Core Response

I think it’s important that Mary Beltran makes the distinction that “Latinos have been considered maybe sometimes white based on what is most useful politically to those in power at particular junctures”. This gives insight into the ever changing nature of latinx identities and how their bodies are used on screen for the benefit of others. In the context of Carmen Miranda, she was utilized as a tool to represent several Latin nationalities despite being Brazilian. It is noted that countries such as Cuba and Argentina disliked the ways in which Miranda’s films depicted them. Her roles were explicitly a stereotype of a mixture of the two most prominent roles latina women played, the exotic sex object and the ignorant comic actress. The author of the Carmen Miranda article makes the argument that though her roles were excessive, racist, and reductive they in some way gave Miranda control and fans the ability to read the content differently, I did not fully understand what Roberts was getting at here but it did make me think about the complexity of Jennifer Lopez. I remember seeing Jennifer Lopez in Selena, and also in her iconic Jenny From the Block music video/song. This weeks reading dealt a lot with how she’s viewed for her body and for embracing her curves that go against traditional beauty standards. Although a lot has changed since the image of Carmen Miranda, to include less explicitly stereotypical characters there is still an understanding that Latina bodies are something to be looked at. The “Jennifer’s Butt” article was particularly intriguing due to its insights on the support and/or backlash of having Jennifer Lopez, a Puerto Rican, play a Tejana/Mexican. Latinos/Hispanics are typically clumped together under misleading umbrella terms. Its interesting that Jennifer Lopez encouraged the focus on her body, in some ways this gave her a level of control over how others viewed her since she was self aware of her curves and the focus on her butt, and made the best of it.