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Chicano cinema, or Chicano film, is classified as films made by, with, and/or for Chicano/as. It is defined by the films' subject matter and aesthetics as Chicano cinema revolves around the Chicano experience in America and Chicano culture, including major political movements, namely the Chicano Movement. Chicano cinema is frequently set in the American Southwest, specifically the border states and in the southern region of California. A predominant focus of many Chicano movies are Hispanic stereotypes, as well as political and economic struggles of Chicanos in America. Chicano movies gained popularity with the growing Chicano Movement that brought Chicano issues to the forefront of American politics. As Latino and Chicano presence in America grew, the audience and demand for Chicano cinema increased, leading to more films being produced by and for Chicanos, expanding the representation and understanding of Chicano people and culture.

Contents

 * 1History
 * 2Actors/Directors
 * 3Representation
 * 4Chicano Movement
 * 5Film Style, Subject Matter, and Aesthetics
 * 5.1Chicano Gangs in Film
 * 5.2Films Set in the Southwest

History[edit]
Chicano film has its roots in Mexican-American cinema. The film The Ring (1952) was one of the first movies to address Mexican-American life in the United States which made room for future Chicano films to make it on the big screen. As the label Chicano/Chicana rose in popularity, so did Chicano presence in cinema. Rooted in the Chicano Movement, the word Chicano reflects a resistance to cultural subjugation of Mexican-Americans.

The first feature film directed by a Chicano was Raíces de Sangre  which was released in 1978, directed by Jesús Salvador Trevino.

Representation[edit]
 Chicano Representation 

Chicano Representation has somewhat grown from only a single Mexican-American being casted in a whole movie production. The influence that Chicanos, and Latinos in general, had is beyond what people realize to today. But even within this great influence that Myrtle Gonzalez and Beatriz Michelena had through acting and Frank Padilla and Eustacio Montoya through cinematography there was still a battle of full representation. Though these legends paved an entry in the early 1900s many Chicanos who did not look like them, with their fairer skin and Anglo features were not represented in many films and cinema. The discriminative barriers for any Latino to rise in the Hollywood Industry were still very limited at this time. This just begins to touch the surface of the many conflicts that will be seen in the growth of Chicano representation in Hollywood. Throughout this era of Silent films many Chicanos and Latinos were not portraying a Chicano or Latino character. Again the emphasis of the racial bias can be seen. The ideology of colorism was very prominent. An example of this idea can be found in the Cuban actor Rene Cardon, he was nearly blonde and played the role of the Prince of Wales in one film. The idea of racial purity led many to see the movie with a kind of racial suspicion. There were many situations just like Cardon's that led Chicanos and Latinos to make a choice. They faced the predicament of choosing between portraying an interpretation of their own ethnicity over and over again or trying to racially purify your roles and appearance to climb the ladder of success in Hollywood. If they chose the first option they would make the predicament bigger and harder for later generations to get out of it but gain their own personal success through it. If they chose the latter they would ultimately be playing the interpretations of what many non-Chicano and non-Latino people thought was a stereotypical, "Greaser," or "Indian," or even just be an extra and sometimes not even get offered a job.

 Chicano Image 

When not portrayed as troubled youth that turn to gang activity many Chicano roles were that of lazy or very promiscuously provocative. We can still see some of the results of the embedded stereotypes being interpreted into the big screen today, but it started a long time ago. Because there was an obvious racial bias against Chicanos the portrayal of Chicano characters in film generally did not speak highly of or shed good light on Chicanos as a people. The roles were usually very antagonistic and crudely stereotyping. In two films in particular Let Katie Do It and Martyrs of the Alamo Mexicans are portrayed as villains in the fight for Mexican land. The films make an effort to justify the theft of Mexican soil done by the Americans at the time. Many examples can be found where history has been coated with a bias against Mexicans which would turn into active prejudices against Chicanos and other Latino-Americans in everyday life and not in the cinema universe.

Chicano Movement[edit]
The fight to raise awareness of the Chicano and Mexican presence and the discrimination in the social and political atmosphere was known as The Chicano Movement. The movement was not just protest marches and picketing but through art as well. The film and cinematic industry was a great way to advocate for Chicanos. Up until the 1960s many Chicanos and Mexicans thought of themselves as racially white. With the divide of segregation and the inequalities against the Black community. Many Mexicans with darker complexions did not know where to draw the line. However, in the 1930s the United States Census Bureau came out with a whole new Mexican Race thus polarizing the already growing divide between Mexican Americans from white Americans. The movement of Chicano portrayal was reflected in film making throughout the highs and lows of the Chicano Movement. Many Chicanos and activists began to critique what was inaccurate but still seen as normal portrayal and interpretation of Chicanos. The fight against being seen as harmful, simpleminded, incapable or lazy was brought out to make sure people were aware of what the inaccuracy portrayals were doing to the chance of Chicanos' acceptance into a growing economic, social, political, and American society.

Film Style, Subject Matter, and Aesthetics[edit]
The style, aesthetic, and subject matter of Chicano cinema is what sets it apart as a film genre.

Chicano Gangs in Film[edit]
A number of Chicano films revolve around or include the theme of Chicano street gangs. Movies like Boulevard Nights (1979) and Walk Proud (1979) were early examples of Chicano gang culture representation in film. In the 1980s, the movies Zoot Suit (1981), Stand and Deliver (1988), and Colors (1988) each had gang related thematic elements. Other significant Chicano gang movies include American Me (1992), Blood In, Blood Out (1993), Mi Vida Loca (1993), and My Family (1995). Films such as these often portrayed stereotypical Chicano gang members which contributed to the cultural representation of male masculinity among the Chicano community.

Films Set in the Southwest[edit]
Due to its proximity to Mexico, many Chicanos live in the American Southwest, and the cinema of the 20th century reflected this. Films like Tijerina (1969), Llanito (1972), Agueda Martinez (1978), The Lemon Grove Incident (1986), The Milagro Bean Field War (1988), La Llorona (1991), and Los Mineros (1991) are all examples of Chicano movies that were set and focused on Chicanos in the American Southwest.

These films often depicted Chicanos as exotic or inferior to white characters in the movies.

Controversial Chicano films that focus on the Mexican border include Borderline (1980) and The Border (1982).


 * 1) ^ "1. Borderlands Cinema and the Proxemics of Hidden and Manifest Film Encounters", Hidden Chicano Cinema, Rutgers University Press, pp. 1–30, 2019-12-31, ISBN  978-0-8135-6108-0, retrieved 2021-03-19
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