Coco and Encanto: Representation of Latin American Families in Animated Films
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article aims to examine and analyze the cultural values related to family according to the concept of familismo in Latin American culture as depicted in the animated feature films Coco and Encanto. Applying the above-mentioned concept to analyze the representation of family in the films, this research is based on the Three-Act Structure and Semiology as a framework to analyze storytelling techniques and characters and to interpret the meaning of presented symbols. The findings indicate that: (1) both films depict families where every member holds a cultural value of the importance of family above all else; (2) the significant role of women in the family, particularly grandmothers or abuelas as the head of family; (3) the protagonists, often grandchildren, serve as representative connectors of the relationship within a family between different generations; and (4) both films reflect the idealized presentation of the creators and the nostalgia regarding Latin American cultures, which serve as their cultural roots.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Adamou, C. (2022). Are we there yet? The Disney Princesses’ journeys and gender representation. Syn-Thèses, 13, 44-55. https://doi.org/10.26262/st.v0i13.9735
Aldama, F. L., & González, C. (2019). Reel Latinxs representation in U.S. Film and TV. University of Arizona Press.
Anderson, D. K. (Producer), & Unkrich, L. (Director). (2017). Coco [Motion picture]. Pixar Animation Studios.
Attig, R. (2019). Coco and the case of the disappearing Spanglish: Negotiating code-switching in the English and Spanish versions of Disney and Pixar’s animated film. In K. Bennett & R. Queiroz de Barros (Eds.), Hybrid Englishes and the challenges of/for translation: Identity, mobility and language change (pp. 151-162). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315142333-9
Avila, J. (2020). Memorias de oro: Music, Memory, and Mexicanidad in Pixar's Coco (2017). Americas: A Hemispheric Music Journal, 29, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1353/ame.2020.0009
Ayón, C., Marsiglia, F. F., & Bermudez-Parsai, M. (2010). Latino family mental health: exploring the role of discrimination and familismo. Journal of community psychology, 38(6), 742-756. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20392
Byng-Hall, J. (1986). Family scripts: A concept which can bridge child psychotherapy and family therapy thinking. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 12, 3-13.
Byng-Hall, J. (1998). Evolving ideas about narrative: re-editing the re-editing of family mythology. Journal of Family Therapy, 20, 133-141.
Campos, B., Schetter, C. D., Abdou, C. M., Hobel, C. J., Glynn, L. M., & Sandman, C. A. (2008). Familialism, social support, and stress: Positive implications for pregnant Latinas. Cultural Diversity an Ethnic Minority Psycology, 14(2), 155-162.
Cauce, A. M., & Domenech-Rodríguez, M. (2000). Latino families: Myths and realities. In J. M. Contreras, K. A. Kerns, & A. M. Neal-Barnett (Eds.), Latino children and families in the United States (pp. 3-25). Praeger.
Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica. (2015). Una nación desplazada: Informe nacional del desplazamiento forzado en Colombia. Bogotá: CNMH - UARIV. https://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/descargas/informes2015/nacion-desplazada/una-nacion-desplazada.pdf
Cerdeña, J. P., Rivera, L. M., & Judy M. Spak, J. M. (2021). Intergenerational trauma in Latinxs: A scoping review. Social Science & Medicine, 270, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113662
Clarke, C. (2022). ‘She immediately saw herself’: how Encanto strikes a major chord in a diverse world.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jan/28/encanto-diverse-colombia-animation-lin-manuel-miranda
Conroy, S. (2022). Narrative Matters: Encanto and intergenerational trauma. Child and adolescent mental health, 27(3), 309-311. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12563
Davis, A. M. (2015). Handsome Heroes and Vile Villains: Masculinity in Disney’s Feature Films. Indiana University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gh6sv
Diah, I., Anisa, S., & Budiarto. (2021). The Representation of Mexican Culture in Disney Pixar’s Movie Entitled “Coco”. Journal of English Language and literature, 6(2), 99-114. https://doi.org/10.37110/jell.v6i2.128
Dosch, E. A., & Khrebtan-Hörhager, J. (2023). Beyond bad hombres, mamacitas, and borders: rethinking representation of Mexicanidad in 2017 animation Coco. Communication, Culture and Critique, 16(1), 73-80. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcac049
Escobar, J. I. (1998). Immigration and mental health: Why are immigrants better off? Archives in General Psychiatry, 55, 781-782.
Faris, W. B. (2004). Ordinary enchantments: Magical realism and the remystification of narrative. Vanderbilt University Press.
Faculty of Psychology Chulalongkorn University. (2023, June 8). Resilience – การฟื้นพลัง. https://www.psy.chula.ac.th/th/feature-articles/resilience
Finch B. K. & Vega W. A. (2003). Acculturation stress, social support, and self-rated health among Latinos in California. Journal of immigrant health, 5(3), 109-117. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1023987717921
Gelman, C. R. (2014). Familismo and Its Impact on the Family Caregiving of Latinos With Alzheimer’s Disease: A Complex Narrative. Research on Aging, 36(1), 40-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027512469213
Glick, J. E., & Van Hook, J. (2008). Through Children’s Eyes: Families and Households of Latino Children in the United States. In H. Rodríguez, R. Sáenz, & C. Menjívar (Eds.), Latinas/os in the United States: Changing the Face of América (pp. 72-86). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71943-6_5
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Dittus, P., Jaccard, J., Johansson, M., Bouris, A., & Acosta, N. (2007). Parenting practices among Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers. Social Work, 52(1), 17-30.
Harju, M. L. (2012). 'Being not alone in the world’: Exploring Reader Response to Crossover Books. [Doctoral dissertation]. McGill University.
Hipolito-Delgado, C. P. (2018). Cultura y Familia: Strengthening Mexican Heritage Families. In P. Arredondo (Ed.), Latinx Immigrants. International and Cultural Psychology (pp. 147-167). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95738-8_9
IMDbPro. (n.d./a) Coco. Retrieved November 8, 2023, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2380307/
IMDbPro. (n.d./b) Encanto. Retrieved November 8, 2023, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2953050/
Jaques, Z. (2021). “Remember Me” Intergenerational Dialogue in Disney-Pixar Animation. In J. Deszcz-Tryhubczak & Z. Jaques (Eds.), Intergenerational Solidarity in Children’s Literature and Film (pp. 85-98). University Press of Mississippi. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1fkgcgc.11
Krauze, D. (2017, December 1). How Pixar Made Coco the Biggest Hit in Mexico’s History. Slate. https://slate.com/culture/2017/12/how-pixar-made-coco-the-biggest-box-office-hit-in-mexicos-history.html
Lasseter, J., Unkrich, L., & Molina, A. (2017). The art of Coco / Disney Pixar. Chronicle Books.
Martínez-Rodrigo, E., & Martínez-Cabeza Jiménez, J. (2019). Escenarios y emociones en Coco (2017). Actas Icono 14, 1(1), 222-237. https://icono14.net/ojs/index.php/actas/article/view/1344
Mendoza, E. (2009). Machismo Literature Review. Center for Public Safety Initiatives, Rochester Institute of Technology.
https://www.rit.edu/liberalarts/sites/rit.edu.liberalarts/files/documents/our-work/2009-12.pdf
Merino, Y., Spencer, C. (Producers), & Bush, J., Howard, B. (Directors). (2021). Encanto [Motion picture]. Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Mohatt, N. V., Thompson, A. B., Thai, N. D., & Tebes, J. K. (2014). Historical trauma as public narrative: a conceptual review of how history impacts present-day health. Social science & medicine (1982), 106, 128-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.043
Pablo, R. L. J. J., Lee, J., Bush, J., Howard, B., & Smith, C. C. (2022). The Art of Encanto / Disney. Chronicle Books.
Pérez-Guerrero, A. M. (2021). El Hogar en Los Filmes De Pixar: Uso Creativo y Significado. UMH - Sapientiae, 2(1), 9-23. https://doi.org/10.5377/umhs.v2i1.12997
Ramírez-Berg, C. (2002). Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, Resistance. University of Texas Press.
Reny, T., & Manzano, S. (2016). The Negative Effects of Mass Media Stereotypes of Latinos and Immigrants. In G. Ruhrmann, Y. Shooman, & P. Widmann (Eds.), Media and Minorities: Questions on Representation from an International Perspective (pp. 195-212). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. https://doi.org/10.13109/9783666300882.195
Rodríguez-Ucros, A. M., Hernández-Pabón, J. C., & Palacios-Sánchez, L. (2022). Coco, sus trastornos de memoria y el poder de la música. Iatreia, 36(2). https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iatreia.198
Rotten Tomatoes. (2018). Coco. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/coco_2017
Rotten Tomatoes. (2022). Encanto. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/encanto_2021
Ruiz, M. E. (2007). Familismo and filial piety among Latino and Asia elders: Reevaluating family and social support. Hispanic Health Care International, 5, 81-89.
Rumbaut, R. D., & Rumbaut, R. G. (1976). The extended family in exile: Cuban expatriates in the U.S. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 395-399.
Salamina, L. A., & Tawami, T. (2023). Depiction of feminism concept in Disney animated movie: Encanto 2021. Apollo Project, 12(1). https://ojs.unikom.ac.id/index.php/apollo-project/article/view/8938
Salerno, S. L. (2018). Latinx College Student Narratives of Familism and College Persistence [Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University]. FSU’s Digital Repository. http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/2018_Su_Salerno_fsu_0071E_14708
Sigal, J. J., Dinicola, V. F., & Buonvino, M. (1988). Grandchildren of survivors: Can negative effects of prolonged exposure to excessive stress be observed two generations later? The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 33(3). 207-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674378803300309
Smith-Morris, C., Morales-Campos, D., Alvarez, E. A. C., & Turner, M. (2013). An anthropology of Familismo: On narratives and description of Mexican/immigrants. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 35(1), 35-60. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986312459508
Taylor, Z. E., Larsen-Rife, D., Conger, R. D., & Widaman, K. F. (2012). Familism, Interparental Conflict, and Parenting in Mexican-Origin Families: A Cultural-Contextual Framework. Journal of marriage and the family, 74(2), 312-327. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00958.x
Techawongstien, K. (2022). Children’s Literature, Youth literature and Translation. In K. Akanisdha (Ed.), Language and Intercultural Communication: Theories and Applications (Vol. 2, pp. 209-238). P.A. Living.
Toro-Morn, M. I. (2012). Familismo. In S. Loue & M. Sajatovic (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health (pp. 672-674). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_277
Valdivia, A. N. (2016). Contemporary mainstream latinidad: Disney tales and spitfire endurance. Límite. Revista Interdisciplinaria de Filosofía y Psicología, 11(37), 66-78. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=83648394007
Vargas, L., & dePyssler, B. (1998). Using Media Literacy to explore Stereotypes of Mexican Immigrants. Social Education, 62(7), 407-412.
Wardaniningsih, A., & Kasih, E. N. (2022). delineation of women identity in the Disney animated film Ecanto (2019). Lire Journal (Journal of Linguistics and Literature), 6(2), 209-229. https://doi.org/10.33019/lire.v6i2.160
Welch, K. (2013). Could resistance to comprehensive immigration reform really be about ethnic stereotypes? https://www.huffpost.com/entry/could-resistance-to-compr_b_3441835
U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). Hispanic or Latino Origin by Race. American Community Survey, ACS 1-Year Estimates Detailed Tables, Table B03002. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2022.B03002?q=Hispanic%20or%20Latino
Zinn, M. B., & Wells, B. (2000). Diversity within Latino families: New lessons for family social science. In D. D. Demo, K. R. Allen, & M. A. Fine (Eds.), Handbook of Family Diversity (pp. 252-273). Oxford University Press.