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Abstract Header

Giving the Midwestern White Gaze a Latinx Spin: Mediated Latinx Lives in the American Heartland

Fernandez, Laura Michelle
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2678-0060
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1594121385990492

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Spanish and Portuguese.
In this dissertation, I argue that Latinx representations based in the Midwest have been largely understudied. In the national imaginary, Latinxs have been historically situated in either the East Coast (Miami, New York), the Southwest (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona), and California; the Midwest becomes a Latinx void as far as the public is concerned. This twofold project shines a light on the obscured Midwestern Latinx through both textual analysis and community engagement in order to comprehend the place Latinxs have in the “white” Midwest. The first part of this project consists of close readings of five popular television shows set in the Midwest as well as a sketch from Saturday Night Live. Understanding Latinxs in the current political climate to be considered a “threat,” this investigation proposes that to ameliorate the threat, US popular culture, as depicted in these shows, sublimates Latinidad in order to uphold American (white) values, while also pigeonholing Latinx performances into two categories: the clowned Latin Lover and the angry Latina “bitch.” In order to counteract the blanqueamiento of Latinidad in popular culture, the final part of this project is an examination of my own theoretical concept, the Latinx Gaze, which examines popular culture from the perspective of the Other. Through this analysis, I demonstrate how certain popular culture texts manage to subvert the White hegemonic gaze that has controlled the national discourse on Otherness.
Frederick Aldama (Advisor)
Paloma Martinez-Cruz (Committee Member)
Ashley Pérez (Committee Member)
230 p.
Latin American Studies; Mass Media; Minority and Ethnic Groups
Latinx Studies; Pop Culture; Midwest; TV

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fernandez, L. M. (2020). Giving the Midwestern White Gaze a Latinx Spin: Mediated Latinx Lives in the American Heartland [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1594121385990492

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fernandez, Laura. Giving the Midwestern White Gaze a Latinx Spin: Mediated Latinx Lives in the American Heartland. 2020. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1594121385990492.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fernandez, Laura. "Giving the Midwestern White Gaze a Latinx Spin: Mediated Latinx Lives in the American Heartland." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1594121385990492

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.