Today I am going to write about a new show that I came across randomly and from the looks of it only lasted the one season. I may not talk about it again, but thought it was at least worth mentioning once. I will also mention that throughout this post I use the word Latinx which is a generic term when talking about Latin American culture instead of saying Latino or Latina, since in Spanish you use one or the other to indicate male or female. Alright, let’s get started!
What I watched:
Cristela S1.E1&2 “Pilot” and “Soul Mates”Black-ish S3E.14 “The Name Game”
What I saw:
Starting with Cristela. This show came out in 2014, and follows a Latina named Cristela who is on her last year of law school. She has an interview to enter a non-paid internship at a prestigious law firm, which is a plan her family is not really liking because that means she will be freeloading even longer than she already has. She lives with her sister and her family, and Cristela helps take care of the kids. I was surprised to see a famous comedian Gabriel “Mr. Fluffy” Iglesia played as the brother-in-law’s cousin, Alberto, who has a big crush on the main character. The other thing that I was surprised about, in a horrified way, was that the show featured a laugh track. I really hate laugh tracks, because I feel like it was more of a 90’s thing, and modern comedies allow the viewers to figure out what is funny (or not).
In the pilot episode, Cristela is facing resistance from her family about working for free, as well as some of the casual racism that every Latinx person has faced at some point in their life. Naturally she winds up getting the internship and shows her brother-in-law her law degree may come in handy when she threatens legal action on someone who had yet to pay him for a job. In the second episode it’s about finding a balance between career and personal life as her sister pressures her into going out on a date set up by an online dating site. Her date, who ends up being Alberto, tells her he doesn’t want her working if they were to get married and have kids, which she finds unacceptable.
First off I am going to say that the show had some pretty decent jokes that Latinx people can relate too. They poked a little fun at some cultural things like food, Catholicism, immigrating into the county, and language; but it managed to avoid falling into stereotyping, which I think Hollywood has really struggled with. The scene in the pilot where she gets confused for the cleaning lady created an impact, but then it was rounded out a little too quickly with a lighthearted joke, as if to make sure not to offend a white audience who probably made a similar mistake. Now in real life Latinx have learned that despite what box the world, friends, or family will try to put you in because of their biases, you have to keep following your own path. Latinx are not destined to be only laborers or servants.
The show was able to send a stronger message the moment when Cristela defends her desire to work and be career driven. Latin American culture traditionally has the man as being the provider, with the woman doing the cooking, cleaning, and raising the kids. Of course with the newer generations that has been changing, but there are still plenty out there who expect that to be the structure. But the overall lesson wasn’t just about being true to yourself despite cultural expectations, it was also being okay with placing career first. Cristela wasn't avoiding dating because she never wants to be in a relationship. It was because she wanted to make sure she was successful in her career before bringing anyone else into her life who might have different expectations of her. It wasn’t just talking about things on a cultural level, but it talked about the issue on a feminine level too.
Despite the potential I saw in the first two episodes, I also noticed a few things that might explain why it never made it past the first season. Number one that I mentioned was the laugh track. Second I would say it was the overall pacing. I only watched the first two episodes, but it is already clear as day what direction they are heading in with the characters, from the very likely romantic relationship with her coworker Josh (which according to Wikipedia I was correct), to reducing animosity with her brother-in-law, becoming more valuable in the eyes of her boss, and a few others. It just seems like it’s following the sitcom playbook to the letter, and that makes it boring. One last critique would be the set-up for the show as far as looks. It looks very much like a stage, with not much change in camera angles. Other than the fact that it features a Latina, the show is not very memorable.
I have been on the search for a good show that features Latin American characters without falling into stereotypes. Shows like Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat do a good job of highlighting some of the unique elements of their respective cultures through comedic storytelling rather than just joke after joke like normal sitcoms. They also are not afraid of having a seriously heavy moment invade the space for a moment, which makes any joke afterwards come out stronger. I’ll keep searching for my “Brown-ish” show and hope one day I will be rewarded.
Speaking of Black-ish.
The episode was about what
kind of future the baby was going to have as a black person growing
up. Bow and Dre find out they are going to have a boy which means Dre
gets to pick the name. He picks the name DeVante, which Bow worries
it sounds “too black” and their son will be judged the moment he
speaks his name. Dre does the usual rounds and asks everyone in the
office, and they all seem to agree with Bow that it sounds too black
and therefore intimidating.
Bow later presented the
classic study of having two identical resumes, one with a white
sounding name and the other with a black sounding name, and the black
one gets ignored. They have a serious discussion about what is the
right thing to do for not only their child, but their culture as black people. They can try to assimilate at the possibility of having
more opportunities, or they can embrace their culture at the cost of
their child being discriminated against, either intentionally or
unintentionally.
This
is where a show like Black-ish
really shines. It depicts the struggle of black people living in a white world. Culture is
constantly changing as each generation considers
just how much of their culture to keep or how much they want to
give up and join the dominant culture. It is not an easy road to
navigate: pick your culture entirely and feel left out as well as
miss any opportunities to make improvements, or assimilate too much
where you miss out on what made your culture so unique and
meaningful. In the end Dre and Bow choose to embrace their black
culture, realizing that it’s the white culture that needs to start
assimilating to their own.
Wrapping things up. Depicting
culture on TV is a difficult thing to pull off. While I am happy to
see more people of color be represented on TV, I still wish there was
a show that depicts Latinx culture in a better way. Maybe
I’ll never really find it because I’m in the culture and I can
see all the different strands that make up the rope of Latinx culture. I can identify with some of the similarities Black or
Asian cultures have with my own Latin American one, but
since I’m not a part of those groups I am just fine with the broad depiction of that culture on TV. Who
knows! Can anyone think of a good show depicting Latin American
culture? Or are you from another culture that has never really been
represented well on TV either? Let
me know in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment