Professional Documents
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Projectproposal Mexicanidentity
Projectproposal Mexicanidentity
Projectproposal Mexicanidentity
By:
BrigitteGarcia
,
AliBell
,
EricRamire
z
,
MauricioMejia
&
XeniaA.Kosteck
April25,2016
I.
Introduction
Morethan40millionimmigrantsresidedintheUnitedStatesasof2012
thatmakesupa
largeportionofourpopulation,andthatnumbercontinuestogrow.Sowecannotdenythatthey
arehereandwecannotdenythattheyarethetopicofmanydebates..WeliveinSanDiego,
CaliforniawhichisveryclosetotheMexicanborder.MostofusareMexicanandhavegrownup
tryingtounlearnthestereotypesmanypeoplebelieve.Oneofthemostfrustratingstereotypesa
Mexicanfacesisbeingtoldtheyareillegal.Someofusunderstandbeinganimmigrantfroma
personallevelsomeofusjustwantedtobemoreinformedaboutthetopic.Manyimmigrantsare
heldtotheimagethattheoldergenerationhascreatedsayingtheyarehereillegally,theyare
criminals,theyarelazy,ortheyclaimtheyarestealingjobsSowe
arefocusingontheMexican
immigrantssinceitisabigtopicforthepresidentialcandidates
.
Somecandidateshavetargeted
themandtheirresidencyhereinAmericabyclaimingtheyaresendingkillersandrapistsover
theborder
.
Becauseofthisraciststereotypessuchaswetbackhavebeenusedandbecomemore
frequenttofindinthemedia.
Butbeforewepointfingersandblamesomeonefortheproblemwe
wanttohearthedifferentopinionsfrombothsides
Themainideaistogetpeopletalkingand
listeningsothattheydontusewhattheyhearinthemediatodecidewhattheythinkabout
immigrants.
Wewanttoaskthemabouttheiropinionandengageinarealconversation.It
usuallyseemsmostdontevenknowtherealfactsaboutimmigrants.Sowewillbetestingwhat
theyknowbyaskingthemtrueorfalsequestions,andthengivingthemactualstatisticsproving
whytheyareorarenttrue.Wehopethattheywillgoontousetheirnewknowledgeinother
conversationstoinformpeopleofwhattheynowknow.Wewillfirstgivebackgroundto
stereotypesandthengointohowweplantouseit.
II.
Motivation
The Mexican Stereotype has been around for quite sometime. Using slurs or assuming
based on impressions of how one individual looks like is a continuous offense we see in
everyday life matter. Common stereotypes that have been used on Mexicans are aliens,
brownface, and many others, but the most commonly known name is wetback. What is a
Wetback and what is the history behind it? The reason why Mexicans are referred to this is
Mexicans entered the U.S. state of Texas from Mexico bycrossingtheRioGrandepresumably
by swimming or wading across the river and getting their backs wet in theprocess.Itsaword
thats used to degrade Mexicans for their past and in turn on affect their future.
According to
studies by the Hamilton Project
p
overty rates for Hispanics are 24% which is more thandouble
of nonHispanic Whites 10%. These stereotypes are also merged into reasons for keeping
Mexicanimmigrantsfromcrossingtheborder.
ManyHispanicfamilieswholiveintheU.Sknow
these stereotypes all too well, because they have family who are facing this prejudice or are
dealing with it themselves. This problem is a big topic in the America, especiallyinSanDiego.
Knowing that we live right by the border we have the opportunity to start up conversationsthat
willbeinteresting,becausewewillgetthefirsthandexperienceofimmigration.
III.
ProjectSummary
Ourgroupsproposalforthevideoistogooutsideandinterviewanywillingpeople.We
wouldtellthemsomeeyeopeningstatisticsabouttheEuropeanimmigrantsinthebeginning
timesofAmericaandalltheatrocitiesthatwerecommittedagainsttheNativeAmericans,we
woulddisguiseitasifitwerepresentdayMexicanimmigrantsthataredoing
to
themtoday.For
example,wewouldaskthemhowtheyfeltaboutimmigrantsbringingdrugstobreakup
Americansinternally.Theintervieweewouldthenanswer,andattheendwewouldrevealthatit
wasactuallyourfoundingfathers,whohaveanunstainablereputation,whopurposelyintroduced
NativeAmericanstoalcohol,somethingthatistothisdayveryprevalentintheircommunity.
WewouldthentellthemsomestatisticsaboutMexicanimmigrants,suchasthattheyareactually
predisposedtolowercrimerates.
Thereisavideowherewebasedourideaoffof,wheretheinterviewerwouldaskfora
DonaldTrumpsupporterfortheiropiniononaquotethatTrumpsupposedlysaid,butinfact
thosequotesweresaidbyAdolfHitlerinthepast.Theysupportedthequotesatfirstbutthen
theyweretoldtheywereactuallyHitlerquotesandtheirsupportedwanedsubstantially.One
thingthatwelikedaboutthevideowasthesurprisevalueattheend,whereevenDonaldTrump
supporterswereshockedthattheywouldthinkaboutsupportingthosequotesfromHitler.
Somethingthatthevideosandsocialexperimentsoutintheinternetfailtoachieveistobring
someactualhistoryandstatisticsaboutimmigrants,whichiskindofsurprisinggivenhow
immigrationwasthefoundationthathelpedbuildthiscountryfromthegroundup.Thisiswhy
wewanttobringvariousstatisticsandhistoricalperspectiveaboutthistopictoeducatepeople
thatmightnothaveknownalotaboutit.Thistopichasbeenamajorpartinthelivesof
countlesspeople,especiallyinacountrybasedonimmigrantsliketheUnitedStatesourmain
objectiveistoshowhowimmigrantsarenotheretohurtourcountry,butinfacttohelpitgrow
likeimmigrantshavethroughoutAmericanhistory.
IV. Projectdetails
Settinguptheenvironment
Ourvideoisasunbiasedaspossible,wellbeaskingpeoplefromtheFashionValley
Malltoparticipateintheexperimentofourconversationaboutimmigrationandhowits
currentlyaffectingourcountry.Theactorsinthevideowillbeourinterviewees,withsomeshots
oftheinterviewer.Hopingthatourvideowillreacheveryoneandthatouraudienceisnotlimited
toanyspecificagegrouporracewewantittobeopentovariety.
Tobemorespecificwewant
tohavepeoplewhomaynotfullyunderstandthistopic,sotheycanfigureoutwhattheythink
wouldbebestforourcountry.AndreceivetheirinputonImmigrationandtheirreactiontowards
it.The#Breakfreemomentofthevideowillbetheintervieweethatunderstandsthefactsabout
immigrationarenotactuallyaboutMexicanimmigrantstheyarefactsabouttheearlycolonists.
Thiswillputtheirideasaboutimmigrationinadifferentperspectiveandshowthemthatthishas
happenedinhistorybefore.Thisisntanewbattlewearefightingbutinsteaditssomethingwe
arestilldealingwithasacountry.Themainideaistoprovokehis/herideasaboutimmigrationin
general.
Wehopetoopentheirmindswithoutmakingitseemlikeblameisbeingplacedupon
them.
Inordertocreatethebestvideopossible,wewillbeusingavideocamera,videoediting
application
s
,suchasimovie,andtoaskunbiasedquestionstoo.
Wewillbeaskingourexpert,
Mrs.Marquez,anunofficialattorneyfortheadministrationofimmigrants,whyimmigrantsare
seenasanissuetomanyAmericansandfactsaboutwhatitsreallyliketobecomeacitizen.We
hopetonotonlyeducateourselvesbutthosewatchingthevideoaboutwhatitsliketobean
immigrantandhowwecanbeallies.
ImplementationIssuesandChallenges
Becauseofthedifferentperspectiveseveryonehasofimmigrationitcanbedifficultto
talkabout.Therecanbeissueswithfindingtherightopenmindedpeopletointerviewbecauseof
theextremeopinionsoutthere.Thisissomethingthatpoliticiansconstantlydebateabout,soto
bringitintoaconversationwitheverydaypeopleisharderbecauseitbecomesmorepersonaland
sensitive.Wewillhavetobecarefulwiththewaywebringitup.Wecannotjustmakeaperson
answerquestionsifthetopicmakesthemuncomfortable.Wewillmakesureweshowbothsides
oftheargumentandaskunbiasedquestions.Wewilldothisbyreadingthemfactsandnotjust
givingoutownopinion.Wewillalsonottrytopersuadethemtogiveacertainanswerbysimply
askingthemaboutwhattheydefinitelyknow.Anotherissuewehaveismakingsurewedont
takefactscompletelyoutofcontext,becauseeventhoughessentiallythatiswhatwearedoing
wedontwanttosendthewrongmessageofusinghistoryagainstitself.Wewillalsobeing
usingstereotypesthatcouldbetakeninahurtfulway.Wewillexplainthehistorybehindeach
fact.Wewillalsomakesurewecompletelyunderstandthemomentsinhistorylikethe
presidentialcandidatesstanceonimmigrationlaws.Aswellasmakesureweletthemknowthe
typeofquestionswewanttoaskthem.Thiswillhelpusmakesurewearenotcalledoutduring
ourexperimentandinterviews,anddonotoffendanyone.Wewanttoaddtotheconversation
notbecomepartofthestereotypelikeproblem.
Ourvideowillbeexplainingimmigrationintwoperspectives,fromthehistoryofthe
earlycoloniststotodaysMexicoCaliforniaborderissues.Itllshowtheobviouscontrastfrom
historywhenthenativeswouldhavenosayatalltothepeoplewhoenteredtheirlandandhad
thefearofitbeingstolen.Thesuddenrealizationofhowwearestillhavingproblemsfiguring
outimmigrationtodaywillbetheattentiongrabberofourvideo.Tomanypeopleitsaproblem
o
fhistorybutwearetryingtoprovethatitis
still
happeningjustinadifferentway.Itllbenice
tohavetheopinionsofdifferentpeopleinsteadofjustnewsanchorsandpoliticiansontvgiving
theirthoughtsoneveryonesbehalf.Ourcapturingofbothsidesexplainingtheirreasoninginan
unbiasedenvironmentwillsparktheinterestofeveryone.
Deliverables
Thequestionswewillbeaskingwillbewellthoughtoutandprovoking,yetopenenough
tonotgivetoomuchinformationormaketheintervieweegiveabiasedanswer.Asagroup,we
hopetoshownotonlyourinterviewees,butanyonewhowatchesourvideo,thatimmigrantsare
notasseeninthemedia.Wehopetogainanunderstandingourselvesofwhatisgoingoninour
country,andtoalsogiveothersthesameunderstanding.
Ourpurposewillbetoaddontothe
discussionofimmigrationandhopefullyshineanewlightontheproblematicstereotypesoften
said.Theactorswillprovideuswiththenewlightbygivingustheiropinionsandstarting
conversations.Ourvideowillincludethefollowing:
Wewillfirsthaveaninterviewwithourexpertdiscussingstereotypesandaskingherour
questions:
Howcanweastheyoungergenerationcontinuetobringthisissueclosertoasolution?
Whatdoyouwishmorepeopleknew
Whatisnottrueaboutthestereotypesofimmigrants
Howcomplicatedistheprocesstobecomeacitizen?
Thenwewillhaveaninterviewswithrandombutadiversegroupofpeople(3)andtellthemthe
followingstereotypes:
Undocumentedimmigrantsdontpaytaxesbutstillgetbenefits.
MyancestorslearnedEnglish,buttodaysimmigrantsrefuse.
Anyonewhoentersthecountryillegallyisacriminal.
ImmigrantstakegoodjobsfromAmericans.
Mostimmigrantsarehereillegally.
TheUnitedStatesisbeingoverrunbyimmigrants
Wewillhavethemtelluswhattheythinkofthesestereotypesandiftheythinktheyretrue.
Wellalsoaskthemiftheyhaveheardanyothersandthentellthemourfactsandstatistics
debunkingthesemyths.Thiswillbeourbreakfreemomentwhentheyrealizethatmanyofthem
donthaveactualproofwhetherthesesstatementsaretrueornot.Theywillthenlistentouswant
tolearnthetruth.
Afterwehavealltheiropinionssaidwewillmoveontoshowourinterviewswithactual
immigrants.Weregoingtotellthemthesamestereotypesandhavethemtelluswhattheythink
ofthem.Thenalsoaskiftheyveheardothersandhowtheypersonallymakethemfeel.
Oncewearefinishedwiththeinterviewwewilltellpeopletotweetandpost
#ImmigrationConversation.Thisisthenameofthespacewearehopingtoprovidetoanyone
wantingtolearnmoreaboutimmigrants.Wehopethatthroughourhashtagtheywillsee
conversationsaboutstereotypesandlearnthetruth.Wereallywanttospreadtheright
informationandhelpthecommonpersonbeinformed.
Bytheendwewillgointosomehistoryandexplainthatthesestereotypeshurtpeopletheydont
evenrelateto.Thescreenwillshowourhashtagandaconcludingmessageandwewillendit
there.
Timeline
Bynowwewillalreadyhavetalkedtoourexpert
WeplantogotoFashionValleymalltorecordallofourinterviews.Wewillalsofilm
someextrashotstoaddintoourvideolater.
Somewhereinbetweenwewillmakeasmallposterofourprojectonphotoshopandadd
aQRcodethatwillthentakeouraudiencetoourvideoprojecttomakeiteasyinfinding
ourvideo.
Afterwefinishthatwewilleditthefootagewehaveandaddinthingslikesubtitles,
transitions,voiceovers,etc.
forotherstounderstand.
Oncewefinishweplantotaketooursocialmediasandstartthespreadofourhashtag.
V.
Conclusion
Weknowthateveryonehasadifferentperspectiveonimmigrants
andstrongopinionson
immigration.Wewanttolistentoeveryonesdifferentopinionsonthesestereotypesthrougha
personallevelandanonpersonallevel.
WewillinformthemonwhyMexicansaregiventhe
stereotypestodayandprovethattheyshouldnotbejudgedjustoffofaname.
Aswellasprove
howmanyofthemarenottrue.
Ourgoalinthisprojectistokeepprovingthatthesestereotypes
onlypaintapictureofasmallportionofimmigrants.Weareallallowedtohaveourown
opiniononwhathappenstoourcountry,butweshouldmakesureweunderstandallthefacts
first.
Thesestereotypesthatwevealllearnedaresomethingweshouldovercomeandbreakfree
frombecausenobodyshouldbelabeledinadisrespectfulmanner.Itonlycausespeopleassume
theworstaboutMexicanimmigrantswhowanttohavetheopportunityforabetterlife.
VI.
References/CitedResearch
MontesDeOca,Cristan.
Quora
.Quora,Inc.Web.22May2016.
<https://www.quora.com/WhyareMexicanscalledwetbacks>.
YeHeeLee,Michelle."DonaldTrumpsFalseCommentsConnectingMexican
ImmigrantsandCrime."Washingtonpost.com.FredRyan,8July2015.Web.22Apr.
2016.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/factchecker/>.
Greenstone,Michael,andAdamLooney."ECONOMICANALYSISWhatImmigration
MeansForU.S.EmploymentandWages."
Http://www.hamiltonproject.org/
.
Http://www.hamiltonproject.org/,4May2012.Web.23Apr.2016.
<http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/what_immigration_means_for_u.s._employment
_and_wages/>.