Class

Article

College

Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services

Department

English Department

Faculty Mentor

Crescencio López González

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Abstract

Our research aims to explore the lack of Latinx women being portrayed in films with education as the central theme. Although there are Latinx women in films today, they are not portrayed in an entirely positive light. They are commonly represented in an oversexualized manner compared to latinx men who are portrayed as hard workers and commonly seeking education. A good example would be the film McFarland USA by Niki Caro in which young male adolescents are a part of a cross country team. Although the film does a great job of portraying their lives as latinx adolescents living in the United States, the film fails to depict the women’s team overall. There are films on education that portray women, such as Real Women Have Curves by Patricia Cardoso, a coming-of-age film depicting a young Latina struggling to defend her right to obtain a higher education. However, a common theme throughout the film is her mother commenting on her body and her duties as a woman in serving men. As a result, we are looking to investigate the lack of Latinx women being depicted in a positive light in current films.

Location

Logan, UT

Start Date

4-8-2022 12:00 AM

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Apr 8th, 12:00 AM

Broken Film Narratives: The Invisibility of Latinx Women in Education Through Film and Literature

Logan, UT

Our research aims to explore the lack of Latinx women being portrayed in films with education as the central theme. Although there are Latinx women in films today, they are not portrayed in an entirely positive light. They are commonly represented in an oversexualized manner compared to latinx men who are portrayed as hard workers and commonly seeking education. A good example would be the film McFarland USA by Niki Caro in which young male adolescents are a part of a cross country team. Although the film does a great job of portraying their lives as latinx adolescents living in the United States, the film fails to depict the women’s team overall. There are films on education that portray women, such as Real Women Have Curves by Patricia Cardoso, a coming-of-age film depicting a young Latina struggling to defend her right to obtain a higher education. However, a common theme throughout the film is her mother commenting on her body and her duties as a woman in serving men. As a result, we are looking to investigate the lack of Latinx women being depicted in a positive light in current films.