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  • Essay / "The Sellouts" by Luis Valdez: How Stereotypes Affect Attitudes Toward Race as a Whole

    Imagine a stranger, someone who knows nothing about you, judging you because of your race. They assume that they know who you are and that your destiny is based on However, what they believe to be fact is just a racial bias far from the truth. This is called a stereotype: “a. a widely held but fixed and simplified image or idea of ​​a particular type of person or thing” (Oxford) It is a concept created from what people see, not what they see. know, a play written by Luis Valdez, highlights the typical stereotypes that the Mexican race experiences by creating characters that embody anti-racial labels. Written during the Chicano moment of the 1960s, Los Vendidos, or "The Sellouts". , shows how the Mexican race felt perceived by American society by exaggerating the typical stereotypes and prejudices they were subject to to show the impact of misrepresentations. to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayLos Vendidos takes place in Honest Sancho's Mexican Used Lot and Mexican Curiosity Shop. The store, which resembles a used car lot, sells "products" or "models" of stereotypical Mexican characters, designed to suit the buyer's whims and controlled with the snap of a finger. Each character represents a stereotypical label that the Mexican race knew during the Chicano movement. Miss Jimenez, secretary to Governor R. Regan, visits the used Mexican lot to purchase a "Mexican type for the administration" (Valdez 1) that will show the diversity within the administration. Although Miss Jimenez is Mexican-American herself, she does not recognize stereotypes and seems unaware of her own culture. Even though the models wear clothes that reflect the stereotype they embody, Miss Jimenez has no idea what each of their roles is. Honest Sancho shows Miss Jimenez several types of Mexican models that exemplify the main stereotypes: a farm worker, a Mexican gangster, and a revolutionary. Each model's identity embodies the stereotype they represent. The farm worker is equipped with an additional accessory, a wide-brimmed sombrero that protects him “from the sun, rain and dust” (Valdez 2). Although he is hardworking, durable and economical, Miss Jimenez disapproves of the fact that he does not speak English. . The most "urban model" (Valdez 4), also known as Johnny Pancho, able to speak English, is also capable of knife fighting, resisting arrest and swearing. Although Johnny Pancho speaks English, Miss Jimenez does not buy this model because of its connection to gang-related activities and arrests. Miss Jimenez, frustrated with the honest Sancho, says she is looking for "something more traditional, more romantic" (Valdez 6) that will "appeal to female voters" (Valdez 6). portrayed in the films as a horse-riding romantic who starts revolutions. Although he meets some of the requirements Miss Jimenez is looking for, the revolutionary is from Mexico and she tells Honest Sancho, “We can only buy products made in the United States” (Valdez 7). The honest Sancho, finally understanding what Miss Jimenez is looking for, introduces her to Eric García, a Mexican-American model. Eric García represents the Mexican-American stereotype that Miss Jimenez is looking for. He is described as being "a clean-shaven, middle-class guy, in a business suit, with glasses" (Valdez 8). Being very sophisticated, bilingual, and a college graduate, he can fill any role..