JE#1A

English was not my first speaking language while growing up in California. Like most children my age, I turned to popular cartoons on television or movies to help myself learn English and better assimilate myself into society. To me Speedy Gonzalez stands as an iconic cartoon character of his time. His role, humor, and 'way of life,' were just 'products of their time,' which seemed to me to be more comical and humorous than actually offensive. At the age of 21 now, however, I can see some distinctions between my perspective on Speedy when I was child and my perspective now, especially with the featured episode, Astroduck. There seemed to be some subtle hints of prejudice between Daffy Duck not wanting to 'share' his hacienda with Speedy, which I suppose today could be interpreted as 'Americans' not wanting illegal aliens entering our country. My overall impression of Speedy has changed slightly, mainly due to the fact that I am now more alert at noticing a few racial/prejudice slurs. Speedy being a rat or mouse in general seems to allude to the fact that Mexicans, Chicanos/as, Latinos/as, etc. can be seen as vermin or pests in the public's eye, and since the offensive nature of his character is mitigated through cartoon animations and humor, the prejudice and racism can be a bit oblivious to the non-academic mind. I find it very difficult at times when social injustices are appropriated into the social norms through mainstream media and pop-culture, but can you really blame societal values? We accept it, eat it, digest it, and pass it onto to the next generation and yet when subtle tones of inadequacy erupt from episodes like 'Astroduck' emerge, we remain silent.