Ethnic Otherness Versus Cultural Assimilation: U.S. Latino Comedians and the Politics of Identity
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: Comedy is an interesting site to investigate the symbolic articulations of U.S. Latino identity in the context of a genre that is emblematic of television in the United States. Through discourse analysis of the television texts, this article examines the articulation of Latino ethnicity on the work of three prominent Latino comedians: George Lopez, Carlos Mencia, and Freddie Prinze, Jr. This article argues that Latino television comedians articulate an implicit tension between ethnic otherness and desire for assimilation for U.S. Latinos. The analysis is conceptually grounded on an understanding of the social role of comedy and the relationship between media and Latino identity.
Source: Mass Communication & Society
Author: Guillermo Avila-Saavedra
Institution: Salem State University
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2049419455