'Violent and Sly' - Negative stereotypes of Mexican-American men in the american media

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Heidelberg, language: English, abstract: One might think that the immigration topic is 'a well-squeezed orange' , as the late economic historian Charles Kindleberger used to put it, referring to subjects where he doubted that there was much new to say. This might be true, if the focus lies on mere information. But as soon as the individual perspective is in the center of attention, there will always be something new to add, everyone's perspective on a certain topic being unique. In the following analysis I want to examine the negative stereotypes of Mexican and Chicano males portrayed in American media. A definition that puts emphasis on the dangerous character of negative stereotypes is the one by Bruce Bower who considers them as 'a breeding ground for errant generalizations about others that easily congeal into racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry.' Since a complete and thorough depiction of all existing stereotypes would go too far, I want to concentrate on the most prevalent stereotypical characteristics attributed to the male part of the minority group, which are vile, violent and sly. Moreover, I want to figure out where these negative sentiments toward the minority group originate from.