Cultural Perception - Latino Men

 
 
 

The Cultural Perception of Latino Men

Unfortunately we live in a world where perception and first impression mean everything.  Sometimes the perceptions are good, other times they are not.  Living in the United States, many people have a poor perception of Mexico and it's people.  Many correlate Mexico with poverty and crime and choose to let the media expound on these perceptions and ideas.  There is a sad, unfortunate, and frankly embarrassing single story that is formed about Latin Men.  Look at the pictures above, in these pictures several different messages are being sent, all with the same story.  In the top right corner we have a movie cover with a cowboy who has a mustache and a gun in each hand.  This artifact conveys a message of violence as well as a sense being unkept.  In the picture next to it we have another latino male who also appears unkept and seems to have a lack of concern for his hygiene and body.  In the billboard it shows a latino man with a large mustache, sombrero and poncho, which could also refer to being unkept and unconcerned for hygiene.  The bottom picture is a famous reporter from Mexico who's picture was used in a portrayal of the "common Mexican."  In all of these pictures, there seems to be a portrayal of an attitude of not caring as to how you look and being unkept.  Unfortunately, this is not true of these people who live a different culture than Americans, but because of perception, are seen in a much lower light.

The single story is ridiculous and embarrassing.  It is very sad to hear people speak and portray these people in such a demeaning manner.  This story is limiting because it takes into effect extremes and doesn't even touch the surface of actions, but merely appearance.  The social implications are detrimental as many business owners in the United States, even though they deny it, often deny work to these Latino men simply because they are latino.  Obviously they will state other reasons as to be safe with the law, but it is sad to see the immediate degrading of these people.  If people were to ignore what the media says and portrays of Latin men, they would find a great people, full of life and hope.

As stated above, the artifacts I chose gave a perspective and perception of Latino men in a way that demonstrated them as being unkept and unconcerned about image and appearance.  I also decided to add a video at the bottom of this that is labeled "Speedy Gonzales."  This cartoon was taken off the air because of it's degrading and racist manner of portraying these men of Mexico.  Showing the extreme of a culture will always give a perception of ONLY the extreme, and not the normal.  My hope is that through educating the public and beginning to change the media's perception of these great people; that we may be able to save this group and help them as they pursue their goals and dreams, just like any American. (Also enjoy a clip from Nacho Libre; even though it is very humorous, it demonstrates this culture in a poor light.)

THE SINGLE STORY IS THAT PEOPLE BELIEVE LATINO MEN ARE UNKEPT AND UNCONCERNED ABOUT PURSUING SUCCESS.

"Speedy Gonzales"

"Nacho Libre"