Instructions:
Discuss the role and images of the Puerto Ricans, Cubans and other Latinos in 1960's to
1980's using the movies West Side Story, Fort Apache,The Bronx and Scarface
and the readings.
Date: Fri, Nov 6, 1998 (10:00)
From: Shakira Ramos (sramos)
In the article, "From Assimilation to Annihilation: Puerto
Ricans Images in U.S Films," Richie Pérez writes, "By 1946, considerable
"official" attention was being devoted to "juvenile delinquency" and
the "social decay" that many officials blamed for the increase of youth crime
and challenging of authority. Mainstream America gradually became gripped by panic,
fearful that the whole post-war generation had "gone bad". A widespread movement
developed reflecting class and race hostilities..."(Pérez 144). At the same time of
United States' "social decay" there was a mass migration of Puerto Ricans into
the United States. The Puerto Ricans clearly became the scapegoats for the problems in the
United States. Films like West Side Story 1961,Scarface 1983,
and Fort Apache, The Bronx,
depict Latinos especially Puerto Ricans in a negative manner. These Puerto Ricans and
Cubans became the Urban Bandidos of
the East which were associated with violence, crimes, drugs and sex. The Latino male is
stereotyped as a drug dealer, a criminal, a bandit and gang members while the Latinas are
seen as sex objects and submissive. All these negative stereotypes allows to keep Puerto
Ricans inferior to whites and it causes for many Puerto Ricans to want to assimilate and
deny their culture. The films also implied that Latinos needed non-Latinos to help them
progress and to get away from violence.
In 1961, West Side Story became the first movie about Puerto
Ricans in the U.S, thus creating a model for Puerto Rican ethnic identity. This film
focused on the "youth delinquents" and associated Puerto Ricans as barbaric,
violent and cockroaches. There is hostility, hatred and confrontation between the two
gangs, Jets and Sharks, over territory. The Jets which are the white gangmembers while the
Sharks are the Puerto Ricans. Sandoval writes, "Most of the Anglo-Americans are
blond, strong, dynamic, and healthy and so embody the ideologeme: "All-American
Boy". On the other hand, the Puerto Ricans are black haired, dark skinned, and
skinny"(170). Just the name Shark compared to Jets gives the Puerto Ricans a barbaric
identity. The film emphasizes on how Puerto Ricans are the ones that are violent because
they are the ones that will want to fight with weapons. Pérez writes, "[West Side
Story] simultaneously perpetuated the stereotype of Puerto Ricans males as knife-carrying
gang members who could only solve their problems through violence" (151). As the
males in the film are violent, the women are viewed as submissive and innocent. Overall,
the film portrays Anglos' fears of Puerto Ricans intruding their territory. The Anglos
associate the Puerto Ricans with cockroaches because they feel that "they keep on
coming like cockroaches".
As time passed, the films became worse in depicting Latinos. In both Scarface and Fort
Apache, The Bronx, drugs, violence, crimes and sex become essential. The film Fort
Apache, The Bronx tries to show life in the ghetto which was described as "a
running sore" which was an insult to American ideas. It seemed as though the movie
became a propaganda to prove that Latinos needed non-Latinos to socially progress. Paul
Newman, the main character as officer Murphy, is presented as a good guy. One example in
which whites can be seen as Saviors is when the young 14 year old is pregnant and her
parents do not know and officer Murphy and his partner, Coreli, help her give birth. The
main characters are white and as Rodriquez points out, "Latinos were cast only in
incidental roles with negative characteristics" (183). Isabelle, the young nurse
which officer Murphy becomes involve with, at first seems like a positive Latina but ends
up being a heroin addict. Other Latinos were drug dealers, prostitutes, junkies, gay,
pimps and cops killers. Again, the women is seen as submissive and innocent especially
Coreli's fiancée. To him his sex life is more important than his fiancée's belief of
having sex after marriage. She then, not knowing better, gives in to please him.
Unlike West Side Story and Fort Apache, The Bronx, there
is no Puerto Ricans in Scarface but instead it involves Cubans, Colombians and
Bolivians as drug lords. The main character, Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, is a
coke-snorting Cuban refugee whose ambition is to make money by whatever means. As
Rodriquez mentions, "Violence, guns, drugs, and sex are at the core of almost every
scene"(181). Killing becomes a way for Latinos to get higher in status. The men are
obsessed with sex and women who are blond and skinny. In this film the women are seen only
as sex objects. In this film Cubans are seen as ambitious, street smart, and sneaky while
Puerto Ricans in the other films are seen as uneducated, troublemakers and ignorant.
Finally, all the major roles are played by non-Latinos with fake
accents. The fake accents are insulting to Latinos because having an accent makes the
characters look uneducated thus implying that Latinos are not educated. Latinos do not get
main roles instead they play the negative parts like drug dealers, prostitutes and other
parts non-Latinos do not want to play.
Date: Sat, Nov 7, 1998 (17:27)
From: Shakira Ramos (sramos)
First of all, I have some questions for Ivan, Isn't Tony an ex-Jet and not an
ex-Shark? and who is Chino, Tony's brother? Other than that, It is interesting how you
mention that minorities and Anglos cannot live without conflict. I never really looked at
how different roles replaced old Latinos role. In your response you mentioned that
"The Urban Bandido of the Northeast ghetto replaced the Mexican Greaser of the wild
West, the Latina Vamp replaced with even more sexual being as is inherent in the
characters of Isabella,Anita, and Gina.Even the Mexican Buffon was replaced with
unoriginally enough, a Puerto Rican Buffoon..." I also liked your linked with
Carlito's Way. Scarface and Carlito Way are very similar in representing Latinos in the
same way and having the negative environment.
Stephen you brought up an interesting
difference between Scarface and West Side Story in how "Bernardo has the potential to
be violent, sexual and powerful, but with the exception of the knife fight, he never
reaches that potential" unlike Tony Montana who would do anything like kill his own
friend to get where he wants to be.
One topic that I quickly mentioned but did not talk about is the denial of culture. This
is the main theme in the film Popi. The movie was really funny but sad that in
order for his kids to have a better life and to get away from living the ghetto. The
father has to pass his two boys as Cuban refugees who do not have any family so that some
rich white person will pity them and give them the home and life they could not have in
New York. Another interesting point is that the Cubans are the ones who would be pity the
most because even if told the kids to be Puerto Rican children with no family, the whites
would not help. This involves what Nick
and Tara mentioned in their
discussion, Hierarchy. From all the Latinos, Puerto Ricans are the lowest in the social
structure.
