In the 2004 film A Day Without a Mexican the director plays with the concept of disappearing all Mexicans in the United States. Although racists, anti-immigrant(anti-Mexican) rhetoric seems to have been re-popularized by the Trump campaign, this film does well to show just how vital the Latino (working) immigrant class is in the United States. Although the relationship between the United States and Mexico seems to be one-sided, that is Mexico is heavily dependent on its cross-country counterpart, this film examines the dependency the US economy has on the Latino labor force and forces its viewers to imagine what life might be like (if the tea party’s dream came true) and there was a day without a Mexican.

The scenes at the beginning of the film depicted commonly held beliefs about what Latino immigrants bring to the US. The blonde anti-immigrant protestor did beautifully in the news segment to describe what these immigrants mean to the United States of America. “We are Americans. Simply defending our land and our values from those who would cross the border that border without permission. White people are disappearing and its our country. They come here and take our job, get on welfare, and bring their drugs into this country…and steal. Steal our way of life.” This anti-immigrant protestor’s beliefs shed a light on the racism and ignorance that permeates through white society on the topic of the Latino immigration. Senator Abercrombie also does well to highlight the ignorance and goes a step further by showing the dependence he has of Mexicans in his personal life. He angrily confronts his wife for hiring “illegal Mexicans from Honduras and Guatemala” while being served breakfast by his maid, a Mexican immigrant who cooks him a Mexican dish. His Nanny is such an important part of his life that she is entrusted with cooking his meals and even scolds him about staying on his diet.

To contrast the beginning of the film society is thrown into a state of panic when it is discovered that “family members, trusted workers, and businesses owners” have disappeared off the face of the Earth. The farmer interviewed by the news station understands the importance of immigrant labor. “California depends on these people to make these fields work”. This is only one example of the dependence the American economy has on the Latino worker. On a more personal level Senator Abercrombie’s home is thrown into a panic when it is discovered that their nanny Catalina did not show up to their home to complete the many tasks she is responsible for. “There’s nor fresh juice, there’s no clean clothes, there’s no lunch. Where did she put the peanut butter?!” California is thrown into such a state of panic that a State of Emergency is put into affect, showing just how vital the Latino immigrant is to the infrastructure of the United States.

I am the son of someone who crossed the border illegally, attained citizenship and started his own business as a gardener. I am proud of everything my parents have done to give me a better life and I know the struggles they went through in a country as unwelcoming as the US. I enjoyed this film because it shows just how important Mexicans are in keeping the US machine going.

A Day Without a Mexican

The movie I watched was the 2004 film called Spanglish.  It was a very entertaining movie.  This movie is about an immigrant single mother named Flor Moreno.  She has a young daughter named Cristina.  Flor’s cousin finds her work as a housekeeper for a financially well-off white family named the Clasky’s.  Deb and John Clasky represent the typical white family that live in a nice house with their two children, Bernice and Georgie.  Flor doesn’t speak any English and in the movie you can see that language sometimes does become a barrier.  To try and fit in Flor, eventually does learn English.  Throughout the movie Flor realizes just how different this new life is.

One of the main themes that this movie deals with is the issue of multiculturalism in the United States.  Flor Moreno represents the Hispanic culture that struggles to remain authentic in a multicultural society.  The movie shows the importance of maintaining your culture and not losing one’s identity.  Throughout the movie you see how hard Flor tries to keep her daughter, Cristina, to not forget who she is.

When Flor first moves to Los Angeles she is shocked and surprised by everyone speaking English around her. She doesn’t feel very comfortable.  She wants to raise her daughter in an area where she feels more “at home”.  She wants an area where she can teach her about her Hispanic culture.  She finds a mostly Hispanic area and she instantly feels happier and she finds a place to live there.

Once she gets the housekeeping job with the Clasky’s, Flor sees a lot of differences between the way she is raising Cristina and how they are raising their two children.  There is one scene where Deb Clasky decides to take Cristina out shopping without asking Flor’s permission.  Flor gets very upset when she learns her daughter is gone.  She expresses her unhappiness to Mr. Clasky.  Deb returns with Cristina, who now has pink streaks in her hair.  Flor gets upset at Deb.  First for taking her daughter without asking and second for letting her alter her hair.  In the movie there is one scene where Deb buys her daughter, Bernice, clothes one size too small.  She tells her daughter that she could basically fit into them if she exercises.  This upsets Flor.  No mom should be telling their daughter that they are fat.  Flor starts realizing that she is beginning to get disconnected from her own daughter.  Cristina is the daughter that Deb has always wanted: skinny, beautiful and smart.

Flor starts feeling as though she is losing her daughter.  Once they move to the beach house with the Clasky’s, Flor sees the excitement on Cristina’s face.  Deb even convinces Flor to put Cristina into a private school, much to Flor’s dismay.  Flor feels as though her daughter is being influenced too much by “white culture” and she is not happy.

At the end Flor decides to quit her job in order to keep Cristina in the Hispanic culture.  It is very important to Flor that Cristina never forgets her heritage.  Cristina is very upset at this because she wants to continue going to her private school and be with her friends.  She gets very angry at her mother.  Flor then in Spanish asks her, “Is what you want for yourself…to become someone very different than me?”  Cristina thinks and realizes that she loves her mother too much and doesn’t want to be anything else other than her mother’s daughter – a child raised within the Hispanic culture and tradition.

IMDb Link to Spanglish

Cultural and ethnic groups possess a profound system of history and traditional practices that determine its existence. These groups preserve their way of life by passing on the knowledge of cultural beliefs to young and developing generations. For an individual who is uninformed of a specific ethnic group, one gathers information on the subject matter through various sources. These sources can include historically documented text or mainstream media outlets such as news or film. Yet, one can adopt a limited perception of a specific ethnic group when absorbing the misinformation that is broadcasted through the bias lens of the Hollywood film industry. Additionally, the misinformation that is projected to mass viewers is prolonged through the support of the audience. Specifically, the Latina/o television viewers indulge as they may relate to the Hollywood infused image of the Latina/o community.

Jane the Virgin is a television series about a young woman, Jane, on a focused trajectory to be successful in a prospective teaching career and in love. Jane is raised and living with her grandmother and young single mother. As Jane is in a relationship, she intends on abstaining until she is married. Despite Jane’s dedication to sexual celibacy, she accidently becomes pregnant at a routine doctor visit as she is artificially inseminated by her physician. Characters of the television series are all somehow connected to Jane and her accidental pregnancy. The complex connection between characters and events occur in a telenovela (television novel) like format all the while displaying stereotypical behavior of Latina/o culture. The pilot show of the television series opens with a flashback of Jane’s catholic-rigid grandmother speaking to a child age Jane of the importance of Jane’s virginity. With her teenage mother lacking interest in the backdrop of this scene, Jane’s grandmother uses a flower to give a visual impression of the topic. She has Jane crumple a flower and asks to have the flower look as it did before having squeezed it in her hands per Jane’s grandmother’s request. After attempting this, Jane then tells her grandmother that she is unable to restore the flower to its original form to which the grandmother replies, “and that’s what happens when you lose your virginity, you can never go back.” The grandmother’s emphasis on Jane’s chastity may stem from her inability to prevent her own daughter from becoming the young single mother as depicted in the series. The episode then progresses thirteen years later into a much older Jane who is romantically involved, but manages to be an abstinent young woman. Following a superficially intimate encounter with her significant other, Jane joins her mother and grandmother in the living room to watch a telenovela, which Jane’s grandmother seems to indulge.

These examples of stereotypical Latina/o behavior along with the displays of religious implications, romance and dramatic love triangles/infidelity that unfolds throughout the episode is a misrepresentation of a culture that is fabricated by the Hollywood film industry. Additionally, the show’s success is owed to its telenovela like platform of multiple story lines involving numerous personalities and outcomes.
“They are a cultural touchstone, especially for Spanish speakers across the globe. Popular story arcs like long-lost family members resonate with Latinos whose families may have emigrated. Religious references will appear in several of these series, another touchstone to the predominantly Catholic Latino population.” (The Power of the Telenovela). As Jane the Virgin exhibits the Latina/o stereotype, its viewers endorse the television show’s interpretation of the Latina/o culture as its audiences seem to connect with the themes.

Reference links

Jane the Virgin Series

Latinos Love Telenovela