JE#1A

To me, Speedy Gonzales represents many of the stereotypes placed upon Mexicans. I don't think I ever watched Speedy Gonzales growing up but his image and voice are very iconic in my memory. After watching a few videos and reading about Speedy, I see him as the representation of stereotypes many times held by others. His image with a big sombrero, his thick accent and his limited words mainly common ones like "arriba" are things that many times Mexicans are characterized with. I think the fact that 2 white men created Speedy Gonzales and the huge change his image went through over the years makes me question what the cartoons motives were. I use to think the Speedy was embracing the Mexican culture in a positive way but after learning more about it and actually paying attention to the cartoon , I now think that it was more of a mocking of Mexicans and common stereotypes. Even though the episode of astroduck may seem to be “conscious” because it portrays how Mexican lands were taken, I still think it shows it in a negative way because speedy seems to taunt the duck and says that they will always be back. I think its a good thing that this show is no longer on the air because it simply reinforces fictional stereotypes and negatively represents a community and situations.