Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Latino Immigration

As a final project, I decided to pull together all lectures and others sources of information I have been collecting. I'm excited to put them all together in a digital media format. Unlike the typical research paper which is the format I have been following for the past twelve years I have been devoting to my education, this project is not going to sit in a box in my garage collecting dust. This is what makes digital media unique, its accessibility and dynamic form. This project is one that can be shared with many and can take other forms as others digital users can take it and change it, whether to enrich it or manipulate it to their interpretation. The main point for me is that it allows for discourse on this topic to take place, digital story telling brings it alive!
Through this project I incorporated my own experience as an undocumented immigrant, as well as books I have read on this topic. In the past couple of years I conducted interviews of undocumented indigenous immigrants in Orange County, which helped me understand the universality of the experience of the immigrant, as well as the feeling of fear and alienation I had often experienced. This semester, I decided to complement my research by attending various lectures, like the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities annual conference, a lecture by UCI Professor Leo Chavez, and the film screening of 800 Mile Wall. By so doing, I reflected on the various myths versus facts provided by researchers on the controversy of immigration.
My hopes through this project is to provide the viewer with a different context on immigration. We often hear myths created by the fear factory which media tends to operate (mainly controlled by governmental powers and corporations) to increase xenophobia and racism against Latinos as illegal immigrants. I think it is necessary to offer a presentation based on academic research which is more objective and empirical in nature. Though by saying this I do not imply that this is biased-free as everything inevitably embedded with the author's biases. The main thing is to provide democratic outlet for expression.

5 comments:

  1. Leonor, thank you for your project! We often look at images without understanding the subtlety of their message. I appreciate the time you took in your project to decode these racist, mass produced images. By examining these magazine pieces, you have taken their institutionalized power away. Well done.

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  2. I remember the first time I heard the term "anchor babies" - I was protesting Sarah Palin in Costa Mesa and for some reason the minute men showed up and had a sign that said "No Anchor Babies!" I was like wtf is that? (which shows my privilege that I have never been the victim of this type of name calling) Anyone who hates babies is pretty scary in my book! Anyway, I am glad you are taking seriously the pervasive nationalist and racist anti-immigrant images out there. It needs to be done so it can be stopped. Thanks!

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  3. Leonor,
    Your project(s) throughout the semester gave a voice to those people that isn't present in a political and social landscape that we see today. Your project is passionate and powerful for you lend your voice, to those who have dealt or are dealing with the same problems/situations you went through in the past. Your strength is encouraging, we need teachers like you in the world. Please keep blogging, writing and speaking :)

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  4. Thank you guys, I hope you read Leo's book which provides even more examples of this pervasive racism. This has been an amazing class as I learned so much from all of you, just like Marina said. I'll definitely keep in touch! :)

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  5. My comments above about framing, contextualizing, curating, and moving information seem most relevant here. It would be great to keep adding to this slide show: perhaps some of your ethnographies with other undocumented indigenous workers, and then your own, related (universal) immigrant experiences as well, even as you are the expert and framer, you can always also be the subject and voice.

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