Ugly Betty is based on the successful Colombian telenovela by Fernando Gaitán, Yo Soy Betty la Fea which ran from 1999 to 2001. This telenovela has been exported to many countries, reaching high audience ratings. Yo Soy Betty la Fea and Ugly Betty have a similar if not identical premise: an ugly but ingenious and efficient assistant falls in love with her boss while having to bar being ridiculed by her co-workers. In the end everyone sees that Betty is beautiful.

Given that fact that I have never seen Ugly Betty before, I opted to watch the first episode or the “Pilot”. In the “Pilot” episode of Ugly Betty (also known as “I Am Not Going to Sell Herbalux”), Betty Suarez (played by America Ferrara) is hired as assistant to the editor in chief (Daniel Mead) of MODE magazine, a fashion magazine in Manhattan. The move to hire someone like Betty to work for a fashion magazine screams out “oxymoron”. Betty is made to look ugly and completely lacks a fashion sense. Is there a good reason why someone like Betty would be chosen for the position? Yes there are a couple. The first reason can be considered internal: Daniel’s father wanted to hire someone that would deter his son from sleeping with his assistants. The second reason can be considered external: producers needed a complete oxymoronic character to have a show that would produce the entertaining effects that Ugly Betty produced. Now, was in necessary for a Latina to be cast for the role of Ugly Betty?

The idea of having chosen a Latina to play the character of the ugly and unfashionable protagonist is rather complicated. Was the casting of a Latina, America Ferrara, as the ugly character an unwitting coincidence? Or was the ugly Latina character intended to degrade all Latinas?  I think it may have been easy for some to draw a negative conclusion about the intentions behind casting a Latina to play Betty considering her ethnicity. However there is so much more to Betty than just her unappealing looks and distasteful fashion sense or lack thereof. From the very beginning of the show Betty Suarez comes off as a go getter. Betty Suarez provides an empowered Latina representation by staying true to herself and showing those she works with (mainly beautiful white people) that she has the smarts and everything it takes required for the job. That is how she manages to gain the acceptance of some of the less shallow colleagues.

I don’t believe that it was ever the shows intention to represent all Latinas as unattractive or disadvantaged.  If anything I think that the show represents the Latina woman as empowered and determined. Betty’s sister Hilda is portrayed as a beautiful and confident woman with a good fashion sense. Salma Hayek is the producer of Ugly Betty and also makes appearances on the show as a powerful and attractive magazine editor. With that I think that we can conclude that Betty Suarez was not meant to portray the embodiment of all Latinas.  I don’t believe that everyone will ever be completely satisfied with the representation of their ethnicity on the big screen. Conversely if we were to analyze the way whites are portrayed on the show, the conclusion would not be a favorable one either.

Ugly Betty

The 1988 film, Colors, by Dennis Hopper gives us a glimpse of Los Angeles gang violence of the time. I believe the purpose of this movie was to foster an awakening to the reality of the scars that Los Angeles gangs have left on the inner city. Colors is a bold film that illustrates the tenacity of the gang way of life.  The producers and director of this film certainly had to do their research and put a lot of thought into the message that this movie was to offer.  Robert Duval plays seasoned deputy Bob Hodges and Sean Penn plays rookie deputy Danny McGavin. The scenes of violence in Colors were a disturbing representation of the realities of the gang wars, however the bloody special effects were not as good as they are now (pretty fake looking if you ask me).

Powerlessness of the police is a central issue of the movie Colors. Although in the same business of deterring gang propagation, and trying to stop gang violence between the Bloods, the Crips and the Hispanic gangs, Hodges and McGavin, have very different styles of putting forth their efforts. Hodges has patrolled the streets of L.A. for many years, earning a degree of respect of some of the gang members. McGavin (nicknamed Pac-Man) is a newcomer to the force, the department and the neighborhood. His lack of experience patrolling the dangerous streets of Los Angeles lead him to make several mistakes, due to his hot headed approach, that eventually earn in a spot on the gang’s hit list. The film uses these opposing personalities to show the different methods for police to deal with gangs and crime in Los Angeles.

A common perspective that the movies Colors and American Me have is that both of these movies gives us an idea of why the gang life entices kids in inner city neighborhoods seeking to gain a sense of belonging, family, power and respect. In both of these films the producers and directors allow us, the viewers, to infiltrate the gangs and give us a peek at the brotherly bonds that are born the moment a member is introduced into the gang. In an ironic and twisted way, that same bond that demanded loyalty for life, all too often became the betrayal that took their lives too soon. The gang life gives the perception that by joining a gang you will be taken care of, loved and accepted. That may be the case for a short while until you mess up and get caught “slipping”. If that is the case you get taken out for good.

Interestingly, both Colors and American Me elicit a sense of sympathy from the viewer toward the gangs. I don’t believe the primary intention for both films was to provoke sympathy, yet Olmos and Hopper did such a great job of showing the realities of the gang life that one cannot help but feel sorry for them. The worst part of having joined a gang is that most often than not when a member is initiated into a gang it is done at a very young and vulnerable age and when they accept and get jumped in, it is a forever pact. In both movies we were able to see at least one individual that wanted out but was trapped in that life. I am sure that most gang remembers sooner or later come to the realization and regret join in the gang.

Colors is a very authentic film about a real life problem that continues to plague the streets of Los Angeles. At the time of release Colors, spawned a lot of back lash due to its violent nature. There is no doubt that Colors introduced people to a whole new world. I don’t believe that this movie contributed any more to the problem represented in this film, rather it educated those who may have been unaware of such problem.

Colors Movie