Guillermo Gomez-Pena’s excerpt was super interesting to me as Marcos ingeniously inspired the people and constructed his whole persona with the ways, desires and tendencies of the people/media. El Sup observed the structures in which people interact with and create their own knowledge (which in turn create themselves and their own perceptions) and infiltrated peoples perceptions with relatability and dominating sources of information (with powerful images etc). With an almost dialectical technique, Marcos was both powerful and humble, of the people and of the world, a revolutionary leader and a sex icon, everything people wanted him to be without anyone knowing who he was. As humans, we are extremely dialectical and it was interesting to me how Marcos utilised this human tendency to help construct his identity and his relations/grip on the people and the media. That being said, the love affair with el Sup had to end, just like telenovelas, and the people moved on to the next big thing, as we tend to do with our diminishing attention spans. In relation to our last reading on hybridity, it was interesting to see how Marcos’ ” sophisticated internationalism” and ability to relate and be a part of pop-culture (as an exotic sex icon) allowed him to be connected and liked by the people.
“At one point it became hard to draw a line between radical politics and pop-culture, between solidarity and revolutionary consumerism”
Mary C. Beltran explores “the politics of representation” specifically in the case of Jennifer Lopez’ ‘star image’ at the end of 1998. Beltran investigates the sexualization of Lopez as a ‘cross over figure’ moving into the hollywood mainstream. The question is raised whether the sexualization of Lopez perpetuates the stereotypes of Latinas or is an image of empowerment supporting those with non-model-thin bodies to celebrate their curves. Reading this made me a little itchy as it is a sensitive topic that can deals just as much with the politics representation as a woman as well as a person of a minority. Additionally the comparison between Spanish-language-media vs english-language-media was intriguing. The depiction of Jennifer Lopez could be an indication to what is seen as favourable traits to either culture. In spanish-media there could possibly an emphasis on family and relation to the people and western media– the body and sex. Jennifer Lopez claimed power to her own body by loving and showing off her butt, an asset (pun intended) that is glorified in our current day.
— I wasn’t able to do the full Patria Roman Velazquez reading as essays are piling up but will return to this.