Media Representation Analysis Example

Latina & Bisexuality Tropes in TV

TV comedies often rely on superficial single-sided stereotypes for their humor. However, NBC TV show Brooklyn Nine-Nine is shifting common media token representation and power relationships. Take a look at the above image of the crew. Two strong Latina women are framing the shot, standing in power positions, Captain Holdt is standing tallest, a queer black man, and commanding the foreground, we have harmonizing, soft-natured, father figure, Terry. Brooklyn Nine-Nine goes beyond superficially showcasing diversity online since they “[steer] away from tokenisation by subverting racial stereotypes” (Park) and “flip the scripts of gender and sexuality” (Hill and Bilge, 2016, p. 6) providing their audience with fully developed intersectional representation that enhances our critical understanding of society. By connecting with characters that are multidimensional, viewers can be “attentive to power relations that produce social inequalities… within intersecting systems of oppression” (p. 8).

Brooklyn Nine-Nine VS Sex and the City

Let’s compare the scene from Brooklyn Nine-Nine in which Rosa comes out as bisexual with a scene from Sex and the City, in which the supposedly sex-positive protagonist, Carrie, a cisgender hetero white woman and her affluent friends, decided that bisexuality doesn’t exist (see videos of the scenes below):

In Sex and the City, Carrie and her homogeneous friends completely discount bisexuality as a viable identity, speaking from a place of ignorance. Their conversation, while intended to be funny, is hurtful, and would cause any person who is bisexual to question their own identity, and perpetuate the false idea that bisexuality is only a phase. This places the power in the hands of these affluent hetero white women, and takes it away from those women who have lived experience as bisexual. This is especially true if one considers the following of this TV show, “those youth for whom identity is highly negotiated” (Berlinger, 2018, p. 26), and the authority the character Carrie holds when is comes to matters of sex.

In contrast, Rosa’s coming out scene “offers a visualization of what it means to be queer” (Berlinger, p. 27) in an authentic way. She emphasizes how difficult it can be, but through humour (and not stereotypes) viewers can see the support she gains from her squad. This is important because “personal identity narratives [are] highly influential in people’s lives” (Hill and Bilge, 2016, p. 4). It’s also important to note that she is standing in this scene, while the rest are sitting and listening. She is in command of the conversation “field questions for exactly one minute” and the questions asked are thoughtful as opposed to negating, or emphasizing the stereotype that is all-to-often perpetuated, that bisexual individuals are in denial (for example, no one asked her “are you sure?”). Rosa is a character who breaths power in Brooklyn 99 in all her interactions. She is a hero rather than a villain, and controls her identity, rather than letting others control her, but is not without her struggles.

While we can see that some aspects of this character may fit into the “spicy Latina” TV trope – the hot-tempered, confrontational, "hotty" in tight clothing, whose “soft side… occasionally peeks out from their tough exterior” (TV Tropes), it is clear that she is also incredibly smart, cares about her friends, and doesn’t play the role of femme fatale. She is a nuanced, dynamic personality who is more than the cyphered stoic, motorcycle-driving, “bad ass” that TV often latches onto. From the contrast between her projected appearance and her home décor; her intimidating demeanor and the care she shows for her friends; and her challenging relationship with her traditional Spanish parents, Rosa unapologetically doesn’t care what others think about her and shows viewers that we don’t have to explain who we are, or fit into a prescribed box. Everything is clearly her choice and she is rounded in her connections to other characters and through scenes in which the viewer can see depth in her character, played by a bisexual Latina actor, Stephanie Beatriz Bischoff Alvinzuri.

A character who definitely does not fit the “spicy Latina” TV trope is Amy Santiago, played by Latina actor, Melissa Fumero, the overly anxious, incredibly book-smart, and ambitiously competitive detective. Often depicted in either a suit or her uniform, she, like Rosa, embodies authority and command, perfectionist-level organization skills, and is, for these reasons, the love interest of the goofy side-kick-esque leading man, Jake Peralta. Her multifaceted character grapples with anxiety that is deeply connected to her perfectionism and ambition. She is neither seductive nor sultry as her Latina counterparts are often stereotyped on TV – her power comes from her intellect, and she bares struggles as a female and as Latina.


References

Berliner, L. S. (2018). “Chapter 1: The Problem with Youth Voices,” Producing queer youth: The paradox of digital media empowerment. Routledge. 22-53.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine. (2017, December 12). Rosa Gets Personal with the Precinct (Episode Highlight) [video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/FDGkCeElzhM

---. (2018, September 1). Jake’s Advice about Coming Out [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zytuIVmesuE

Framke, C. (2018, May 16). How bisexuality on TV evolved from a favorite punchline to a vital storyline. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/5/16/17339992/bisexual-representation-tv-callie-rosa-darryl

Goore, D. and Schur, M. (2013-2021). Brooklyn Nine-Nine [TV Series]. NBC

Hill, C. P. & Bilge, S. (2016). Intersectionality. Polity.

Jeppesen, S., & Petrick, K. (2018). Toward an intersectional political economy of autonomous media resources. Interface: A Journal for and About Social Movements, 10(1-2), 8-37.

Martinez, K. (2020, June 13). Bisexual stereotypes in TV movies [Image]. BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellymartinez/bisexual-stereotypes-in-tv-movies

Park, J. (2019, February 12). ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ is how all shows should do inclusivity. Guide, SBS. (https://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2018/03/26/brooklyn-nine-nine-how-all-shows-should-do-inclusivity)

Siva89. (2011, December 2011). Sex and the City – on Bisexuality with subtitles [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/AEIWg6pV9g0

Star, D. (1998). Sex and the City [TV Series]. HBO.

TV Tropes. (N. D.). Spicy Latina. Retrieved on October 27, 2021 from TVtropes.org Wiki site: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpicyLatina