LATI 10 MEDIA POST PROJECT

"Reflections of Colonialism in The Devil's Backbone" 

James DeLisio, LATI 10, Fall 2023. 

Published by Cinegogía (A Latin American Film Studies & Digital Humanities project) 

Summary: This video compares Guillermo del Toro's depictions of fascist systems of power in The Devil's Backbone (2001) with the colonial systems articulated within Anibal Quijano's "Coloniality of Power" (Quijano, A. 2000). The essay explores connections between the systems of violence identified in Quijano's analysis of coloniality (nationalism/state violence, patriarchal violence, and capitalism) and those that appear in The Devil's Backbone to argue that del Toro sets his films in historical European fascist movements to provide a reflection arond the sources of harm and illuminate del Toro's decision as a Latin American filmmaker to make films about European fascsism.

“One Wall Multiple Narratives: Reformulating Perspectives” 

Dominic Miller, Hector Gallo, and Anakaren Perez

LATI 10, Fall 2020, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Summary: In this episode, host Dominic Miller interviews guest speakers Hector Gallo and Anakaren Perez on immigration policy under the Trump administration. Gallo and Perez, both LATI 10 students who were born and raised in Calexico-Mexicali, share their insights about the fluid identities and intertwined economies shaping everyday life in this border town. The episode discusses Elana Zilberg’s 2011 book Space of Detention to consider the impacts of recent reforms from a transborder and historical perspective. The guests also reflect on ongoing practices of what Chicano Sociologist has referred to as “internal colonialism” to think about how the local institutions and cultures of border towns continue to be not only ignored but erased by education and border policies that degrade them un-American or illegal. In closing, listeners are pointed toward more sources to learn about immigration policy and get involved to make a change. 

“Politics of Representation: Representation of the Latinx Community”

 Andrew Kim and Filiberto Flores 

LATI 10, Fall 2020, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Summary: In this episode, hosts Andrew Kim and Filiberto Flores discuss the Trump administration’s anti-immigration reform and discourse that has created gridlock for liberation movements. They analyze the way in which Trump’s word choice portrays the Latinx community and share interviews with members of the Latinx community that represent two different perspectives - a Trump supporter and a DACA student - to better understand the context and effects of Trump’s anti-immigration discourse. Since the podcast is done under a Latin American Study course that focuses on the Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Requirement, they want to view this issue under a lens that holds an unbiased, equal representation as the standard. Kim and Flores discuss the work of Anibal Quijano in their article “Coloniality of Power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America” to draw attention to the effects of knowledge production around the classification of people through hierarchies of race as a driving factor of progress and advancement in Western civilization. Similarly, the hosts suggest, Trump’s xenophobic anti-immigration discourse works to use his presidential authority for knowledge production about Latinx communities. While there are different ways to view the immigration crisis today, as a whole the Latinx community still experiences inequality and a lack of representation. The episode concludes by calling for deeper analysis of how this problem came to be and Trump’s role in worsening it in order to bring about a solution of equality, diversity, and inclusion, we must analyze as a country how this problem came to be and. Only then can we begin to reverse the deeply rooted historical practices of nativism and racism that have consumed our Eurocentric society. 

“Breaking Down Current Pedagogy in Education”

Jacqueline Sanchez, Karly Moran, and Kaiyu Guan 

LATI 10, Fall 2020, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Summary: This episode focuses on the misrepresentations in pedagogical practices in many high schools and universities and its effects on students of color, also advancing ideas for what might be done at individual and institutional levels to spark change. The episode starts with an analysis by fourth-year UCSD student Jacqueline Sanchez on the lack of diversity in high school curriculum and its effects in reproducing inequality and divisions among minority students who are unaware of the US racial system. As an alternative, Sanchez discusses the work of two pioneers in critical pedagogy, Myles Horton and Paulo Freire and their book, We Make the Road by Walking, to consider implementing ethnic studies in schools as an example of experiential education. Co-host Karly Moran then talks about Alfredo Mirandé’s proposal for Chicano Sociology to ask how we can apply this to current pedagogy by broadening the scope of education. Co-host Kaiyu Guan adds to the conversation over the importance of adding ethnic courses to the curriculum by focusing on Freire and Horton's important question -- Is it possible to just teach biology?

The Nitty Gritty Show: “Mass Incarceration and Unconscious Bias”

Justin Ho, Marlene Martinez, Stella Wang, and Anoop Singh

LATI 10, Winter 21, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Summary: "The Nitty Gritty" is a podcast developed by UCSD students Justin Ho,

Marlene Martinez, Stella Wang, and Anoop Singh to talk about the important issues in our society that often get swept under the rug. In this episode, they talk about how mass incarceration has really become a large issue in modern America. Drawing from British-Jamaican Sociologist Stuart Hall’s (1996) analysis of the “Discourse of the West and the Rest,” the hosts discuss the historical factors that contribute to an unconscious bias among law enforcement officers. Associating people of color with drugs has created what Hall calls a “regime of truth” in which people have acted upon this discourse because they think it is true. By making visible the processes that have contributed to the significantly greater number of persons of color in prison when compared to the number of white people, this episode offers listeners ways to consider how to break down such hegemonic systems by countering dominant discourses.

“The ‘Anchor Baby’ Discourse”

Alexander Arias, Julissa Ramirez, and Eileen Huang

LATI 10, Winter 21, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Summary: This is a First-Generation American podcast meant to identify and deconstruct the political and social issues faced by first generation Americans. In this episode, we discuss the discourse around “Anchor Babies,” a controversial term used in western society as a way not only to dehumanize and defame the immigrant experience but also the children of undocumented immigrants. This podcast introduces the inception of this discourse and its applications in western civilization which are evident in immigration related events, media coverage on immigration, and so on. We ask: How does the “Anchor Baby” discourse affect immigrants and their prospective American children? Additionally, how does the utilization of “Anchor Babies” by prospective immigrant parents affect their representations as individuals seeking asylum? And finally, How exactly did the “Anchor Baby'' discourse come to depict the children of immigrant parents?

“‘Poblador del Mundo’: The Truth Behind Deportation”

Arianna Andrade, Marcelo Suarez, and Moises Olmedo

LATI 10, Winter 21, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Summary: This podcast episode, “‘Poblador del Mundo’: The Truth Behind Deportation,” is named after the song “Poblador del Mundo” by the Chilean hip-hop artists Portavoz. The song talks about the history of the immigrants who decide to immigrate to the United States for better opportunities and escape instability, economic or social, but encounter difficulties as they are exposed to racism and stereotypes made about them and as a result are discriminated against, oppressed, and marginalized. Building on the interventions of this song, hosts Arianna Andrade, Marcelo Suarez, and Moises Olmedo – undergraduate students at UCSD with a range of immigrant experiences but who equally feel affected by anti-immigrant discourses in the US –– focus on deportation and its effects on both deportees and their families. Drawing from the work of Chicano Sociologist Alfredo Mirandé, the hosts suggest that immigrant-group models, combined with discursive ideas about transnational cultural and familial values represented in the U.S through the melting pot perspective, in focusing on “acculturation” and “integration” of immigrant families as an explanatory framework, mask such experiences as well as dehumanize immigrants. Looking at deportation through the lens of deportees and families – as this episode does with personal interviews and shared experiences – brings out the failures of the immigration system by illustrating the problems it generates.

“We are Truth”

 Jocelyn De Jesus and Norma Nava  

LATI 10, Winter 21, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Summary: This episode is co-hosted by Jocelyn De Jesus and Norma Nava, two first generation college students at UC San Diego who are Mexican American females from low in communities. In this episode, they share the true stories and realities for minority students affected by the US education system. The co-hosts combine the contributions of Latin American Studies scholar Stuart Hall and Chicano scholar Alfredo Mirandé to shed light on the issue of “microaggressions” to better understand how Mexican American children and their parents experience (and confront) the difficulties that come from learning in a Eurocentric educational system.

The US Reread. “Why a Nation of Immigrants Demonizes Immigrants.” 

Patricio Conde, Weiwei Liang, Melton Fan

LATI 10, Fall 22, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Summary: The name of the podcast is “The US Reread“, meaning that we look into issues and current events that are occurring in the US with a critical and holistic lens. The episode is named “Why a Nation of Immigrants Demonizes Immigrants.” Often, events take place and people are unaware of what is actually happening, and how certain actions or statements released by the media create an implicit bias in society. The US Reread works to decode the events and really focus on the bread and butter of the intentions and effects created by the issue at hand. In this episode, we will focus on examining how the American media, in the form of speeches from politicians, political campaigns, and social media posts has created an environment that makes the criminalization and demonization of immigrants from Latinx countries, at the very least,

“Coloniality: First Person Perspectives from the Latine Community”

Jasmine Arredondo, Lucia Rejzek, Natalie Austin, and Soraya Bernal 

LATI 10, Fall 22, Podcast Episode (Google Drive)

Project Summary: This podcast focuses on the way that coloniality plays a part in many aspects of our lives by highlighting four main categories where it is especially prevalent: cultural representation, healthcare inequality and accessibility, mental health disparities, and education inequality. We analyzed the ways in which these issues play a part in the Latine community, drawing on personal experiences and connecting it to larger schools of thought like Freitre's concept of education and Quijano's analysis of coloniality. This podcast strives to make these experiences more real, rather than just talking about these issues in terms of statistics, and showing how coloniality has been ever present in all these facets of our lives. We provide ideas for implementing decoloniality in these areas and show the importance of representation in all of these areas.

“Identity: Detached From the White Eye”

Ruby Perez and Maggie Hammam

ANTH 21, Fall 22, Podcast (Spotify)

Project summary: In this episode, Ruby and Maggie explore the effects the United States has had on Indigenous people and their identity. We see that the media is a strong indicator of a society's perception and stance on many socio political issues. Common phenomena seen in today's society are brought to attention like standards being catered to the white eye. The United States has created a system that refrains Indigenous people from having the freedom of identifying as a part of their own culture. The criteria of what exactly makes an Indigenous person Indigenous in the United States is questioned. Not only are there examples of publicized Indigenous struggle, the podcast hosts share insight into their own struggles and experiences as people attached to Indigenous culture.

“Echoes Across Continents: Applying Latin American studies To Understand the Palestine Crisis”

Assad Abukhazneh, LATI 10, Fall 2023 (.PDF; shared drive)

Summary: This essay explores the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, particularly focusing on the effects of the 1948 Nakba, where over 800,000 Palestinians were displaced. It highlights the ongoing struggles in Gaza, exacerbated by Israeli policies and military actions, including a siege that has severely restricted essential supplies and resulted in numerous civilian casualties. The essay draws parallels with Latin American studies, especially in understanding power dynamics and the formation of discourses. It examines how Western narratives often depict Palestinians negatively, influenced by political rhetoric and media portrayal. The piece also touches on personal stories, like your mother's Palestinian immigrant experience and her life in Venezuela and the United States. Lastly, it calls for active solidarity against the ongoing violence in Palestine, urging support for boycotts against entities that back Israeli actions, emphasizing the impact of collective action.

Old Myths in Different Packaging: How Pop-culture Affects Interpretation

Citlalic Arechiga

 LATI 10, Fall 2023 (Tumblr)

Summary: Pop-culture and media are the driving force behind how the modern public receives its information, whether it be direct news broadcasts or character depictions, but also has a say in how marginalized groups are interpreted and their public opinion. This blog aims to focus on the implicit ways the media influences consumers, through "feel-good" shows and movies that indirectly cause harm. For Mexico's indigenous communities, misrepresentation causes major threats such as mass displacement or poverty to go unnoticed or downplayed by the greater public, and the way they're depicted in pop-culture has to do with their historical erasure.

“COVID'S Exposé on Education”

Kevin Chan 

LATI 10, Fall 22, Blog essay (Google Sites)

Summary: Everyone here has experienced the pains that COVID-19 has brought onto our education, and the struggles we had to make as individuals to get through it. It really should not have to have been this way. The fact that it was so hard for so many people to stay focused on school during remote learning shows the flaws in our education system. This blog focuses on that fact and talks through relatable personal experiences. It also uses the insights of the critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire to better our education system for the future generation of students to get excited about learning.

“Collective Praxis in Ecuador”

Evelyn Quan 

LATI 10, Fall 22, Blog Website (Google Sites)

Summary: In my media post, I discuss the current protests in Ecuador from Indigenous groups against rising fuel prices and environmental resource extraction by the government, and I use this to tie back into the narrower focus question of "How can collective praxis lead to the liberation of Indigenous groups in Ecuador, and what are key takeaways from these current events?". I address this main objective by first providing relevant context and background about the issues going on in Ecuador, then introducing Paulo Freire and relevant key terms in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. From there, I tied in these concepts such as praxis, reflection, and action back to the actions of the protestors, then suggested how we can learn from these events and apply Freire's concepts in our own day-to-day lives.

“It's Time to Hold ICE Accountable Too”

Isabela Rivera 

LATI 10, Fall 22, Blog Essay (Google Docs)

Summary: The issue I chose to address in my media project was the astounding number of sexual assault cases that occur as a result of events that take place in detention centers, and the amount of women whose cases or complaints go uninvestigated or are closed without receiving the justice they deserve. In order for a change to be made, and for these women to start receiving justice, the general discourse surrounding immigration and immigration needs to change from a negative and dehumanizing tone to a softer one that portrays immigrants first and foremost as people, and then change can be further pushed by the media in order to make the necessary difference for these women.

"Venezuela: A Country in Crisis"

Naina Singh and Vanessa Alonso

LATI 10, Fall 2023 (Instagram)

Summary: For our LATI 10 project, we created an instagram page to help spread and bring awareness to the topic of the political crisis in Venezuela as it has been in the midst of political and economic crisis for years. We focused on how the country has been experiencing widespread poverty, food shortages, and hyperinflation. This crisis has led to a mass exodus of Venezuelans. We highlighted this information with various news and article sources, explaining the crisis in detail and providing an analysis on the information we researched. We also shared videos of Venezuelans and their experiences, showing the impact on the country and its people. We provided links and information to understand this crisis and what is done to bring help to the people affected, along with tying the class readings to the content posted.

"In Defense of Life: Femicide in Latin America"

Taylor Koshiol

 LATI 10, Fall 2023 (.PDF of social media post [template]) 

Summary: This post will aim to shed light on the multifaceted dimensions of femicide in Latin America, its societal causes and ripple effects, and the need for collective action and change. The tragic loss of countless lives, predominantly women, echoes a distressing narrative of gender-based violence. Women around the world have experienced gender-based violence and exploitation for hundreds of years. Verónica Gago, an Argentine feminist and academic, known for her work in the fields of feminist economics, gender studies, and social movements, explores Latin America's feminist movements in her article "Women Rise in Defense of Life." Still, regions affected by colonialism are much more vulnerable to what Veronica Gago calls capitalist recolonization. 

“Diversity Deficit”

Olivia Santoyo Turullols, Jaden Tsai, Daisy Ye, Ruaida Alkafaji, Mohammed Hamideh

LATI 10, Fall 22, Twitter Post (Thread)

Summary: Our project focuses on how underrepresented the Latinx community is in all aspects of the film industry, from the cast to the camera operators. Our Twitter thread outlines the history of the prejudices against people with light skin that persist today and emphasizes how Latin America as a whole is not fairly represented. Even when there is representation in the film industry, it usually only emphasizes Eurocentric beauty standards by casting actors and actresses with lighter skin tones. This is problematic because it perpetuates stereotypes about the appearance of Latin Americans and the difficulties that many of them face. The actress Diane Guerrero discusses how her mother would frequently tell her as a child, "la mas wedita the better," which translates to, "the lighter your skin the better." Only a few Latina actors and actresses are featured in these underrepresented shows, frequently light-skinned actors and actresses like Sofia Vergara, Salma Hayek, and Jessica Alba, which gives the impression that this is how Latinas should look. In order to change the theoretical "understanding" that our society has been brainwashed into believing, we need to increase our efforts to include marginalized voices and revolutionary perspectives in our media. We offer data that makes this issue more transparent and demonstrates the need for change.