Quote of the Week
It is not wrong to be a maid, or even a Latina maid, but there is something very wrong with an American entertainment industry that continually tells Latinas that this is all they are or can ever be.
--Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, "The problem with “Devious Maids” goes far beyond Hollywood", NBCLatino.com, June 07, 2013.
My comment:
I know I should have commented on the Devious Maids controversy long before this, but unfortunately, I got caught up with other issues. I often put off commenting on controversial issues until I find the right words to do them justice, but unfortunately, the right words don't always come at a convenient time.
Anyway, as much as I admire Marc Cherry's and Eva Longoria's work on the TV series Desperate Housewives, I always have found that show's take on ethnic issues a bit embarrassing -- almost as if the hearts of the show's writers and cast were not really in it. In a way, I could understand. After all, Longoria's character Gabby Solis wasn't meant to be the ideal example of a Mexican-American woman any more than Ricky Ricardo was meant to be the ideal Cuban-American man. Indeed, part of what made her so entertaining on Desperate Housewives was that she was anything but an ideal person of any ethnic background and yet because she was less than ideal, she came across as being more human -- and thus, more believable and sympathetic -- than a more PC character would have been. (Then again I grew up with a father who always liked Donald Duck better than Mickey Mouse because he too was more "human" -- or at least more believable -- than the squeaky-voiced rodent. Not that a talking duck is all that comparable to Ms. Solis but still...)
As for the Devious Maids series, I have not seen it yet. And while I hesitate to comment on it for that reason, I have yet to read anything concerning it which would suggest it would be an improvement on Desperate Housewives. Indeed, as a person of Mexican descent who spent most of his life around relatives of Mexican-American descent -- and who has yet to meet any one who has ever worked as a maid or a domestic servant -- I can not help but be a little tired of seeing yet another TV series in which the main Mexican-American characters are maids. After all, it is not like such shows are rare. Indeed, I find it a bit ironic to note that most of my more prosperous relatives in Mexico are more likely to hire maids than be maids -- and yet one rarely sees such Mexicans portrayed on American TV shows.
But then most American TV shows are not made for either Mexican or Mexican-American viewers. And I doubt very much that the success of a Devious Maids is going to change that. Which is a shame -- for both Mexicans and non-Mexicans.
It is not wrong to be a maid, or even a Latina maid, but there is something very wrong with an American entertainment industry that continually tells Latinas that this is all they are or can ever be.
--Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, "The problem with “Devious Maids” goes far beyond Hollywood", NBCLatino.com, June 07, 2013.
My comment:
I know I should have commented on the Devious Maids controversy long before this, but unfortunately, I got caught up with other issues. I often put off commenting on controversial issues until I find the right words to do them justice, but unfortunately, the right words don't always come at a convenient time.
Anyway, as much as I admire Marc Cherry's and Eva Longoria's work on the TV series Desperate Housewives, I always have found that show's take on ethnic issues a bit embarrassing -- almost as if the hearts of the show's writers and cast were not really in it. In a way, I could understand. After all, Longoria's character Gabby Solis wasn't meant to be the ideal example of a Mexican-American woman any more than Ricky Ricardo was meant to be the ideal Cuban-American man. Indeed, part of what made her so entertaining on Desperate Housewives was that she was anything but an ideal person of any ethnic background and yet because she was less than ideal, she came across as being more human -- and thus, more believable and sympathetic -- than a more PC character would have been. (Then again I grew up with a father who always liked Donald Duck better than Mickey Mouse because he too was more "human" -- or at least more believable -- than the squeaky-voiced rodent. Not that a talking duck is all that comparable to Ms. Solis but still...)
As for the Devious Maids series, I have not seen it yet. And while I hesitate to comment on it for that reason, I have yet to read anything concerning it which would suggest it would be an improvement on Desperate Housewives. Indeed, as a person of Mexican descent who spent most of his life around relatives of Mexican-American descent -- and who has yet to meet any one who has ever worked as a maid or a domestic servant -- I can not help but be a little tired of seeing yet another TV series in which the main Mexican-American characters are maids. After all, it is not like such shows are rare. Indeed, I find it a bit ironic to note that most of my more prosperous relatives in Mexico are more likely to hire maids than be maids -- and yet one rarely sees such Mexicans portrayed on American TV shows.
But then most American TV shows are not made for either Mexican or Mexican-American viewers. And I doubt very much that the success of a Devious Maids is going to change that. Which is a shame -- for both Mexicans and non-Mexicans.
Labels: Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Citas de la Semana III, Criadas, Criadas y Malvadas, Esposas Desesperadas, Estereotipos, Eva Longoria, Latinas y Latinos, Marc Cherry, Representación, Televisión
posted by Tonio Kruger at 5:26 PM
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