Assimilation and Despair: Latinos in the Eyes of Hollywood.

While movies are generally thought to be mere entertainment, it is through their depictions that we, as individuals, make sense of the world around us, especially parts of the world that we are not familiar with. Since there are a limited number of hours per day, one cannot possibly have first-hand knowledge of all facets of society. Cinema allows us to peer into the lives of the people and situations that we have no access to. It turns the audience member into a voyeur (Denzin 1995). So what is Hollywood teaching society about Latinos? Much like with other minorities, white filmmakers working in major Hollywood productions portray Latinos as in a largely negative way, usually buying in to enduring stereotypes. Being criminally inclined, promiscuous, violent and poor are some of the most enduring representations that Latinos have endured for decades. I have selected two, white-directed and white-produced films that I feel adequately round up these stereotypes. Spanglish (2004) and Carlito's Way (1993) will be analyzed using the concepts of the "beautiful white self" and the "white messiah" originally utilized by Vera and Gordon (2003). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]