Out of the Frame, Essay Example

In the article “Out of the Frame: How News and Pop Culture Obscure Immigrant Women,” author CelenaCipriaso offers a discussion about historical and contemporary media images of immigrants, and how these images and portrayals in the media influence public perceptions and even helps drive and shape legislation. According to Cipriaso, the media has a history of depicting immigrants (both legal and illegal) in a manner which focuses on males while ignoring or distorting issues related to female immigrants. Cipriaso begins her essay by turning her attention to a photoshopped image of Dora the Explorer, a character from a popular children’s television show. In this image, Dora is depicted as a physically traumatized illegal immigrant who has been arrested while crossing the border. Cipriaso points out that people on both sides of the immigration issue embraced this image as representative of their views, and further notes that this depiction of Dora brought attention to female immigration issues in a way which broke with historical tradition. At the same time, however, Cipriaso argues that contemporary media has a tendency to focus on young,  telegenic individuals while largely ignoring the majority of immigrants and the struggles and challenges they face. Despite the current focus on immigration issues and the increased attention being paid to some female immigrants, Cipriaso maintains that the historical lack of media attention on female immigrants remains firmly in place.

Cipriaso begins laying out her case by considering how the image of Dora the Explorer “revealed how tightly media attention, pop culture, and developing legislation are intertwined,” and argues that media depictions of immigrants and immigration issues has historically had a significant impact on how the general public perceives immigrants and how legislators have crafted laws related to legal and illegal immigration.  Cipriaso’s use of the term “intertwined” reveals the complexity of the issue; she is not arguing that media depictions influence legislation in a linear fashion, nor is she arguing the reverse. Instead, the author argues that the two go hand in hand, as legislation influences media deceptions while media depictions influence legislation. The stereotypes historically associated with immigrants from various parts of the world are shaped by a combination of factors, with legal constructs and media depictions intersecting to support such stereotypes.

To bolster her argument about the contemporary circumstances and issues involved in the current immigration debate in the U.S., Cipriaso begins by discussing several legislative decisions and “political maneuvers” which have fed into stereotypes of immigrants. Cipriaso notes that women were often ignored in media depictions of immigrants simply because there were far more male immigrants coming to America to fill a need for a strong male workforce. This was especially true in the 19^th and early 20^th century, as waves of immigrants from China, Italy, and other countries flooded into the U.S. to look for work. While it was in the interest of the U.S. to promote the immigration of males, legislators worked to curb the growth of immigrant families by passing laws making it difficult or impossible for immigrant females from these same countries to join their male counterparts. Those females that did come to the U.S., argues Cipriaso, often did so illegally and therefore remained hidden in the shadows, unprotected by law and ignored by the media.

Cipriaso notes a paradigm shift in the aftermath of 9/11, when the stereotypical media depictions of immigrants turned from “career criminal into terrorist.” Just as federal, state, and local government agencies were ramping up new legislation related to immigration and counter-terrorism, television shows such as 24began to offer images of stereotypical Middle Eastern terrorists. In previous generations, for example, Italians were commonly depicted as being involved in organized crime; in the post-/9/11 era this image was replaced with that of the radical Muslim intent on blowing up buildings. Throughout this evolution, Cipriaso asserts, women and the issue that affected them continued to remain, as the title of her article outs it, “out of the frame.”

The rise of the DREAM act and the attention it has brought to immigration issues, has, according to proponents, helped to shine a spotlight on women’s immigration issues in a way that is historically unique. Cipriaso even appears to agree with this position, at least up to a point. She acknowledges several notable females who, because of media attention being paid to the DFREAM act and the young people who are presumably supposed to benefit from it, have managed to avoid being deported or who have otherwise drawn positive attention from the media. It is Cipriaso’s position, however, that the media is paying attention to the so-called DREAMers, both male and female, because they are young, intelligent, and visually appealing. The author’s concern is not that these young people are the recipients of positive attention, but that the attention they receive is diverting attention from countless other women who may be older, or less photogenic, or who may fit historical stereotypes too closely for the media’s comfort.

Cipriaso supports her assertions by describing several contemporary media depictions of female immigrants. The television show Devious Maids, for example, paints an unrealistic, or at least incomplete, picture of female immigrants. All of the lead characters are female Latinas, but they are also all young and beautiful, in keeping with the media attention being offered to the female DREAMers. Cipriaso does not seem interested in undermining or devaluing the accomplishments of the young people who are currently receiving media attention for their immigration issues. She simply points out that, despite the apparent shift in the media towards a willingness to portray female immigrants and discuss the issues that affect them, this change is much narrower and more limited than it might appear. For every DREAMer who might avoid deportation, there are countless female immigrants who must navigate the maze of legal issues alone, without the support or attention of the media. Quoting Latina actress Eva Longoria, Cipriaso writes “the only way to break a stereotype is not to ignore it.” While there has been some progress in how the media treats female immigrants, Cipriaso makes a compelling case for the idea that most of them still remain out of the frame.

Work Cited

Cipriaso, Celena. ‘Out Of The Frame: How News And Pop Culture Obscure Immigrant Women’. bitch 2014: 43-47. Print.