Assignment 18 - NCLR's "Out of the Picture," Maggie Rodriguez's "Defend the Honor", Chicano documentaries, Frito Bandito & other dastardly characters

Note: The history of Hispanics being depicted on television has basically been that we have been "Out of the Picture." In addition, when we did appear on TV, we appeared as dastardly and unruly characters. This phenomena has followed us into the 21st century, according to some scholars. In addition, even our contributions to the great World War II drama has been "left out of the picture." These set of questions are designed to examine the role of television in portraying the Hispanic over the years.


Part I: Comment on the National Council of La Raza's study titled "Out of the Picture" discussed on Page 123. Do you think that study is still true today? Why or why not?

Part II: Dr. Maggie Rodriguez from the University of Texas has made it her life's work to document the role of Hispanics, in particular Mexican Americans, in World War II and the U.S. military. From Page 124's review, examine her battle with Ken Burns and his groundbreaking documentary "The War." Write a brief essay on Dr. Rodriguez's role in this battle for equity in this Public Broadcasting Corp. film.

Part III: In many ways, Chicano documentary was responsible for the awakening of Chicano television. Examine the section on pages 127-129 and write a brief essay on the role of the Chicano documentary in continuing the history of Hispanics in the Media.

Part IV: Read the section on dastardly characters on Page 126. Go online to suggested website and view this characters. Do you think they would be offensive to Hispanics? Why or why not? Who were some of the Hispanic organizations who led the fight against stereotypes? The student can visit the YouTube website (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSVk01-5dZw).