or stability at the price of their culture. Basically it states that they must choose between embracing their heritage at the cost of stability or to reject it and conform to the Anglo world and have a chance to be successful.
Certain stereotypes brought biases towards Puerto Ricans and he uses existing footage from the film, West Side Story to subvert the representations and he did it in a way so that viewers can dig deep into the meaning of social discrimination towards Puerto Ricans. Many Latino artists realized that television and film renders groups and communities with little access to the means of realization and understanding who they really are. Maldonado took this into account and uses a digital video, and film to expose the social and political factors of neglect towards Puerto