Stereotypes in Film

Hollywood films are one of the main forms of public outreach in the U.S. and internationally. Hollywood is a place where stereotypes strive and make productions companies money. In the article (http://epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/15_latinos_change_stereotypes.htm), it talks about how Latinos and Hispanics are forced to play roles that are seen as typical Latinos. Far too often, Latinos are portrayed as gang bangers, drunken fathers, or passive women. After watching many movies in my lifetime, I have seen the same latino or chicano person play the same kind of character in different movies. To counter the stereotypes, many latinos are taking on different kinds of roles. Cheech Marin has moved from playing a "stoner" to a becoming a regular on Nash Bridges. Other people are taking roles with power such as director and producer.

Transnational Adoption

We have studied the immigration and border crossing of families and adult individuals. An aspect of immigration or transnational movement I have been interested in lately is international adoptions. In my CES 492 class, we talk about the effects and the trends in US adoptions internationally. When I first thought about applying it to the Chicano and Latino arena, my first assumption was that there are very few adoptions immediately south of the US border. I was surprised at the numbers.

This link takes you to the Immigrants Visas Issued to Orphans coming to the US.
(http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/stats/stats_451.html)

What this shows is that currently, Guatemalan children are the second most adopted (China is first). Guatemala has been consistently at the top 5 of adopted children countries since 1992. For Mexico, though, it's a different story. Mexican orphans are consistently at the bottom of the most adopted children. This number doesn't really surprise me much becaues of the close proximity Mexico is to the US.

If you look at the bigger picture of transnational adoption, you might assume that the United States is continuing a colonial project. A perception that is commonly taken is that US families are acting like humanitarians and are just "helping" the orhapns. But in reality, these children are being commodified and literally are bought for by American families. When a child is transnationally adopted, the agency (public or private) issues a new "birth certificate" as if to say that the child is being "born" into their new family. There is also an option to cut off any biological parent or relative from the child's life for good.

So, the orphans coming in from Latin America are being "reborn" and are forced to assimilate to American culture. Though it may seem that the US has good intentions or are acting humanely, they are in fact committing a form of cultural genocide through these children.