The Latin Image

1139 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Tragic hero of Roman

The Latin Image

"The romantic and erotic Latin image implied recognition that Latin Americans and Romance peoples produced persons of great beauty and attractiveness."(Rios-Bustamante,21) The most predominant stereotype that surfaces in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and "The Mark of Zorro" is that of the Latin Lover. This stereotype may be portrayed in a more positive light because in comparison to other demeaning Latino roles in early American film, the Latin Lover is characterized by "suavity and sensuality, tenderness and sexual danger."(Ramirez Berg,115) According to Ramirez Berg, "this stereotype we owe to one star: Rudolph Valentino."(115)

In "The Four Men of the Apocalypse", Valentino plays the character of Julio, a man "destined to bear the burden of allowing both his grandfather and his father to relive their lives through him." Alexander Walker speaks of the classic scene. "Few film entrances are as stunningly designed as Valentino's in 'The Four Men of the Apocalypse'…..the sequence loses nothing by being so calculatedly staged: the impact on audiences was instantaneous." This description shows the impact that Rudolph Valentino had on audiences as the original Latin Lover of the American cinema(even though he wasn't Latino.) Julio is suave and sensual throughout the film, particularly while seductively dancing the tango. Although he is portrayed as this dangerous lover who is "worshipped by his models", he is not depicted as a true hero until he offers to fight for his father's country in the war. It seems as though "he actually changes into a man of honor-what anyone least expected from this spoiled son of privilege…"

http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/FeaturedVideo/video16.1.htm

In "The Mark of Zorro", Douglas Fairbanks plays the role of the dashing Zorro, the "almost mythical superhero who battles tyranny…defends the rights of both gentry and rabble equally." This film is a good example of the sensuous, desirable Latin Lover stereotype because Fairbanks is portrayed both with and without his "mask". When Fairbanks is playing the role of Zorro, he is strong, valiant, and romantic. "The girl is much more attracted to the dashing Zorro, who romances her in her garden one day." When he embodies the character of Don Diego Vega, he acts timid and weak, and has trouble winning Lolita's affection. The much stereotyped Latin Lover image was portrayed only by the masked man until the very last scene when Don Diego reveals his identity and protects the woman he loves.

Show More
Related

  • Use of Metaphor in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, the glass menagerie is a clear and powerful metaphor for each of the four characters, Tom, Laura, Amanda, and the Gentleman Caller. It represents their lives, personality, emotions, and other important characteristics.

    Read More

  • Identity In Erika Lopez's Flaming Iguanas

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender, ethnicity, and sexuality are core components that create a solid identity. In the western world Jolene is known as a bisexual Latina female. She is bisexual because she is sexually attracted to men and women, she is a Latina because she is a mixed company of Puerto Rican and German American, and she is a female because she has the physical attributes of a woman. Although gender, ethnicity, and sexuality are all relating factors, they are also separate units of identity. Gender refers to physical attributes and traits that make one appear to be male or female. Sexuality refers to how one feels about their body, one’s sexual orientation, and one’s sexual attraction for others. Ethnicity refers to a group of people who share the same cultural background and heritage. Lopez uses these three different factors of identity and crafts them together simultaneously to suggest the damage of stereotypes. Throughout the novel, Lopez’s Flaming Iguanas highlights the conformity of sex and gender stereotypes, and addresses the socially constructed stereotypes to challenge the patriarchy and expose the damage it does to one’s search for selfhood. Jolene exemplifies how they damage one’s sense of self as she ventures

    Read More

  • Descriptions of Characters in My Family

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chucho: Esai Morales, he was a handful from birth. He used his pride in an unproductive way, unlike his father. He felt the racism of the 50's toward the Mexicans and it made him ashamed of his heritage. It is ironic because his dreams were exactly the same stereotype he so wanted to get away from.

    Read More

  • The Image of Christopher Columbus

    2959 Words  | 6 Pages

    Christopher Columbus is honored as the man who opened the doors to an Age of Discovery and exploration. Although he may not have been the first European to set foot onto the Americas, he did begin a wave of exploration in a new hemisphere. The time period of the age of discovery follows the end of the Middle Ages, which Columbus himself is a product. If it were not Columbus that brought European settlement to the New World, then it would have been some other explorer who probably started out with the same goals and ideas.

    Read More

  • Stereotypography

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    For a first example of stereotypes, In “The Myth of the Latin Woman,” Judith Ortiz Cofer writes about the many stereotypes that she, as a Puerto Rican woman, has endured. She opens with a tale of how she had been publicly serenaded—on a London bus, of all places—by, as Cofer puts it, “a young man, obviously fresh from a pub” (187). Later on, she mentions a second random serenade of sorts, this time from a older man in a classy metropolitan hotel. The young man sang “Maria” from West Side Story, the older man first chose a song from Evita, then encored with a crudely-worded song to the tune of “La Bamba.” In both situations, whether it was their intention or not, their actions resulted in alienation of the author, singling her out and thrusting the stereotypes of her lineage in her face. The men may have meant well; they may have felt that what they were doing was good-hearted fun. They may have even been trying to...

    Read More

  • The Glass Menagerie Essay

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tennessee Williams employs the uses of plot, symbolism, and dialogue to portray his theme of impossible true escape, which asserts itself in his play, The Glass Menagerie. Each of his characters fills in the plot by providing emotional tension and a deep, inherent desire to escape. Symbolism entraps meaning into tangible objects that the reader can visualize and attach significance to. Conclusively, Williams develops his characters and plot tensions through rich dialogue. Through brilliant construction and execution of literary techniques, Williams brings to life colorful characters in his precise, poignant on-stage drama.

    Read More

  • glass

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Glass Menagerie is a play about the memories of a young man named Tom Wingfield. Tom dreams of escaping his complicated and completely dependent family. Tennessee Williams uses symbolism to emphasize Tom’s yearning to leave. The first symbol of this the fire escape which serves as a bridge to reality from the illusive wo...

    Read More

  • Gloria Stereotyping

    222 Words  | 1 Pages

    Another misapplication of stereotyping lies within the character of Gloria, the energetic, vicious Latina wife of patriarch Jay, who is more than thirty years her senior. Gloria’s character represents a biased view of what it is to be a Latina-American. She had her first child at a very young age to an emotionally abusive father. In order to make ends meet, she worked at a beauty salon catering exclusively to Latina clientele. Until she met Jay, she struggled to get by and relied mostly on her good looks and flirty personality to advance herself within society. By marrying Jay, an older man with a successful business, she is considered by many to be a gold digger. The most hilarious part of her character is also the most insulting to Latin-Americans

    Read More

  • Analysis of Film Even the Rain

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main characters in the film include Sebastian and Costa, who happen to be lifelong friends. Sebastian is a compulsive visionary who strives to direct controversial a film about one of history’s most influential figures, Christopher Columbus. He is determined to escalate the “myth” that western civilization's arrival in the Americas was a force for good. Instead, his story is about what Columbus set in motion; the hunt for gold, captivity of, and penal violence to those Indians who fought back. His story is counteracted by the radical priests Bartolome de las Casas and Antonio de Montesinos, the first people to ra...

    Read More

  • Symbolism

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    A particularly strong theme in The Glass Menagerie is not being able to accept unfortunate reality or escape it. This theme is shown with the symbols of the movies and the fire escape which connect to Tom. Tom, who aspires to be a poet, is unhappy with his dull, suffocating life and his job at a warehouse in order to maintain the family. He longs for adventure and excitement in his life, yet he is constantly frustrated and argues with his mother frequently. In order to escape this, he ...

    Read More

  • Sociological Analysis Of The Movie Crash

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Later on in the movie she has her locks changed and the guy that changes them is a Spanish guy. She ends up accusing him of selling her spare keys to fellow gang members because he dressed similar and looked like the people who robbed her, she is stereotyping this man. Stereotyping is assuming that all members of a group are going to act and be the same. She fails to realize that his exterior does not reflect who he truly is. He is a hardworking father trying to make a living to keep his family safe in a world that is working against

    Read More

  • Constellations In Ancient Greek Mythology

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ancient Greek gods created some of the things we use today, like how Zeus used to be able to change people and animals into stone and put them in the sky of the things we use today like our constellations. Hundreds of years ago the ancient Greeks believed in Ancient Greek mythology. People still study constellations, what they mean, and how they connect to each other. Many beliefs of gods and goddesses exist along with mythical creatures and constellations.

    Read More

  • Three Important Symbols in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, the narrator is used to reveal elements of Williams' own life as a victim of the Depression in the 1930s. Williams does this through his eloquent use of symbolism. Three symbols seem to reveal Williams' intent especially accurately; the unicorn, the picture of Mr. Wingfield, and Malvolio's coffin trick.

    Read More

  • The Glass Menagerie Analysis

    2295 Words  | 5 Pages

    Tennessee Williams’ excellent use of themes to portray characters in his world class, classic play “The Glass Menagerie” makes the play enthralling till the very end of it. Out of many themes like loneliness, illusions and distress; disintegration of the family seems to be a major plot of the play. Undoubtedly, all the themes displayed in “The Glass Menagerie” are as much important for the success of the play which keeps the audience indulged into it throughout. Nature and lifestyle of each character plays a vital role in creating events and setting the theme of the story. From an ambitious, energetic and hard-working young man, Tom to a physically challenged and unsociable girl, Laura; many qualities of a human being have been portrayed in

    Read More

  • symbolism

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story Laura, the sister of Tom, has a special glass menagerie that she entertains herself with. A glass menagerie is a collection of small, glassed shaped animals, that are usually put on a shelf as decoration. From the title of Williams story, it shows what the one of most important symbol in the play is, Laura’s glass menagerie.

    Read More

More about The Latin Image

Open Document