Reframing Latin America: A Cultural Theory Reading ... - BGSU Blogs

312 reframing latin america
he no longer has a job at Metro, whereupon he smashes the glass table with
the object. As María, her daughters, and Memo laugh at the TV screen, the
latter says, “I really dig Desi.” At this juncture, Chucho is being chased,
and when he runs into the police chief and knocks him over, he spits in his
face, further refuting his official status as armed and dangerous. Just as the
episode of I Love Lucy is ending, the “spic son of a bitch,” as the chief calls
Chucho, is shot graphically in the head and chest before Jimmy’s eyes, the
shots ringing out over the I Love Lucy theme song.
The fi rst subjective frame of the television scene invites the spectator to
join the women of the family and Memo (this group will become signifi cant
later) in consuming and concretizing through humor the image of Latinos
as inherently hot-tempered. However, the juxtaposition of that scene with
the grave events taking place outside the home inspires the viewer to take
a second critical look at this seemingly innocuous and humorous portrayal.
With the deliberate crosscutting between events, the fi lm advocates a connection
between the hackneyed representations of U.S. Latinos that are
sold to and bought by Anglo Americans as well as Latino Americans and
the violent consequences these representations can indirectly and directly
bring about once they are fi rmly located in the subconscious of the viewer.
If U.S. television audiences believe that Ricky Ricardo can be transformed
from mild-mannered musician to wild-eyed, Spanish-spewing maniac in a
matter of seconds, it’s only natural to also assume that a young Hispanic
punk with a bad attitude can easily make the leap into violent crime. In this
sense the fi lm’s project widens to include alternatives to the reifi ed images
of U.S. Latinidad (Latinness) as they are presented in standard cultural fare
and practiced in daily life.
Clearly then, Mi familia is a fi lm that seeks to establish Chicano legitimacy
in the United States by presenting multiple versions of official U.S.
history, consequently exposing this history as unjust. 4 Yet, while the fi lm
consciously and successfully seeks to dismantle U.S. foundational singularity,
it also operates within a discursive framework of exclusion by limiting
who and what defi ne Chicano identity. To be sure, having six children who
run the gamut of typical Chicano roles in the United States smacks of diversity
campaigns. But like these campaigns, which attempt to increase cultural
understanding but often end up further pigeonholing the individuals of
any group, Mi familia narrows the defi nition of Chicano in two important
ways. First, in its patriarchal structure, it masculinizes Chicano identity.
The men of the family drive the plot forward. José’s prominence gives way
to a focus on Chucho’s defi ant character and then on Jimmy, the redemptive
fi gure, all narrated by Paco’s authorial and authoritative voice-over.