Professor Mary Beltran - "Fast and Bilingual: Latinizing Racelessness in the "Fast Franchise and Millenial Media Culture"

Professor Mary Beltran - "Fast and Bilingual: Latinizing Racelessness in the "Fast Franchise and Millenial Media Culture"
Date and time: April 27, 2012
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM Location:Ohio Union Multicultural Center

Abstract:

In the millennial era, we are witnessing an increasing visibility of occasional Latina/o characters, incorporation of Spanish dialogue, and integration of other Latina/o cultural elements in mainstream, youth-oriented media. An illustration of this trend of Latinization of entertainment media is Fast & Furious (2009), which topped the box office during its 2009 opening weekend with an audience that included an unprecedented 46 percent Latina/o viewers. Beltran explores Fast & Furious as an iteration of both the new "raceless" aesthetic of many millennial films and as a prime example of how these marketing strategies at times have dovetailed with contemporary attempts to appeal to young, acculturated Latina and Latino viewers.