Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Gender Roles
During one of the last episodes I saw of La Reina del Sur I saw something that caught my attention. It was a scene where Santiago is offered a job, but Teresa tells him to drop it or she is going to leave him. He becomes agitated but then catches himself and tells her that he is sorry, but that he is not used to having women talk to him like that. This shows the machismo found in Latin American countries. If I had seen that scene alone, I would have thought that Teresa would be intimidated and apologetic for upsetting him. However, having gotten to know Teresa in previous episodes, I was not surprised when she snapped at him and continued to berate him. I think this is interesting because it shows the machismo being suppressed. My family and I visit Mexico every summer and, from what I can see, the society is still male dominated to an extent. However, I would not say that being macho is the natural law anymore; it is still common to see guys acting tough and courageous around girls but not anything too extreme. Having this in mind, it only seems natural to have stronger female characters in television, because the programs shown on T.V. are representations of the society that it is shown to.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I completely agree with the need to give the female character a sense of courage in television programs. Although, male superiority mostly dominated the past, more modern times show an emerging courageous female that is willing to stand up for herself. This idea of self-confidence accompanied with a lack of submission generates a new sense of gender equality in the mind of the viewer. It is important to highlight the positive up-comings of society, instead of dwelling on the past, and the ideal of a strong female character is a perfect example of this tactic used by television programs.
ReplyDelete