This film presented a co-optation of Hispanics to White culture. Martin, the father of three women, has raised his daughters to go to college and start a career. Based on my experiences, Hispanics value family and tradition. Conflict arises when Martin’s daughters begin to leave the nest. Because they have been Americanized, his daughter’s ideal home does not match up with his. He makes a comment that she was planning to move into a “cookie-cutter-condo.” It is obvious that although he had good intentions, raising his daughters in a different environment than he was raised, has altered some of their values. As educators we need to be open-minded to the various cultural backgrounds of our students, and try not to transform their values to align with our own. One way in which teachers may do this is suggesting all students should go to college. There are many careers that do not require college degrees that students could pursue. Teachers should focus more on encouraging students to set goals, rather than telling students what goals they should set.
I like that Martin did not conform to the typical gender roles of a man. Not only did he cook, but he also did laundry and raised his daughters on his own. It is important for young men to not feel pressured to be athletic in order to be masculine. As we discussed in class, teachers must be sensitive to how they interact with males and females in the classroom. There should be high expectations and opportunities for success for all students.
There was a lot of discussion about the use of language throughout the movie. The use of Spanglish is discouraged, but this contradicts practical approaches to assisting English learners in the classroom. In my opinion, students should use Spanglish if they are struggling to communicate using only English. On the other hand, if teachers are able to learn certain words, they should make an effort to communicate complete thoughts in the primary language of the student. For example, if I can say “plus” in Spanish, I should make an effort to learn how to say “four plus six” in Spanish, if that is what I wish to ask them, out of respect for the language.
Overall, I did not notice many disturbing messages in this film. This may be due to my ignorance or inexperience with Hispanic culture. I did not agree with the notion that women should wear thongs to attract a husband. The film portrayed Hispanic people to be very impulsive with relationships, which I think is a misrepresentation. I am very interested to hear what my colleagues gathered from watching it.
