Sermon of the Week

Mi amiga M____ is a smart, educated woman whose company is a joy to behold and whose conversation is a joy to listen to. And yet I somehow doubt I will ever see a movie or TV show made about a person like my friend M____.

Why?

Because M____ is Latina. And we all "know" from American TV and Hollywood that Latinas can't be smart or educated. It's like against the law.

Of course, I don't rely on American TV and Hollywood to determine my opinion of Latinas. I rely on my real-life experience, which is of course a bit more positive.

However, many people who watch American TV and movies will never have experiences like my experiences. Nor will they have the opportunity to ever meet a person like M____ in real life. Thus their opinions of Latinas will mainly determined by shows like Weeds and films like Napoleon Dynamite. Shows and films that present most Latinas as servants, crooks, or morons -- if not all three.

And that is a true shame... in more ways than one.