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.