Stereotypes

                                       

                What came to mind when watching the film Queimada, was how weirdly similar the film is when compared to the first and second Pocahontas Disney film adaptations. The reason why I make this connection, is because they share the same general ideas; natives needing the assistance of the white males to progress, a person not being able to fully assimilate, and that ‘the Other’ is a savage. When looking at the film Queimada, we see that the only reason José Dolores was able to obtain “freedom” was because Sir William Walker was there to assist. This is also played out in the movie when John Smith helps Pocahontas save her people. Both protagonists change, they are presented in European clothing, in order to create a mediation between their people and the enemy. This can be connected to the idea that “the Other” can elevate their status, but they will always be connected to the lower level; a level which is exploited and used. They are also seen as uncultured savages. A quote from Queimada that I think fits Pocahontas is “If a man gives you freedom it is not freedom”, which is seen when they fight towards the end of the film (no one dies, as this is a children's film).

The darkest sides of tourism is not just that the tourists go and disrupt order, but that they return home and share their experience. These people may share bias, narrow minded opinions which often create stereotypes. Old stereotypes that are still believed, some are that labor is cheaper because they [natives] do not know any of their rights, or how they are too dumb to know any better. They are easy to control and therefore, they can be used to entertain us. For example, males order brides in which certain cultures are connected to because of generalization. Their experience good or bad, still ends up causing some sort of trouble, two cases in which because of Spring Break, beaches are overpowered by reckless youth that do not care much about the place, but only care about having a good time. In the more extreme cases, which are seen in the films, we get the wanting of control, and the sense that it is a commodity that can be exploited. I strongly believe that the worst thing to come out of tourism, is stereotypes that later cause problems to the people or community they are about.

On a different note, it is important to note that there are also stereotypes of the American tourist. The tourist is depicted with a “I love ...” t shirt,  fanny pack, map, and camera on hand. Said to not want to interact  with the culture as they just want to observe, while being obnoxious. The most common or well know one is that Americans don’t make an effort to learn the language and either try to yell or speak slow as if that was all that was needed to communicate. American tourist are not liked and are even made fun of in Television shows and movies. The american ends up humiliating themselves and earning a bad reputation.