Media often reflects and shapes the way society treats different groups, giving creators an important responsibility. Portraying real life situations in a respectful manner can act as a step in reducing stigma over controversial topics. But is simply including hot button topics enough or is it more important to portray them in respectful and realistic ways?
The recent Netflix release Emilia Pérez has brought this conversation front and center. The musical, set in Mexico city, is centered around a cartel boss assigned male at birth who transitions into a woman and enters retirement with the help of a lawyer. She struggles continuing a relationship with her ex wife and children, along with building her new identity. Right away the story takes on very real and very current issues including transgender rights, Mexican immigration to the United States, cartel and crime in Mexico, women’s role in society, and family dynamics. The story addresses extremely relevant topics that are somewhat underrepresented in media. However the creators of the film have been criticized for their portrayal of these topics.
The Criticism
The movie’s accuracy in its portrayal of Mexico and its culture came into question during an interview with the movie’s French director Jaques Audiard. When asked how much he needed to study Mexican culture in order to make the film, the director explained that he didn’t study much because he felt he knew what he needed to understand. Not only is the director from France, but the majority of the movie was filmed in France across the world from its actual setting.
Furthermore, the casting director received criticism for casting non-native Spanish speaking/non-Mexican actors for main roles. She explained that despite searching for Latin American actors for main roles, they thought that their star studded cast was the best option. In what appeared to be a last ditch effort, the story was changed to make many of the characters Mexican American to explain the poor accents. In fact Audiard said in a recent interview, “Spanish is a language of modest countries, of developing countries, of the poor and migrants.”
The movie has received backlash for giving its audience a two dimensional depiction of the very real issues that Mexico faces. “I feel like it’s extremely offensive, overly simplistic, it makes it frivolous, I don’t understand the point of making something like that and that it has so many awards” explained one Mexican native. Finally, the actual musical performances of the film not only appeared to be low effort, but despite receiving many awards the musical aspects can hardly compare to those of its competitors including the widely praised 2024 release, “Wicked.”
The Awards
The film and its cast have received many awards including a Golden Globe for best motion picture and it is on track to receive more. Some of its competitors do not approve of its success, including Challengers director Luca Guadagnino who walked out shortly after Emilia Pérez received a Golden Globe.
Sophomore Sophie Smith. commented that“It seems to me that public opinion and the picks for prestigious awards don’t always align, and in this case I believe it’s because the movie was created for fellow Hollywood elite who are satisfied just to include complex topics in the media they consume and aren’t concerned about the actual execution of that media.”
HHS student Gianna Aljanabi explained, “I’ve seen some viral clips of the movie on social media and when I found out how many awards it received I was shocked. Parts of the film seemed like a joke and I could see why people would be offended by its unnatural presentation.”
Conclusion
It is important to keep in mind that popular media portraying another country has the potential to shape the opinions of many. It’s interesting that Hollywood is only miles away from Mexico but still struggles to depict the culture accurately. The poor casting and mistakes made in the production are very similar to those in the original motion picture West Side Story. The 1961 production was a story of Puerto Rican Americans, yet only one member of the cast was truly Latina. The movie and other depictions of minorities contributed to how minorities are seen and treated. Is history repeating itself or are we capable of evolving our media?
