LAS 470 Consuming Latin America

Tony Morrison is a complex character in terms of casting, acting, costume, morality, and motivation. The first thing I noticed is that they had an Italian actor playing a Cuban character. While I think Al Pacino is a phenomenal actor, I think this casting choice really could have an impact on the representation, perception, and consumption of Latin America and Latin Americans. I did notice some inconsistencies with his accent, as someone who has studied Spanish linguistics, specifically in the Cuban dialect, which gave away his true identity. In terms of costuming, I found the Hawaiian shirt to be an interesting motif. Tony shows up to the United States in a Hawaiian shirt and that costuming changes to a suit as he grows in power and becomes more established in the United States. We see the Hawaiian shirt again after Tony kills Frank and hires Ernie, one of Frank's old employees. Ernie wears the Hawaiian shirt in the montage as his first outfit working for Tony, that shirt is then ...

The obituary of Agustín Edwards shows how the media, in this case the newspaper, can portray Latin American events. The portrayal of events affects how people consume their own culture and everyday life, and therefore how they form opinions on everything they read. “For much of the 19 th and 20 th centuries, the Edwardses used their political and economic prowess to shape Chile’s politics and policies, backing right-wing candidates and governments.” If El Mercurio was helping shape governments, it was definitely helping by the way that Chileans consume their news and helping form structure in this way. Considering the fact that Mr. Edwards was using his political and business efforts to reach out the United States asking them to help stop Allende from ascending to power, it also shows that Mr. Edwards and his newspaper also affect how Americans consume Latin American history. When the coup occurred and El Mercurio pledged its allegiance to the new military leaders,...

The cultural celebration when the non-cartoon women and men are singing is a celebration of the Other. Also, the overly happy-go-lucky personalities of the friend from Brazil and from Mexico could be an over-exaggeration of the friendliness and “Good Neighbor” idea of Latin America.  These displays of the Other is, according to Goldman, created for the “package and consumption” of Hollywood and the U.S. to show in their country and culture.   The Penguin Pablo is pursuing his “American Dream” and trying to go to where he thinks the world is better. The first time he tries to go, he freezes and is sent back home, the second time, the same thing happens. I feel that this shows the difficulties people face when trying to immigrate to the U.S. and how hard it can be. I also think it helps people understand South American geography. It also gives the audience a chance to learn and understand Hispanic language and culture. Relatin...