Exemplification Essay
Cultural Misinterpretations A stereotype is a predisposed idea about a group of people based on limited information you have heard or seen and assumed to be true about every individual in that group. In “Don’t Call Me a Hot Tamale,” Judith Ortiz Cofer describes how being Puerto Rican affects her every day. People make rude comments about her, based on her ethnicity, and without knowing her. Cofer describes how she was stereotyped in different situations. From being compared to a Latina character in a play to having her culture misinterpreted. She does not fight against this prevaricate ideas. Instead, she travels around the United States and reads from her books and poetry trying to clear stereotypes about Latinos. As Cofer describe “replace them with a more interesting set of realities” (Cofer 666). However, individuals are still being exaggerated categorized according to their culture.
First, similar to how Cofer was compared to a character from the West Side Stories, popular Asian characters in movies also create stereotypes for Asian Americans. In Cofer’s essay she describes a man who walked up to her and sang the lyrics to a popular song from the West Side Story play. This image of a character from a play may be the only thing that this man can associate with the Latino culture. As she puts it, “… to him, I was just a character in his universe of ‘others’ ” (Cofer 666). A similar problem exists for Asian Americans in the United States. For example, most popular movies with Asian actors in Hollywood are Kung Fu performers and are usually playing a role as Kung Fu masters. For instance, Bruce Lee made many Kung Fu movies. Another famous Asian actor Jackie Chan was also in many action movies. Moreover, Kung Fu originated in Asia which makes people expect that all Asians must know Kung Fu. The image of a Kung Fu artist is assumed to be true for all Asian Americans resulting in a stereotype that all Asians know Kung Fu. Secondly, Cofers island culture was
First, similar to how Cofer was compared to a character from the West Side Stories, popular Asian characters in movies also create stereotypes for Asian Americans. In Cofer’s essay she describes a man who walked up to her and sang the lyrics to a popular song from the West Side Story play. This image of a character from a play may be the only thing that this man can associate with the Latino culture. As she puts it, “… to him, I was just a character in his universe of ‘others’ ” (Cofer 666). A similar problem exists for Asian Americans in the United States. For example, most popular movies with Asian actors in Hollywood are Kung Fu performers and are usually playing a role as Kung Fu masters. For instance, Bruce Lee made many Kung Fu movies. Another famous Asian actor Jackie Chan was also in many action movies. Moreover, Kung Fu originated in Asia which makes people expect that all Asians must know Kung Fu. The image of a Kung Fu artist is assumed to be true for all Asian Americans resulting in a stereotype that all Asians know Kung Fu. Secondly, Cofers island culture was