Chicano essays

Chicano essays In the film Bordertown (1950) there are many issues that are present from a Chicanos point of view. The misrepresentation of Chicanos can be seen from the very beginning to the very end of the film. The role of Johnny Ramirez, the protagonist of Bordertown (1950) was portrayed by the famous, but nonetheless Caucasian Paul Muni. This is an example of one of the problems emphatically brought up by Charles Ramirez Berg, regarding the male Chicano protagonist, they are portrayed by non-Chicanos, when a Chicano can be found to portray the role. This shows that audience could not see a very successful man without somehow relating his success to his actual ethnicity, Caucasian. This helps society cope with the ever changing melting-pot, which is our society in fact. Berg also states that the absence of a father in Chicano films, such as Bordertown (1950), is typical and quite disturbing. The father's absence in Chicano films is almost always unexplained so the character personality could never be complete because he does not have a role model. The son has no knowledge why he behaves the way he does or likes the things he likes, he is forever living an unsatisfied and sometimes troubled life. The most significant and troubling issue is stated by Berg as "the absence of the Chicana." The Chicana is never a major figure unless she is playing the role of a mother. The Chicana is seen as a mediocre part of life and is never given a role of power. Caucasian women are usually given the roles of power and assertiveness to portray a special type of women, while Chicanas are given roles as mothers, housekeepers, and girlfriends. ...