The Caballero Revisited: Postmodernity in "The Cisco Kid", "The Mask of Zorro", and "Shrek II"

Autor/in	Leen, Catherine
Titel	The Caballero Revisited: Postmodernity in "The Cisco Kid", "The Mask of Zorro", and "Shrek II"
Quelle	In: Bilingual Review, 28 (2007) 1, S.23-35 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0094-5366
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Mythology; Films; Role Models; Mexican Americans; Hispanic Americans; Social Bias; Ethnic Stereotypes; Racial Bias; Ethnicity; Social Influences; Cultural Differences; Mexico; North America + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Mythologie; Film; Identifikationsfigur; Hispanoamerikaner; Hispanic; National stereotype; Nationales Stereotyp; Racial discrimination; Rassismus; Ethnizität; Sozialer Einfluss; Kultureller Unterschied; Mexiko; Nordamerika
Abstract	This article discusses the achievement of the postmodern caballero films and the relevance of the social bandit myth for Chicano resistance. The continued relevance of the social bandit myth is clearly demonstrated by "The Cisco Kid" and "The Mask of Zorro." Both films show how initially flawed or directionless characters can realize their potential to avenge the suffering endured by a subaltern community and in so doing become worthy heroes and role models. "The Cisco Kid" represents a parallel development to that of Ritchie in "La Bamba," in that the very qualities that Ritchie suppresses in order to succeed in North America become those that he treasures after his journey to Mexico, which leads him to create a version of the song that becomes a crossover hit emblematic of a positive cultural hybridity. Similarly, Cisco learns to appreciate his Mexican heritage and use it to his advantage in order to form a more meaningful identity. Despite its heavily ironic tone and its problematic and stereotypical representation of Puss as a drug smuggler, "Shrek II" does not diminish the importance of the Latino swashbuckler as a social bandit who comes to the aid of an oppressed minority. The vibrancy of the Zorro myth in particular is suggested not only by its appropriation in "Shrek II," but also by the fact that a sequel to the film is currently being made and that no less an author than Isabel Allende has based her latest work, "Zorro: A Novel", on the development of the legend. The greatest achievement of the postmodern caballero films lies in their resurrection and radical updating of heroic sagas that point a way forward for Chicano resistance. (Contains 15 notes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Bilingual Review Press. Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875303, Tempe, AZ 85287-5303. Tel: 800-965-2280; Tel: 408-965-3867; Fax: 480-965-8309; e-mail: brp@asu.edu; Web site: http://www.asu.edu/brp/brp.html
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10