engleski

Latino Americans in American Films

The paper deals with Latinos in Hollywood films. Naturally, as any minority, or for that matter, any social group or community that does not fit the ideal posed by the dominant group, they faced numerous problems and degradations. In the first part of the paper we will be introduced to the historical evolution of Latino image in Hollywood films. They had their ups and downs, went from desirable heroic and neighbourly figures to deceiving and relentless criminals. We can link different stereotypes to any given group and such is the case of Latinos. Unfortunately, they have been followed by mostly negative stereotyping and prejudice throughout their existence in the USA. The audience has never been inside the immigrant experience until the films El Norte and Alambrista!. They give us the insight into the lives and culture of the "others" and what is more, they attend to the problems of race and ethnicity. The second part of the paper deals with the work of one of the most successful Hispanic directors, Robert Rodriguez. With his work, he managed to free the Latinos of those fixed stereotypes and create new Latino images which agree with the contemporary idea of a successful, intelligent and socially desirable individual.

Latino, Hollywood, stereotype, prejudice, ethnicity

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