I was quite fascinated with this week’s articles from both Negron and Aubry dealing with the ethnic ambiguity of Jennifer Lopez. They argue that it is this ambiguity that makes her appealing to white mainstream audiences and not just to a Latino fanbase. Her lighter skin tone helps her with this success as she looks closer to a white woman, and she also has the spunk and “butt” that us white folk just don’t see in our women. However, Latino audiences can still identify with her race which expands Lopez’s reach even more. It’s upsetting to think of how different races can become successful in Hollywood but when you think about it, it is nothing but the truth. When I look at very talented actors like Dijmon Hounsou, who has been nominated for 2 Academy Awards, but basically plays the same roles of the barbarian African in all his movies because of his extremely dark skin tone. To most Americans, as these articles suggest, Dijmon just seems too exotic for the mainstream audience, whereas J Lo is “just ethnic enough” to excite American audiences but doesn’t go over the top where she’s a Latino hero but not popular in mainstream. Also, J Lo can play many different roles, like the role that was meant for an Italian woman in the film we viewed in class, “Out of Sight” and this also makes her easily utilized by American film studios. However, with Dijmon who looks and speaks very foreign, there really isn’t much versatility to what he can play, as evidenced by a few of his most popular films like “Gladiator” or “Amistad”, where he plays a slave. Although there is no doubt in my mind that this American attitude towards race is wrong, Americans like being comfortable. The most popular films in terms of box office are franchises, such as Harry Potter and Star Wars, easily consumable films that the audience is already familiar with and knows what they will get when they pay for the ticket to see the movie. I do not think we will ever get out of this need for comfort and this will definitely hurt the actors and actresses who don’t have the light skin and “booty” that J Lo has been blessed with.
1 comment:
J Lo's ethnic ambiguity has certainly served her well in her Hollywood career. We have seen her play the obvious Latin-American, Italian American, and seemingly white characters. There have not been many other women to do this in Hollywood, and the fact that she found so much success in it is actually shocking. While audiences do want to see something familiar that they can relate to, they also expect their favorite stars to be loyal, especially when it comes to their ethnicity. It would be expected that J Lo's Latin fans would desire her to stay faithful to her roots and represent herself solely in that way. Especially considering that she found her fame in her role as Selena, the famous Latin pop star. However, J Lo has seemed to maintain her incredible stardom regardless of her ethnic ambiguity and her choice to embrace a myriad of roles. Actresses in the future would be wise to learn from the choices she has made in her career, although few could even try to compete with the empire she has built.
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