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The link in the posting below no longer goes to the archived Kimmel/Ken Burns parody video--stereotype chroniclers may however, want to scroll through a take a peek at the series of my tocayo Guillermo skits Kimmel is now running.
You don't usually go to Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC for progressive and dynamic pieces of schtick that speak to the nuances of Ethnic American discourse, but give credit where credit is due! Kimmel and staff's video take on Ken Burns's blindness/revisionism when it comes to Latinos and World War II is worth a peek or two. It somehow manages to simultaneously invoke, and hence, reinforce, stereotypes, but also prognosticate and lampoon Burns's heart/vision when it comes to Mexican Americans and war, all at the same time.
A tip of the Textmex sombrero goes out to our carnal at UCSD literature, the one and only Jorge Mariscal for the link! Mariscal's recent piece for Counterpunch is outstanding.
Surely you jest... this is progressive? This is taking Ken Burns to task?
ReplyDeleteAre we so inured to insults that we see this as an ability to "prognosticate and lampoon Burns's heart/vision when it comes to Mexican Americans and war, all at the same time'?
Our WWII veterans are worthy of dignified treatment; they are not buffoons and that thing that was draped over the coffins of men killed in action was not a pinata, it was the American flag. They did not wear sombreros, they wore the same helmets and their fellow soldiers. I hope you will reconsider your take on this. I, among many others -- what will the Marines say with the use of "Semper Fi" at the end-- am not amused. And I exhort everyone to voice their displeasure to Kimmel, ABC and his sponsors.
Question: Would Kimmel and his team so blithely presented ugly African American stereotypes?
Question: Isn't the reason that the Ken Burns omission has been allowed is because we ourselves need to recognize when we are insulted and defend the honor of our people?
Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
member, Core Group, Defend the Honor campaign
www.defendthehonor.org
Maggie,
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point; the reason I let Kimmel et al off the hook is not that I believe for a second that he has our best intentions at heart! The reason I give him the pass is that the target of his satire is the film director that screwed up in the first place: Ken Burns. First, for making such a big mistake in leaving out legions of Mexican American heroes; second, for dragging his gabacho ass in getting around to rectify the problem. While Kimmel is no friend of la raza that I know of to this date, he has every right to the tools of satire.
Kimmel is incompetent comedian every time I occasionally watch his show he relies on poor stupid Guillermo, to make his show some what entertaining. We should not be poking fun of soldiers period. I understand comedy and freedom of speech, but skits like those are just tasteless and vulgar. Aren't we as a nation past racial jokes( which i truly consider culture jokes), b/c i can guarantee i have the very same ancestor as Kimmel. I try not to get myself riled up b/c i know commenting on a site will not make a difference i thank God every day for blessing me, not for being a Mexican American but for the opportunity to live with no prejudices and character that will carry me much farther then Kimmels ever will.
ReplyDeleteCome off of it, Kimmel was not trying to make a satirical point he's too dumb to do so, maybe if this was letterman... Every show he does a bland monologue which is quickly whisked through and directed to Guillermo where all of sudden the show actually becomes interesting, albeit offensive, but all in all better than Kimmel's humdrum voice. i cant wait until his show is cancelled! As a Mexican American women I'm shocked to see this upsurge of of prejudices seeping into the mainstream TV, but not worried about it I have faith in a few years once the immigration bill is passed and generations of Hispanics make an impact in this country( hopefully a good one). this character of America(McFadden) will subside just as it did with the Catholics, Italians and Africans. i am not suggesting they will go away because these kinds of prejudice will never cease, ultimately they hurt those who hold them. SO i call all fellow Mexicans to remember the words of a great president Benito Juarez "Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz".
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