In Rodriquez’s Next to Kin and Noriega’s Imaged Borders: Locating Chicano Cinema in America/América, discussed the emergence of Chicano awareness in mainstream media through cinema and television. Both reads agree that the “Chicano cinema” arose out of the Chicano Rights movement and were inspired to develop a piece that would show their experience, identity, and expression. Both authors agreed the poem I Am Joaquin and the film Joaquín, as the first Chicano film and poem because they are the first to display “political, historical and poetic consciousness about the ‘Chicano Experience.’

I was intrigued to learn about the development of the New Communicators Incorporated, a federally funded program that gave Chicano and black kids about the cinema business. This opportunity allowed for students to use the camera, becoming an outlet of expression for them. One of those students was Jesús Salvador Treviño, and he was determined to change the stereotypical image of Latinos.

Noriega’s article explains that after the New Communicators, these students went out and documented the high school Blow Outs of 1968 in East Los Angeles. They were specifically documenting the Sal Castro hearings, the organizer of the walkouts, was arrested for his involvement. The Chicano filmmakers were able to incorporate their community and issues through an “artistic expression within the movement.” This lead to the explosion of various films during the late 1960s and 1970s, La Raza Nueva, Ya Basta!, In Ya Basta!, and Yo Soy Chicano. The students were motivated from their community activism to “become filmmakers able to work within the mass media itself,” producing Chicano films illustrating issues and objectives of the Chicano movement.

Rodriguez examines the film Mi Familia/ My Family, to show Chicano cultural nationalism recreated with a western “American” national family concept. Other films are discussed to explain the conflicts between mainstream cinematic productions and independent Chicana/o films. Rodriguez concludes questioning the recent productions that continue the “Western family-centered,” and whether it has a “positive Latino imagery” or not. He is looking at specific films and media, whereas Noriega’s article focuses on the phases of Chicano cinema.

Noriega illustrates the transition of amateur films to the mass media production, he examines Treviño’s work with Ahora! series that was funded by the Ford Foundation and PBS.It was interesting to learn that the Chicano community was not supportive of the series at first. Yet, Treviño was successful as providing instant coverage for planned protested and other events. This lead to a creative development of informing not just their Chicano community but others about the cultural awareness and one effective strategy was using a mask of “folk ethnicity” through theatrical performances.Another strategy was “treatro based programs that relief on Spanish-speaking dialogue and code switching,” becoming the first process of the “development of pan-Latino advocacy and organization at the national level.”

After the protests of the 60s and 70s, Chicano/ Latino filmmakers established national institutions within the industry. These institutions were a noticeable shift from “social protest strategies to professional advocacy within the industry and independent sector” and an interesting statement Noriega said, “Chicano cinema both juxtaposed and straddled two locations: America and América,” the fight between ‘nationalism and assimilation,’ allowed for Chicano cinema to flourish.