Introduction
Most Americans have never understood the challenging history lying behind the increased Latino population growth in the United States. Nevertheless, after watching the documentary, I realized that it is of great help in making a person know why America has many immigrants. Thus, this essay aims to provide a reflective analysis based on the immigration problem within the United States by discussing the broadcasted Latino aspects in the documentary.
Main body
One of the critical aspects the documentary “Harvest of Empire” presents is the negative stereotyping of Latino immigrants. I consider stereotyping a contributing factor to the widespread discrimination these individuals experienced and are still experiencing due to being labeled the minority. The Latinos are heavily assumed as coming from a culture of criminality, are not educated, and do not understand any word that is said in English, and they are mocked due to their limited fluency. For instance, Romero, a journalist, expresses that the Americans denied his father a promotion to becoming a waiter because his English was not excellent even though all waiters at the hotel at that time had nonstandard English except for Germans, Greek, and Italians.
At the same time, during the film, there are multiple facts that the majority of stereotypes could not be applied to all Latinos. Juan González, the author of “Harvest of Empire,” is a journalist, a well-educated man with knowledge, competency, and excellent English. The majority of Latin Americans who participated in the film have appropriate language skills as well. Mariana Zamboni had education dreams that she has managed to achieve in the United States by graduating from Harvard (“Harvest of Empire”, 00:22:37-00:22:49). In addition, Latinos arrived in the United States searching for a job or escaping from local conflicts not to become criminals. On the contrary, they respected the country and supported it – for instance, “350,000 Mexican Americans served in World War II, earning numerous Medals of Honor” (“Harvest of Empire”, 00:37:20-00:37:30).
Based on the documentary, I realize that the United States’ policy is the root cause for the increased Latino population and immigration from South American countries. The primary reason for Latinos’ migration from their countries was the U.S. dominating and occupying their lands, creating an unconducive environment for them to continue inhabiting their homeland. Therefore, I regard the narrator as correct and appreciate the historical views he provides when he states that “The huge Latino presence here is the direct result of our own government’s actions in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America over many decades”. (“Harvest of Empire”, 00:03:56-00:04:12). Besides, the heavy recruitment of Mexican workers throughout the 1950s, as well as 1960s, expanded the Latino population to the industrial belt of the American Midwest (“Harvest of Empire”, 00:37:39-00:37:54). The demand for labor led to more immigrants working in America and has consequently resulted in more Latinos living in the U.S.
Another point of concern that I draw from the documentary involves the portrayal and the harsh language being used to describe Latinos in the media. As the historical negative stereotyping continues among these minorities, the media assumes that all Latinos are a poor and problematic heterogeneous community. When the media presents information such as “we want to focus across the united states to know that we are standing with them to protect American lives, liberty and property from the invasion of the illegal aliens” (“Harvest of Empire”, 00:46:00-00:46:08), the Latinos feel oppressed indirectly. However, while Latinos are considered to put a strain on security, education, and health care, they have immensely contributed to American society. For example, the Cuban and Latinos’ sacrifice and work contributed to the development of Miami into a large Latino city.
Conclusion
To conclude, the immigration problem and the increased population of Latinos appear to be due to U.S. foreign policy. As the U.S. pursued the countries of Latin America, the “Harvest of Empire” documentary highlights how the U.S. occupied these homelands, forcing the Latinos to migrate to the U.S. to save their lives and search for a job. In addition, the documentary clearly expresses the harsh, unfair language that is used to describe the Latino people. There are numerous stereotypes against them while the majority of them have no reasonable base. In turn, the contribution of Latinos to the United States’ development is huge and should be considered.
Work Cited
“Harvest of Empire The Untold Story of Latinos in America.” YouTube, Incarcerated Nation Network INC Media, 2020, Web.