Is Dora The Explorer An Illegal Immigrant? TV Shows For Kids Often At Center Of Big Debates

[The Straight Story]

Is Dora The Explorer An Illegal Immigrant?
TV Shows For Kids Often At Center Of Big Debates

CHICAGO -- In her police mug shot, the doe-eyed cartoon heroine with the bowl haircut has a black eye, battered lip and bloody nose.

Dora the Explorer's alleged crime? "Illegal Border Crossing Resisting Arrest."

The doctored picture, one of several circulating widely in the aftermath of Arizona's controversial new immigration law, may seem harmless, ridiculous or even tasteless.

But experts say the pictures and the rhetoric surrounding them online, in newspapers and at public rallies, reveal some Americans' attitudes about race, immigrants and where some of immigration reform debate may be headed.

"Dora is kind of like a blank screen onto which people can project their thoughts and feelings about Latinos," said Erynn Masi de Casanova, a sociology professor at the University of Cincinnati. "They feel like they can say negative things because she's only a cartoon character."



http://www.justnews.com/entertainment/23629925/detail.html

[notadmblnd]

1. and for ggawd's sake, don't look in her backpack!

She has illegal drugs in there.

[pinboy3niner]

4. LOL!

Or the six "illegal aliens" she's smuggling in there will expose her as a criminal coyote human trafficker. Tsk-tsk, Dora . . .

[damntexdem]

9. And as an Explorer, she's a gas guzzler to boot.

;-)

[sharp_stick]

2. I thought she lived in Mexico

I can't say I follow the show more than I have to if it's on when my kids are watching it but I always assumed she actually was in Mexico.

Does the show ever give her a real location? It would be an interesting place to find as it appears you can go from Jungle, to Desert to Tundra to Tropical beach all in about 1/2 a mile.

[pinboy3niner]

13. Her origins and residency are intentionally ambiguous

From the OP link:

Representatives from Nickelodeon declined to comment on Dora's background, and her place of birth or citizenship have never been clear." She has brown skin, dark hair and some experts who have studied the show say she speaks Spanish with an American accent.

"She's always been ambiguously constructed," said Angharad Valdivia, who teaches media studies at the University of Illinois and has explored the issue. "In the U.S. the way we understand race is about putting people in categories and we're uncomfortable with people we can't put into categories."

Dora lives in an unidentified location with pyramids that suggest Mexico, but also tropical elements such as palm trees and her friends, Isa the iguana and Boots the monkey. Does that mean she's from South America or Florida?

Then there's oak trees and her fox nemesis Swiper, which are more common to the American Midwest.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Luckily her job that no american would want has been outsourced to Ni Hao, Kai Lan

[gratuitous]

5. "Go Diego, go!"

Don't forget her partner in crime!

[Johonny]

6. She's importing exotic animals!

[havocmom]

8. Her worst crime, according to the xenophobic mindset, is to humanize 'teh brown'.

I have met too many people who just don't want children exposed to Hispanic characters on children's programing. They want their kids to accept their own bigoted views rather than be exposed to anything which may help kids form their own, informed views.

It's about maintaining control through maintaining cultural ignorance.

[Quantess]

10. Are you serious? You have met people who don't want their kids watching Dora the Explorer

because she's hispanic?

[The Straight Story]

14. I have met worse (nt)

[havocmom]

15. Sadly, serious

:cry:

[IndianaJoe]

7. Could be! And some of the Teletubbies are *gasp* gay! n/t

[Dr. Strange]

11. In fairness, it wasn't really Dora's fault. Guess whose fault it was?

[Froward69]

12. tisk tisk Dora...

Clearly a cartel "mule"... or a clandestine assassin...