Wednesday, February 7, 2007

30 Day's in regards to Stereotypes etc.

The 30 Days program did show many stereotypes of immigrants. For instance, Rigo does hard jobs for very low wages. It also shows the conditions that many Mexican immigrants are attempting to leave. Even though they are under or close to the poverty level in the United States, they are still better situated here than their former home in Mexico. Finally, it shows the sadness they feel because they are unable to return to their families in Mexico. For example, Pati was unable to see either of her parents before they passed away and it was clearly an emotional topic for her.

Armida represents the quest for the “American Dream,” or that which most Americans (and immigrants too) want to strive for. She breaks many of these stereotypes, or preconceived pictures in our heads, about illegal immigrants. She is very successful in school and an accomplished golfer. Armida has dreams to become the first in her family to attend a college and has high hopes of attending Princeton.

By airing this episode, producers were able to shed light on both sides of the illegal immigration controversy. They did not, however, show bias toward either side. Both were represented equally with valid arguments. I think that it was important to air this because illegal immigration is such a controversial topic right now in the media and politics.

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