Chicano-Chicana Americana : pop culture pluralism starring Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Robert Beltran, and Lupe Ontiveros
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Chicano-Chicana Americana is a cultural history of Mexican Americans in film, television, and theater. Each chapter presents an in-depth case study analyzing the lives and creative careers of four underappreciated actors--Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Robert Beltran, and Lupe Ontiveros-to answer the question: How do racially and socio-economically marginalized Latino-Latina subjects contribute to U.S. culture, beyond the black-white binary? Drawing on methods borrowed from cultural studies, Macías argues that these performers, neither assimilationists nor nationalists, expressed a dynamic, complex ethnic identity, created an alternative strategy for how Latinos and Latinas are seen in popular culture, and carved out a space for imagining a polycultural America. These artists altered cinematic representations and audience expectations of ethnic Mexicans by challenging, undermining, and surpassing stereotypes. By documenting their presence in motion picture studio-era movies, and public, network, and cable TV, Chicano-Chicana Americana demonstrates how Chicanas and Chicanos made their mark on Americana"--,Provided by publisher.