BE #1A

I never really found any importance to Speedy growing up.  I liked the cartoons when I grew up and watched them but never really thought of it being any significance to me at all.  I never thought of speedy Gonzales as being a bad stereotype of Mexicans of course I knew he was Mexican but as a child watching the cartoon I just found it funny and didn’t know any better I guess.  My whole family used to watch it though it was something we would all watch together even with our parents who did not speak Spanish and they still laughed as we watched the cartoon together.  I never heard my parents once complain how speedy Gonzales was offensive they enjoyed the show as well.

After reading the material and doing research on Speedy Gonzales it has alter my opinion.  They say that Speedy Gonzales is inappropriate for cartoons of the 21^st century playing on cartoon network but how could they say that how can cartoon network even mention them being inappropriate for children when cartoon like “Family guy” plays on carton network?  Many cartoons that my nephew watches on cartoon network are in appropriate for children they stuff they talk about are for adults.  There are times my nephews say things that they hear on these cartoons and its suppose to be cartoon network there suppose to play cartons appropriate for children well how is having cartoons that talk about sex and drugs appropriate for kids.  It makes me upset for them to even have the audacity to say that Speedy Gonzales is not appropriate for children.  When they allow these cartoons to play on the same network.  

JE#1 Speedy Gonzales

I can't help feeling a little guilty that I enjoyed watching the Speedy episodes and even going on YouTube to watch a few more. I felt so much nostalgia as the Warner Brothers logo came on the catchy tune started. When my family and I came to the U.S. we lived in South Central LA for about 3 years while my mom was working at a factory in Vernon which is a heavily industrial city. I was between the ages of 2-5 and my mom was hardly home because she was working very hard to take care of me and my older brother and younger sister and my grandma would take care of us. We didn't have toys to play with and my grandma didn't always allow us to play outside because she thought we were too little so we watched cartoons that my aunt would record on VHS and mail it to us to watch. My aunt had cable so she recorded a lot of Cartoon Network and other shows that were not on regular tv.

In preschool no one looked like me, there was no raza students at my school or any that my childhood memories can recall. I didn't learn English until I started school so before that I did not understand anything the cartoons I would watch said which is why I think I really liked Speedy Gonzales. I understood the language and really liked when he said "Buenos Dias", "señor", etc. Looking back I can see a lot of problematic things about the cartoon but it is still a cartoon that reminds me of my childhood. I think the show should not come back because it portrays a bad stereotype of Mexicans and shows drinking and border crossing which also racializes immigration. I think Speedy Gonzales should be seen as an example on how media is very racist from that time to even now, the differences that now racism comes in many ways and is hidden so that we think it is not racist. Speedy Gonzales was a very cute character but all of his friends were one personality: drunk and slow which is setting one image and we know that Mexicans are not all the same we are all different.

J.E. #1: Speedy Gonzalez

It saddens me to know that I, just like my other classmates, have changing opinions on how I see Speedy Gonzalez. Growing up in the late 80's and early 90's, I clearly remember watching and idolizing Speedy Gonzalez on tv. My older brother and I would watch him, mimic him, and even own stuffed animals of him because, for us, we appreciated seeing a Mexican character on our cartoon shows. Now, after reading and really analyzing Speedy, I'm ashamed to know that I cherished and loved him. It's a shame to know that Speedy and his gang perpetuated so many racial stereotypes against Mexicans--that I allowed it and even enjoyed it. It shames me to even know my own mother, Mexican-born, allowed us to watch Speedy Gonzalez (there's a picture floating around somewhere of us taking a picture with Speedy at some theme park). I'm so shocked that there are groups of people that want to see Speedy return to tv. How can anyone with a conscious mind not see the harm that Speedy Gonzalez inflicts, by allowing him to remind children and even adults that racial stereotypes are acceptable. I'm glad to know that Speedy has been pulled off the air. Adios, Speedy.

JE#1A

Me and my father watched Speedy Gonzalez when I was younger. I never stopped to question the 'stereotypes behind the image' pero tampoco did I ever stop to question the stereotypes behind any image. I can't say I agree with the article "Autopsy of a Rat," granted there is alot of commentary behind Speedy's image, I can't look at the cartoon and feel dislike or hatred. To me Speedy was the long-lost revolutionary cousin of Jerry from Tom and Jerry. Los dos un par de traviesos that always sought to escape the hands of a nasty gato.

 It all reminds me of a print I saw recently, Raul Caracoza's "Speedy" (2007), in this image Speedy stands proud with his fist in the air, wearing a red shirt with the black eagle from the UFW flag. What I did find of interest was Daffy's statement at the end of the short espisode, "There won't be a mouse in the house even if it means blowing up the house." Que es eso? So much hatred that one is willing to destroy their own home to not share it with a fellow neighbor, one that has always been there nonetheless? Seems to me like that commentary serves more as insight into the gringo mindset (not in a positive way either) than a commentary againt Mexicanos. Al fin del dia, hasta mis primos know about Speedy Gonzalez in Mexico. 

B.E. #1B/ The Lone Ranger

The messages encoded into the characters of The Lone Ranger show seem to promote, along with stereotypes associated with the American Indian population, a sort of white-man savior complex. The Lone Ranger as well as the man who is in charge of so called "Indian Affairs" act as the men who have come to "save" and "protect" the American Indian population. This clearly promotes a social hierarchy where the "White Man" is on top and the "Red Man" is on the bottom. Another contributing factor to my interpretation of The Lone Ranger as a show that perpetuates this social hierarchy is the fact that his American Indian sidekick is named Tonto. I don't know if this was intentional or not, but the fact that his name literally means 'dumb' in Spanish makes me believe that the writers of this show inadvertently wanted to convey this idea of inferiority within the American Indian population. Although some of the messages encoded into The Lone Ranger and Tonto are obviously stereotypical, there are some messages that are subtly and systematically put in there as well. For example, the criminalization of the American Indian population and their characterization as "renegades." (side note: this reminds me of the current gang injunctions imposed on the Echo Park area that state that anyone who is gang affiliated or looks like they could be gang affiliated is subject to questioning.)

This differs from the message exemplified in the Speedy cartoons because 1) there are two obvious populations: the "White Man" and the "Red Man." This makes for a more tense response because of more obvious race relations (white and American Indian as opposed to cat,duck, etc. and mouse). 2) there is an obviously "superior" or "smarter" counterpart (clearly shown in the way Tonto speaks vs. how The Lone Ranger speaks as well as the condescending way the other White characters speak to Tonto and to the other American Indian characters).

... or the "Indians" or the "Mexicans" or the "Hispanics" or the minorities or x,y,z....

JE#1B

It is very disconcerting to think about how the ideological messages encoded into the Lone Ranger and Tonto episode are not much different from what I was taught in middle school “Social Studies” as recently as twelve years ago. The episode portrays the Native American characters as helpless, uncivilized creatures who rely on a white-skinned savior to prevent them from being exploited by other white men. Tonto, whose name was not likely chosen at random (Nericcio offers a very interesting analysis of the origins of Speedy’s name), is portrayed as unwaveringly trusting that the Lone Ranger has the Native American characters’ interests in mind. Unlike the sneaky “trickster” Speedy, who constantly challenges his nemesis, Tonto is docile and child-like -- he does not act without the Lone Ranger’s approval. Even when confronted with the threat of death, the Native American characters stand by and wait for the Lone Ranger to rescue them. The broad message encoded here, and the message conveyed in my middle school Social Studies books, seems to be that the continual persecution of and discrimination against Native Americans by whites in the United States was a necessary evil “for the good of the country.” In many ways, these ideological messages persist in the dominant, popular imaginary of the U.S.

#1A

I can't remember the first time I heard the celebrating shouts, "Orale, Orale, Arriba Arriba!," and watch what was supposed to be a Mexican rat run across my T.V. screen. But I do remember sitting on the floor, looking (and adoring) up to the television right in front of me, and my mother standing on my right side, laughing and re-living her childhood with Speedy's wit and "Mexican" charisma. As a child growing up in Mexico, in some ways I could recognize Speedy as a Mexican character, I mean, after all he does talk with a Northern Mexican (with some Chilango sprinkled in there) Spanglish speaker. But, I couldn't stop doubting, why, if he is northern Mexican, is he dressed like a Jarocho (another term for Veracruzan)? I sure have never seen a person in desert-like, arid, cowboy boots, blue jeans, and sombrero vaquero-land north Mexico wearing calzón y camisa de manta and a red handkerchief around the neck.    
Nericcio's article on "the fastest rat in Mexico," or, "the rat who sets the standards for manipulation and falsification of mejicanidad on the planet" (203), illuminated and answered a question I had been roaming around with now for decades. As he explains, the character of Speedy Gonzales and his symbolism has a relationship with the infamous U.S. occupation of the port of Veracruz in 1914. "Green" soldiers arrived at the shores of Veracruz to "go" and seize the Veracruz customhouse (which is also the event that gained Gringos their most distinguishable alias: "Green"+"Go") (206). Being aware of the racially charged, gendered, and classist remarks in the Speedy Gonzales films,  and after reading Nericcio's article I am far more convinced that the autopsy of the rat has determined that the corpse has died of parakinesia, and must not be exhumed.
Finally, and unlike the news articles reporting on the "irony" of Speedy's success and popularity in Cartoon Network Latin America. Only middle-classed Latin Americans have access to Cartoon Network via private cable companies that foster their "worldly," or shall we say, "(White) American" likes and appetites. Thus, it is not ironic that this Latin American population does not find Speedy Gonzales' caricaturing offensive. Speedy does not represent them at all. Speedy is, after all, what Leonard Maltin describes, "a caricature of a Mexican peon" (Nericcio, 207).

JE#1A

I remember seeing Speedy Gonzales as a kid but not watching any of the cartoons he was in. Now, before I clicked any of the links, I just had the thought that any cartoon in the media depicting a mouse as Mexican is most likely going to be racist and promote negative stereotypes and caricatures of Mexican culture. The first aspect of the episode that I noticed was a theme of colonization with Daffy Duck paying dirt cheap fees to stay in a house that Speedy and his family had lived in for generations. Then by the end of the episode we see that Speedy always has the upper hand and we are rooting for him to continually beat Daffy Duck. The audience is supposed to be in favor of Speedy so this is a positive representation of him which can be said to be a positive representation of Mexican culture. But the other articles state that while Speedy never drank or smoked and is lightning fast, he has family named Slowpoke Rodriguez and the other mice in his life are all drunks and represented as lazy. It's as if the cartoon aimed to show Speedy as being the good Mexican, as the Mexican that made it because all the other Mexicans are always by default going to be lazy poor drunks. One article showed a disclaimer that the network showed before airing Speedy saying that the cartoon is a product of its time and the stereotypes shown were wrong then and now but they're not going to change anything because that would be erasing the wrongs and pretending they never happened. Instead of taking Speedy off the air they continue to show it which still perpetuates stereotypes of Mexican culture even if it begins with a disclaimer. Having Speedy as being one of the very few representations of Mexican culture in popular media offers only a one sided story of a diverse culture full of history and diverse people.

JE#1A

I had hoped that “immersing myself again in Speedy-Lore”, as La Profe directed us to do in our journal prompt, would bring to mind specific memories of seeing Speedy Gonzales cartoons as a child. When I think back to sitting on the living room floor as all the Warner Brothers cartoon characters chased each other across the Saturday morning television screen, however, I cannot seem to remember what Speedy meant to me. As I was reminded by our reading assignments, Speedy disappeared from the Saturday morning line-up in 1999, when I was eleven years old. But Speedy was certainly never gone for good. In addition to the expected Wikipedia page and Youtube clips, a quick Google search of “speedy gonzales” yields results for restaurants in multiple locations, Lays chips, and articles about a feature film written by Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen that is set to be released in 2014. This information and the material on the course website initially elicited from me a response of surprise and disappointment that Speedy could still have such a significant fan-base. In light of Nericcio’s analysis, though, I should not have been surprised. Nericcio talks about stereotypes being the result of conflict between communities. It seems that as long as conflict along the U.S.-Mexico border continues, so will negative stereotypes like the Speedy Gonzales cartoon series.

JE#1B

I had not watched an episode of The Lone Ranger since my childhood, and I am absolutely flabbergasted by the representation of the Native Americans.  The character of the Lone Ranger represents the mythical rugged man, akin to the Marlboro Man, in the consciousness of Anglo Americans, particular boys and men.  To this day, many Anglo Americans believe the mythology behind the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps."  They want to believe that their forefathers and foremothers (most their forefathers) fought an unforgiving landscape sparsely inhabited by savage heathens.  The character of the Lone Ranger is the precursor to Superman, fighting for freedom, justice, and the American way.  He does not need any government subsidies or welfare.  He can make his own life from his two bare hands.  The show portrays Tonto and the other Native American men as passive, bordering on feminine.  They are not proactive in any way.  The show portrays them as "welfare queens," people who depend on the "White man's" help for basic necessities.  The show portrays the relationship between the Anlgos and the Native Americans as very paternalistic.  It is interesting that the show makes reference to La Malinche in the scene where they coerce the squaw to divulge the location of Tonto and Chief Swift Eagle.  Again, the dark-skinned India betrays her people.  These messages differ from those portrayed in the Speedy Gonzales cartoons in that the Native Americans in The Long Ranger are subdued and passive, while Speedy is crafty and conniving.  Another point that I thought about after first writing this post is the issue of the Lone Ranger's mask.  Who exactly is he?  In the film, V for Vendetta, the protagonist (V) states, "We wear a mask for so long we forget who we are underneath."  What identity is the Lone Ranger trying to forget?  Is he a closet queer?  Are he and Tonto the original Brokeback Mountain?  Many of the television and film screenwriters of that era were closeted gays.  Perhaps, the combination of the mask hiding his true identity and the fact that he and Tonto are always alone in the wilderness tells another story...

B.E. #1A/ Speedy Gonzales

Prior to reading about/researching this character/growing up, Speedy was my favorite cartoon. To be honest, I haven't thought about him in a long time. Looking back, I feel like part of why I liked Speedy so much was because the way he was portrayed was so overtly "Mexican" (and I use quotation marks because of course, not all Mexicans act this way or like this at all) and I could identify with that. I also feel like I could identify with that sort of behavior because I had internalized what the media and other forms of communication told me that my people, the Mexican people, acted like. Looking at this character now, I realize how offensive this portrayal of my people is. First off, he is a rodent... what does that suggest about the Mexican people? And then, of course, are the obvious stereotypes: the accent, the mustache, the sombrero, his infamous catch phrase etc.

I found the webpage titled "Tribute to Speedy Gonzales" particularly interesting. This seemingly Non-Mexican fan/author of the page seemed to be grasping for some sort of justification for the offensive stereotypes displayed in the cartoon. I thought this author was not culturally sensitive at all in creating this write up and I think part of that is because the author was not of Latina/o, specifically Mexican descent.

I also found the WB's disclaimers before Speedy's episodes particularly interesting, in a good way. It was nice to know that the people who air these episodes in this day and age realize that the cartoon is problematic and that it can be offensive to groups of people. I also appreciate that they acknowledge the fact that if these disclaimers were not put in place, it would be like erasing the racism and prejudice existent in the era in which Speedy was conceived.

JE#1A

After reading the articles about Speedy Gonzales and viewing the cartoon posted, I am frustrated and annoyed by the people who would like to see these animated clips return to regular rotation on the Cartoon Network.  As a child growing up in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I loved Speedy.  I even altered the spelling of my surname (Gonzalez) to Speedy's spelling.  There were so few representations of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os at that time (not much has changed sadly).  Now, Speedy and his cohort of Mexican mice represent the most degrading stereotypes of Mexicans.  These cartoons remind me of the cartoons that portrayed Blacks as ignorant savages or minstrels.  Although Speedy may have always had the last laugh, he is the exceptional Mexican.  Slowpoke Rodriguez and the other alcohol-imbibing, marijuana-smoking, cheese-stealing mice are more representative of the "average" Mexican in the Anglo American consciousness.  Cartoons such as Speedy Gonzales and other racist cartoons should be reserved for the classroom as teaching instruments.  They must be contextualized with proper instruction.  For example, many of the episodes of Speedy Gonzales aired during the Bracero program.  While cartoons characterized Mexican men as lazy and shiftless, actual Mexican men were growing and harvesting the food that fed America.  As adorable as Speedy is, the character is a relic from an era when signs with the wording, "No Dogs or Mexicans Allowed" were common throughout the Southwest.  Images are powerful.  How would these cartoons play today juxtaposed the images of the thirty-three Dreamers detained at the Texas-Mexico border?  It is time for better representation of our community.  Speedy Gonzales, I'm afraid, is the Chicana/o Aunt Jemima. It is time to euthanize Speedy.  Set out the rat traps.  And the Taco Bell Chihuahua.  Call the dog catcher. 

Message from La Profe: Week 1

Dear Border Crossers,
I apologize for some of the confusion that I inadvertently caused by some of the instructions conveyed for Journal Entry #1A and #1B. Since this is the first time I use an online journal/blog in this class, as well as the first time I have a cohort of graduate students enrolled in the class, I haven't worked out the kinks yet. Here is the clarification:

There will be no handwritten journals in the class, so you DO NOT NEED a Composition Notebook. All your journal entries and extra credit entries, will be written online, on Speedy's Blog. This means that if you haven't added yourself as an author to Speedy's Blog, you need to do so ASAP. You can access the precise instructions for how to do that on the Announcements page of the course website. You can also download the PDF of the instructions directly from that page.

Once you do add yourself as an author, and before you start your first post, you need to create your label. The instructions for this are also on the instructions mentioned above. Please follow the instructions exactly. It's VERY IMPORTANT that you create this label and that you ALWAYS label all your posts in the same way, as this is the only way for me to keep track of your journal entries and give you credit for those journal entries, which are worth collectively 10% of your course grade.

Entries 1A on Speedy Gonzalez and 1B on Lone Ranger are required for everybody. In addition, the graduate students are required to do a 1C entry, which is the summary of the article they found that deals with border issues. Sorry that wasn't clarified on the syllabus. Only graduate students have to find that newspaper article. Undergraduates focus on reading the assigned pages in Ringside Seat to a Revolution and the Treaty of Guadalupe sections that pertain to your group. These will be assigned in class tomorrow.

Don't worry. I'll clarify even further tomorrow. For now, make sure you've added yourself as an author to Speedy's Blog and post your journal entries 1A and 1B.

I will also post an updated syllabus later today.

Hasta mañana,
Profe

JE#1: 1A Speedy Gonzales

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjze2-_Pp3Y

According to a fan page dedicated to Speedy Gonzales by Matthew Hunter, in the early 2000s Speedy Gonzales was taken off the air because "content that in any way ridiculed foreigners might be offensive to some viewers", yet he disagrees and demands Speedy return. I strongly believe Speedy Gonzales should remain a dead cartoon since it perpetuates stereotypes of Mexicans. This is evident in how the ALL the mice dress with sombreros, red handkerchiefs, a white shirt, and white trousers. This style is not inclusive of other aspects of Mexican culture such as folklorico dresses and insinuates that all Mexicans dress the same. Some of the mice binge drink and smoke. Speedy has an exaggerated Mexican accent and is a woman stealer. Despite his cuteness and being a cartoon it'll only ingrain negative stereotypes to children. I remember watching Betty Boop and thinking only "beautiful" women look like her. According to Los Angeles psychologist Robert Butterworth, '"stereotypes are ingrained when we're young"' (Fox News Article. Speedy cannot be aired.

Furthermore in the video I posted above, in the first scene the mice look on hungrily at a cheese factory since there is a fence (a border) between the mice and the factory. This is only a cartoon but the desperation to reach the other side is more than hunger for people who want to cross the US border. It seems the issue of immigration is taken lightly. Also, mice are sometimes unwelcome in people's home just as Mexicans are sometimes unwelcome in the US. Being portrayed as mice is terrible. Not to mention the careless use of Spanish. In some scenes, the mice use uncommon phrases such "hasta la bista". Overall, Speedy Gonzales does not need to make a comeback because he is an insult to my culture.