Latina/o Stars in U.S. Eyes


Book Description

A penetrating analysis of the construction of Latina/o stardom in U.S. film, television, and celebrity culture since the 1920s




Latino Images in Film


Book Description

The bandido, the harlot, the male buffoon, the female clown, the Latin lover, and the dark lady—these have been the defining, and demeaning, images of Latinos in U.S. cinema for more than a century. In this book, Charles Ramírez Berg develops an innovative theory of stereotyping that accounts for the persistence of such images in U.S. popular culture. He also explores how Latino actors and filmmakers have actively subverted and resisted such stereotyping. In the first part of the book, Berg sets forth his theory of stereotyping, defines the classic stereotypes, and investigates how actors such as Raúl Julia, Rosie Pérez, José Ferrer, Lupe Vélez, and Gilbert Roland have subverted stereotypical roles. In the second part, he analyzes Hollywood's portrayal of Latinos in three genres: social problem films, John Ford westerns, and science fiction films. In the concluding section, Berg looks at Latino self-representation and anti-stereotyping in Mexican American border documentaries and in the feature films of Robert Rodríguez. He also presents an exclusive interview in which Rodríguez talks about his entire career, from Bedhead to Spy Kids, and comments on the role of a Latino filmmaker in Hollywood and how he tries to subvert the system.




Latino TV


Book Description

"This book surveys the history of Latina and Latino depictions, narratives, and authorship in U.S. English-language television since the 1950s, with a focus on the navigations and impact of Latina/o series writers and creators as they have been able to enter the industrial landscape in recent decades. Based on archival research, interviews with dozens of media professionals who worked on or performed in these series, textual analysis of available episodes and promotional materials, and analysis of news media coverage, the chapters examine Latina/o representation in children's television Westerns in the 1950s, in Chicana/o and Puerto Rican activist-led public affairs series in the 1970s, in sitcoms from the 1970s through the 2010s, including many considered "failed," and in Latina and Latino-led series in the 2000s and 2010s on broadcast, cable, and streaming outlets, including George Lopez, Ugly Betty, One Day at a Time, and Vida. These series and their creators and writers are explored in relation to the social and political contexts of these junctures in U.S. and Latina/o history and to the evolving industry with respect to whether Latina/o creatives were allowed entrée and to the cultural climate for writers and other creative professionals working in television development and production. As such, it also highlights how television has been key to both the marginalization and to the incremental growth of Latina/o cultural citizenship in the United States, as well as how Latina/o creative professionals are gaining numbers and agency within the television industry and are continuing to push to be able to produce and share their stories"--




Yes! We Are Latinos


Book Description

Juanita lives in New York and is Mexican. Felipe lives in Chicago and is Panamanian, Venezuelan, and black. Michiko lives in Los Angeles and is Peruvian and Japanese. Each of them is Latino. Thirteen young Latinos and Latinas living in America are introduced in this book celebrating the rich diversity of the Latino and Latina experience in the United States. Free-verse fictional narratives from the perspective of each youth provide specific stories and circumstances for the reader to better understand the Latino people’s quest for identity. Each profile is followed by nonfiction prose that further clarifies the character’s background and history, touching upon important events in the history of the Latino American people, such as the Spanish Civil War, immigration to the US, and the internment of Latinos with Japanese ancestry during World War II. Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy’s informational yet heartwarming text provides a resource for young Latino readers to see themselves, while also encouraging non-Latino children to understand the breadth and depth of the contributions made by Latinos in the US. Caldecott Medalist David Diaz’s hand-cut illustrations are bold and striking, perfectly complementing the vibrant stories in the book. YES! WE ARE LATINOS stands alone in its presentation of the broad spectrum of Latino culture and will appeal to readers of fiction and nonfiction.




Latino TV


Book Description

"This book surveys the history of Latina and Latino depictions, narratives, and authorship in U.S. English-language television since the 1950s, with a focus on the navigations and impact of Latina/o series writers and creators as they have been able to enter the industrial landscape in recent decades. Based on archival research, interviews with dozens of media professionals who worked on or performed in these series, textual analysis of available episodes and promotional materials, and analysis of news media coverage, the chapters examine Latina/o representation in children's television Westerns in the 1950s, in Chicana/o and Puerto Rican activist-led public affairs series in the 1970s, in sitcoms from the 1970s through the 2010s, including many considered "failed," and in Latina and Latino-led series in the 2000s and 2010s on broadcast, cable, and streaming outlets, including George Lopez, Ugly Betty, One Day at a Time, and Vida. These series and their creators and writers are explored in relation to the social and political contexts of these junctures in U.S. and Latina/o history and to the evolving industry with respect to whether Latina/o creatives were allowed entrée and to the cultural climate for writers and other creative professionals working in television development and production. As such, it also highlights how television has been key to both the marginalization and to the incremental growth of Latina/o cultural citizenship in the United States, as well as how Latina/o creative professionals are gaining numbers and agency within the television industry and are continuing to push to be able to produce and share their stories"--




Dance and the Hollywood Latina


Book Description

Dance and the Hollywood Latina asks why every Latina star in Hollywood history began as a dancer or danced onscreen. Introducing the concepts of ""inbetween-ness"" and ""racial mobility"" to further illuminate how racialized sexuality and the dancing female body operate in film, this book focuses on the careers of Dolores Del Rio, Rita Hayworth, Carmen Miranda, Rita Moreno, and Jennifer Lopez and helps readers better understand how the United States grapples with race, gender, and sexuality through dancing bodies on screen




Latinos and American Popular Culture


Book Description

This book offers a complete overview of the contributions of U.S. Latinos to American popular culture and examines the emergence of the U.S. Latino identity. According to the 2010 Census, Latinos represent more than 16 percent of the total population and are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States. Their vast contributions to popular culture are visible in nearly every aspect of American life and are as diverse as the countries and cultures of origin with which Latinos identify themselves. This book provides a historical overview of the developments in U.S. Latino culture and highlights the most recent expressions of Latino life in American popular culture. With coverage of topics like Latino representations in television, radio, film, and theater; U.S. Latino literature and art; Latino sports stars in baseball, basketball, boxing, football, and soccer; and contemporary pop music; this book will appeal to general readers and be a useful and engaging resource for high school and college students. The work examines the cultural ties that U.S. Latinos maintain with their country of origin or that of their ancestors, explains why language is a critical cultural marker for Latinos, and identifies how Latinos are changing American popular culture. Insightful information on U.S. Latino identity issues and prevalent cultural stereotypes is also included.




Latino American Cinema


Book Description

Latino American cinema is a provocative, complex, and definitively American topic of study. This book examines key mainstream commercial films while also spotlighting often-underappreciated documentaries, avant-garde and experimental projects, independent productions, features and shorts, and more. Latino American Cinema: An Encyclopedia of Movies, Stars, Concepts, and Trends serves as an essential primary reference for students of the topic as well as an accessible resource for general readers. The alphabetized entries in the volume cover the key topics of this provocative and complex genre—films, filmmakers, star performers, concepts, and historical and burgeoning trends—alongside frequently overlooked and crucially ignored items of interest in Latino cinema. This comprehensive treatment bridges gaps between traditional approaches to U.S.-Latino and Latin American cinemas, placing subjects of Chicana and Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban and diasporic Cuban, and Mexican origin in perspective with related Central and South American and Caribbean elements. Many of the entries offer compact definitions, critical discussions, overviews, and analyses of star artists, media productions, and historical moments, while several foundational entries explicate concepts, making this single volume encyclopedia a critical guide as well.




Encyclopedia of Latino Culture [3 volumes]


Book Description

This three-volume encyclopedia describes and explains the variety and commonalities in Latina/o culture, providing comprehensive coverage of a variety of Latina/o cultural forms—popular culture, folk culture, rites of passages, and many other forms of shared expression. In the last decade, the Latina/o population has established itself as the fastest growing ethnic group within the United States, and constitutes one of the largest minority groups in the nation. While the different Latina/o groups do have cultural commonalities, there are also many differences among them. This important work examines the historical, regional, and ethnic/racial diversity within specific traditions in rich detail, providing an accurate and comprehensive treatment of what constitutes "the Latino experience" in America. The entries in this three-volume set provide accessible, in-depth information on a wide range of topics, covering cultural traditions including food; art, film, music, and literature; secular and religious celebrations; and religious beliefs and practices. Readers will gain an appreciation for the historical, regional, and ethnic/racial diversity within specific Latina/o traditions. Accompanying sidebars and "spotlight" biographies serve to highlight specific cultural differences and key individuals.




The Oxford Handbook of Latino Studies


Book Description

At the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, the Latino minority, the biggest and fastest growing in the United States, is at a crossroads. Is assimilation taking place in comparable ways to previous immigrant groups? Are the links to the countries of origin being redefined in the age of contested globalism? How are Latinos changing America and how is America changing Latinos? The Oxford Handbook of Latino Studies reflects on these questions, offering a sweeping exploration of Latinas and Latinos' complex experiences in the United States. Edited by leading expert Ilan Stavans, the handbook traces the emergence of Latino studies as a vibrant and interdisciplinary field of research starting in the 1980s, assessing the current state of the discipline while suggesting new paths for exploration. With its twenty-three essays and a conversation by established and emerging scholars, the book discusses various aspects of Latino life and history, from literature, popular culture, and music, to religion, philosophy, and language identity. The articles present new interpretations of important themes such as the Chicano Movement, gender and race relations, the changes in demographics, the tension between rural and urban communities, immigration and the US/Mexico border, the legacy of colonialism, and the controversy surrounding Spanglish. The first handbook on Latino Studies, this collection offers a multifaceted and thought-provoking look at how Latinos are redefining the American identity.