Controversy In Modern Day Media

Through modern day media, there has been a significant amount of attention pointed towards whichever story or article could gain the most controversy. The media has the power to cherry pick certain events around the globe and uses it to write a story completely out of context. This, in turn, will allow them to gain credibility and increase their pay. In this case, Latinos have gained a significant amount of controversy in the modern day media due to the higher demographic in America. Since Latinos have been a main point of controversy in the last couple hundred years, and there have been multiple pieces of media that promote stereotypes of Latinos that may have had a nugget of truth or been in the past. There have been television shows such as Speedy Gonzales, Devious Housemaids, Modern Family, and many others. There are also companies

such as Quesada that believe that they are using humor in their ads when in reality, all they are doing is reinforcing the already wide variety of stereotypes for Latinos. The media gives Latinos the image of being exactly what the media portrays them to be like; thick accent, dark skin, only eating tacos or burritos, living in rural areas, and much more.
There have been many advertising companies that have used humor in the ads before.

Humor is a great way to reach out to a potential customer and it intrigues them into trying out the product or whatever it is that you are advertising for. Furthermore, when companies use humor in a degrading or offensive manner such as Quesada, a Canadian based restaurant that sells burritos, among other Mexican style foods, released an ad in May of 2010 that saw three people seated at a table in a restaurant. Everyone at the table had a Lucha Libre type of wrestling uniform on and they were all eating what appeared to be the food marketed by the ad. There was also a headline of sorts toward the bottom half of the ad that read “Real Mexicans know where to get real Mexican” which could be seen as a way of letting the public know that the food at the restaurant is “Mexican approved”, however, this only further reinforces the stereotypes that Latinos are all Mexican and that they know where to buy actual Mexican food. From just looking at the ad one could say that the company was just making a harmless joke when in reality, it goes much deeper than

that.
All of these elements combined can send a message to people who may not know any better than to believe what they hear and read like the Canadian ad would suggest that “Real Mexicans know where to get real Mexican”. For the people who don’t know anything about the culture, they could be persuaded in a way to believe that the food in the restaurant is authentic Mexican food, which is not the point. The point is that people are subconsciously being taught that a Latino is either Mexican or a wrestler for Lucha Libre. Not to mention the appearance of the man in the ad. Since there were three people, two adults, and one child, we are lead to believe that the people in the ad are a family, which in turn makes us more likely to bring other people to the restaurant too. One of the last things that the ad promotes without realization, is that they chose to use a larger and rounder man with tons of hair around his body. This is a commonly known stereotype, that Latino men are known to be a bit overweight and have hair all over their body. These ideas are brought into the subconscious when shown over and over repeatedly.
The cartoon Speedy Gonzales that originally aired in 1955 over a television network called Looney Tunes, and it was on air for a number of years after the initial air date. This cartoon was much more straightforward compared to other cartoons in our modern day and is aimed towards a much younger audience than most television shows. The whole premise of the show was about a mouse, a cat, and in each episode, the cat would attempt to catch and eat a mouse named Speedy Gonzales, who is short, brown, has a thick accent, has a curling mustache, and wears a sombrero. In many ways it is similar to Tom and Jerry, however, Speedy Gonzales took place somewhere in Mexico and was in a more rural part of town. There were no cars shown and people were also never shown. We have no idea how the chase for Gonzales began but in every episode of the show, the cat would attempt to eat Gonzales, and he would simply run away super quick like his name would suggest.
One you move past the comedic side of the show and take an in-depth look into what the show is saying about Mexico and the people around, it suddenly isn’t entirely funny anymore. Moreover, if we analyze Speedy Gonzales as a character, he is essentially the incarnation of a Latino American into a mouse form. Gonzales is almost all of the Latino stereotypes rolled up into one figure. The sombrero that Latinos are known for wearing, the thick Latino accent when speaking English, and the high pitch scream he yells whenever he is about to run; “¡Andale andale arriba arriba!”. Not to mention the fact that he is wearing a traditional dance uniform as his main attire throughout the show. Consequently, these small details in the show are portraying Latino as people who scream “Andale Andale Arriba Arriba” every time we are about to run. Not to mention the mess of our clothing and facial hair, and especially that hat. These things together create the idea that all Latinos act and speak with a thick accent and that we all live in the rural parts of Mexico. Additionally, the episode that I picked at random had the Cinco de Mayo celebration in the background adding to the stereotypical ideal ways of living in Mexico.
While on the topic of comedy, the television series, Modern Family, follows the Pritchett family and all adventure and problems that they all experience together. Most of the audience are families and light-hearted people who are expecting an enjoyable laugh. For the most part, this show is all about silly situations and comedic expression. There are characters however that may have more to offer once anyone takes a closer look into their lives (in the show). There is a great deal of diversity in the cast and a wide variety of ages in the families. For example, in the Dunphy family, there are three kids and two adults. All of the kids are kids are separate ages too. The Pritchett family is the main focus of this topic as it includes a Latina mother, Gloria, from Colombia. Gloria hand her husband, Jay, have a son Manny who’s father is out of the picture until a later episode in the show. From the outside, the show is fun, amusing, popular, entertaining, and it is! However, one of the characters in the show, Gloria, shares a number of the typical stereotypes that Latinos are so known for having.
Gloria in modern family is a tall Colombian with a thick accent and has a slight trouble pronouncing words correctly who moved to the US for a better life with her husband who later left her. She met Jay at some point later on, then got married. Manny, on the other hand, is still warming up to him as he thinks that Jay is odd. Gloria is an excellent cook who is always in high-heels and in short dresses and skirts that are almost skin tight. On episode 11 of season 1, Manny’s dad comes to town, the suburbs of Los Angeles, bearing incredible and exciting gifts. Manny, only being eleven years old, does not know what Gloria and Jay know about the father. Jay and Gloria have always been suspicious to where exacts the father gets his money, however, Manny doesn’t have a care in the world. Manny is left disappointed when his father doesn't show up when promised.
In the episode, there were multiple stereotypical portrayals of Latinos being lazy in a way, unreliable, thick accent, trouble speaking, moving to another place for a better life, and the lit goes on. The father of Manny could be brought into this too and nobody seems to know where he obtains his money and why he doesn't show up half the time that he promises. These are things that people have, and still, do associate with Latinos who not only just reside in America.
With all of that in mind, this proves that televisions series with the best of intentions can reinforce stereotypes. Even TV shows for kids can be extremely mindful of how a certain race can be perceived by masses of people. Another aspect that all of these cartoons, ads, and shows share in common, is that is it all portrayed and spread around the globe by none other than the media. The media has an enormous grasp of what we take in and to what degree, especially with topics that relate to a specific race or ethnic group.