#ltmpno2

https://youtu.be/kCbgztwd3kQ The Long Term Media Project is about Hispanic representation in the media. It is about how Hispanics are portrayed in things such as songs, shows, movies, and other types of media such as online videos. It is a personal project because my family background is of Latino/Hispanic origins and since my sister and I are both first generation Americans. Due to societal pressures, My Parents decided it would be better for us to not learn both English and Spanish, but instead focus on learning English. Eventually my parents wanted to teach us about our heritage, but we were past the critical age where children are adept at language acquisition. So in a way, we are the first of our family to lose our heritage. We did not have many role models to look up to that were Latino and to teach us about Spanish and about our heritage. All we saw were Latinos believed to be coming to the United States to take jobs away from Americans. In high school I went through a bit of a personal renaissance where I realized that it was important to know about my heritage, and that rather than be either American or Latino, I could be both. So I took some classes in high school and college and they all taught me how important that the first generation children have a role model to look up to with their background. I learned that no one should have the “us vs them” mentality. Now with my niece growing up, it is important to my family that she knows the importance of her heritage and that she feels confidence in herself. The beginning will show what my niece watches followed by my mom discussing the childhood of my sister and I. She introduces the conflict that is occurring in media, that there is a problem with the media that young Latinos consume, (in this case my sister and I.) how there really is not anyone to look up to for us, in terms of understanding our heritage. While there is Spanish TV aimed towards Latino immigrants, there is not anything for the first generation Americans. While my Mom wanted us to understand more about our heritage, it wasn’t feasible for her to make us understand about our background and for us to become assimilated with the greater American culture we are exposed to. The main topic then switches over to my niece, Melanie, who is growing up with television, and it shows that her identity is at stake if she does not understand her heritage. Then I talk with my sister about how she felt about Latino representation, and how she thinks there are not enough for Latino Americans. Although there are not many, my sister believes that there will be more. Ultimately I end up speaking directly to the audience summarizing the presentations points, and leaving them with the message of the importance of representation for my niece. That having a representative for Latinos will help my niece understand where she stands in this world, as an American like any other. Works cited: Toby Fox. Home. 2014. MP3 123 Andres. Canción De Amor. 2015. MP3. Aivi and Surrashu. Love Like You (The Ocean Returns). 2014. MP3.