The image of Mexico and the Mexicans projected by Hollywood, following President Felipe Calderon’s declaration of "war" against drug trafficking and organized crime in 2006

Abstract

The fight against drug trafficking has had an impact on Mexico's image abroad. This fact did not go unnoticed by the Hollywood cinema. This film industry not only exhibits films but also messages and ideology, as well as stereotypes. In this way, this work has as main objective to describe the stereotypes on Mexico and the Mexican projected Hollywood, as well as to determine the responsibility of the United States on the phenomenon of the narco-traffic, in the narratives of the films. In order to carry out this investigation the technique of Content Analysis was used in order to carry out a systematic and objective description of the media contents of the eight films. Films like Jack and Hill, Predators, Trade crime without pardon, Catch the gringo, Machete, My father's house, Savages and A chihuahua in Beverly Hills were selected because of their reference to the image of Mexico and the Mexicans. The variable that was used is the stereotype whose categories will be categorized dichotomously. These categories were divided into Positive and Negative. In the Positive category are the adjectives favorable to the image of Mexico and the Mexicans. In contrast, the negative category is the adjectives unfavorable to the image of Mexico and the Mexicans. These categories were operationalized for the analysis of the films. The results of the research show that American cinema negatively stereotypes Mexicans, projecting them as violent and irrational. On the other hand Mexico is projected as a country with little urbanization and with systemic corruption. However, the Hollywood film industry is beginning to recognize that Americans, and not just Mexicans, are involved in the world of drug trafficking. This indicates that corruption is not exclusive to Mexico.