Cinco de Mayo. The date is among America’s most popular Mexican celebrations, with celebrities, programs and organizations participating.
At its core is celebrating the victory against the French and declaring independence against them. We celebrate it now in various methods of celebration for the culture itself, including on the big and small screens.
Delta College Hispanics/Latino staff and students note a consensus in the positive reputation in Hollywood projects showcasing the culture. Several new and older movies were recommended to watch to get insight into the people and culture, though some provide more stereotypical references than others.
BIOGRAPHIC PORTRAYALS: “La Bamba,” “Selena,” “Stand and Deliver,” & “McFarland, USA”
These films depict the real-life stories of people and their struggles.
“La Bamba” focuses on Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becoming an overnight rock ‘n’ roll success in 1958. As his fame rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother and his trauma of a haunting nightmare of the plane crash that killed his best friend.
“Selena” tells the life story of performer Selena Quintanilla and how she was born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. She finds success in seeking mainstream stardom and begins recording her Spanish-language albums. The life story of Quintanilla has film and series adaptations, so viewers can choose which format to watch based on their preferences.
“Stand and Deliver” focuses on Los Angeles high school teacher Jaime Escalante being hassled by challenging students. He opts to immerse his students in higher math through intensive study to ace California’s calculus test, only to learn that the education system is questioning their scores.
“McFarland, USA” tells the story of struggling coach and teacher Jim White moving to the Central Valley. There he discovers buried potential in several players, and slowly turns them into championship runners.
STEREOTYPICAL PORTRAYALS: “Blood In Blood Out,” “American Me,” “Boulevard Nights,” & “Mi Vida Loca”
These films present more stereotypically as they lean into gang violence within Chicano communities.
“Blood In Blood Out” focuses on two step-brothers and their bi-racial cousin and how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. One is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, another becomes a heroin addict overcoming tragic results, and the other becomes a cop leading to conflicting issues with his relatives.
“American Me” depicts thirty years of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles. It focuses on three teens getting into trouble and soon arrested for a break-in. They go from reform school to prison, spending eighteen years there and becoming leaders of a powerful gang inside and outside the prison.
“Boulevard Nights” is the story of a young Mexican-American trying to resist the lure of street gangs in East Los Angeles, unlike his older brother. He struggles to take steps toward building himself a future with his girlfriend as he finds a sense of belonging in a gang.
“Mi Vida Loca” shows childhood female best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood, later becoming bitter enemies. While their dispute escalates towards violence, violence around them also impacts their lives.
EXAGGERATED REALISTIC PORTRAYALS: “End of Watch,” “Apocalypto,” “Machete,” “Mayans MC,” “Narcos: Mexico,” & “On My Block”
These projects take inspiration and influence from realistic events but take it to an extreme with action and drama to make for attention catchers.
“End of Watch” shows longtime LAPD partners and friends patrolling one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Their honor and dedication are unmatched as they always have each other’s back, but all hell breaks loose for the officers when they run afoul of a vicious Mexican cartel.
“Apocalypto” takes influence from indigenous ancestry by depicting the story of a peaceful hunter in a remote tribe captured and scheduled for a ritual sacrifice until he makes a daring escape from the Mayan Kingdom as he tries to make it back to his pregnant wife and son.
“Machete” tells the story of a former Mexican Federale hitman set up for failure at a job. After recovering, he is soon out for revenge on his former employers.
“Mayans M.C.” follows a motorcycle club charter on the California/Mexico border. We see a former golden boy, fresh out of prison, as a prospect in the charter who must carve out his new outlaw identity.
“Narcos: Mexico” explores when the Mexican trafficking world was a loose, disorganized confederation in the 1980s, showing traffickers unifying to build an empire, as the DEA agent assigned to the case learns his assignment is more challenging than he imagined.
“On My Block” is a comedy show about four street-savvy friends navigating through the triumph, pain, and newness of high-school set in the rough inner city.
REALISTIC PORTRAYAL
“My Family” traces three generations of an immigrant family’s trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Each generation contends with political and social hardships, ranging from illegal deportations in the 1930s to gang fights in the 1950s to familial tensions in the 1970s.
EASY-GOING & LIGHT-HEARTED: “Coco,” “The Book of Life,” “Maya and the Three,” & “George Lopez”
“Coco” is a Disney-animated film that focuses on a boy who dreams of becoming a musician like his idol despite his family’s disapproval. He finds himself on an afterlife adventure, depicted with influence from traditional Mexican beliefs.
“The Book of Life” is an animated film about three childhood friends from a small Mexican town. Their lives take different paths as they grow older, but the love triangle remains. They’re unaware that two deities have made a high-stakes wager based on the outcome of the love triangle.
“Maya and the Three” is an animated miniseries that takes influences from indigenous culture. It portrays a Mesoamerican warrior princess embarking on a quest to recruit three legendary fighters to fulfill an ancient prophecy and save humanity from the wrath of vengeful gods.
“George Lopez” is a sitcom T.V. show starring the Mexican stand-up comic as a husband devoted to his wife and their children while having a complicated relationship with his live-in, insensitive, difficult mother.