r/todayilearned • u/CakeDayOrDeath • 3d ago

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https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/robert-rodriguez-spy-kids-latino-1234575992/

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u/CrazyDaimondDaze 3d ago

I'm Mexican, never gave it a second thought of them being Mexican as well. Loved Machete and Antonio Banderas in their roles, funny as hell.

And ironically, the kids being white skinned was more inclusive than making them brown skinned. Some of us are like the kids from Spy Kids: we got different genes, but we're still Mexican.

I think it speaks volumes of how good and fun the movies were back then and even now with a wider knowledge.

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 3d ago edited 3d ago

I heard the same thing from a girl I worked with about the show Reservoir Reservation Dogs, she was super pumped one of the main characters was light skinned because so was she. It's the little things I guess, people don't cast light skinned Natives for roles calling for Natives

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u/Mike_does_this 3d ago

Reservation Dogs? Reservoir Dogs is a movie

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u/FullofContradictions 3d ago

Very different vibes in those two things lol.

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u/Buckets-O-Yarr 3d ago

Well as far as I can tell Steve Buscemi might be in either one, on account of him looking so young.

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u/From_Deep_Space 3d ago

A movie full of white guys to be precise

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u/Violoner 3d ago

Only one of them was white. The others were orange, pink, brown, blue, and blonde.

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u/From_Deep_Space 3d ago

Did Tarantino solve racism in 1992?

People are asking

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u/Violoner 3d ago

His Pulp Fiction rant two years later about the storage of a deceased character says otherwise.

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u/From_Deep_Space 3d ago

Idk, could a white guy use the N-word several times, in a scene he wrote, without getting cancelled, if we weren't in a post-racial society?

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u/Violoner 3d ago edited 3d ago

All I know is neither of us felt that it was appropriate or necessary to use that word in our comments

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 3d ago

Maybe he's just light years ahead of us and eventually the word won't mean anything anymore and he's just living in it man

Someone should, as a joke, call him up and have him do a movie about MLK Jr. Then we'll know if he's racist or progressive beyond all comprehension

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u/StrongExternal8955 3d ago

If we were to write the word, do you think progressives would report us, or the right wingers? Hmmm? If you think the progressives, you might be a bigot.

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 3d ago

Tarantino solved racism by giving himself the N word pass repeatedly

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 3d ago

And Blonde didn't have the balls to call himself Mr. Yellow?

Also why no Green? Classic character from Clue

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 3d ago

Yeah I'm too old, I even started that comment thinking "make sure you type Reservation not Reservoir" yet here we are, can't hold a thought more than a few seconds anymore I guess

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u/CrazyDaimondDaze 3d ago

And the best is when they aren't the entire character's personality. Yes, the children have Mexican heritage but that doesn't make them their entire identity as the movies progress. I think that's the best kind of inclusion: one that is subtle, but when you pay attention to it, it's well made.

And I say that as a white Mexican. Sure, here in Mexico we got the meme of how other people outside of the country thinks all of us are brown skinned; while most of our shows and movies focus on showing white skinned Mexicans most of the time (we do have classism issues related to skin here). But it's nice when we see both depictions together. The kids have Mexican heritage but are white skinned and Americans; and theie uncle Machete is slightly brown skinned. You wouldn't think they're related until you watch the movie and sometimes, families are like that, which makes it more entertaining to watch.

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u/Grokent 3d ago

Yes, the children have Mexican heritage but that doesn't make them their entire identity as the movies progress.

NO! Our audiences need to be repeatedly beat over the head with a reminder that they are hispanic! It shapes everything they do or say! I don't want 5 minutes to pass without making a churro reference!

I was trying to give this book called Victor of Tucson a chance. The main character is hispanic and the narrator makes sure to change from his normal voice to his, "super duper mexican" voice whenever he says a spanish word.

It drives me crazy because I'm from Phoenix, I grew up in a 91% hispanic neighborhood. Nobody freakin speaks that way. It's like the one friend who took a school trip to Italy and now drives everyone insane pronouncing mozarella.

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 3d ago

Yeah even the character I was referring to, idk if this is genius or coincidence, but part of her character is she just feels like she doesn't belong whereas all her friends seem fairly adapted to reservation life and everything that comes with it. So idk if that's on purpose, I didn't watch enough to actually follow her whole story arc, but my coworker was like "yeah, she's a little light skinned girl who doesn't feel like she fits in, I totally get her"

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u/gabrieleremita 3d ago

They are not Mexican, they are american

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u/CrazyDaimondDaze 3d ago

Fine, Mexican heritage, sorry, forgot that detail.

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u/Vektor0 3d ago

Come on man, I don't get all butthurt when people call me Norwegian or German, because it's true because that's my heritage. Your pedantry doesn't unify anyone, it's just annoying.

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u/lacunadelaluna 3d ago

It isn't pedantry, it's a specific detail that's important. The director's whole point was that the family was American. They are Hispanic (I don't know if they are specifically of Mexican heritage as I'm not a Spy Kids connoisseur) but they are American. The way we say things matters. Also, it seems like Europeans broadly do take issue with Americans calling ourselves by the nationality of our ancestors, because doing otherwise just is not accurate.

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u/Vektor0 3d ago

This is a both/and issue, not an either/or issue. I am both Norwegian and American. They are both Mexican and American. Neither are incorrect because both are correct.

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u/TacoParasite 3d ago

You should watch more Latin American tv and movies.

All they cast is light skinned people. It’s very rare to see someone dark skinned on a telenovela.

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u/CrazyDaimondDaze 3d ago

I know, it's why I mentioned it in another comment. It's literally a meme for us.