Selena Movie Analysis

In effect, by glossing over Selena’s transition into the Latin American the film Selena ignores her accomplishments in the Latin American market which was not easy to enter. Although the film touches on the obstacles Selena had to overcome to become successful in Latin America it still makes it seem as if Selena was an automatic sensation, particularly in Mexico, where it is known she had difficulty winning people over. This is evident through the one scene in the movie where Selena visits Mexico and whilst there speaks Spanglish to reporters without any repercussions as later on a newspaper calls her the “genuine artist of the people.” Yet, it is no secret that at the beginning of her career the language barrier between Selena and her Mexican audience posed an issue as she was derided for using an interpreter to communicate with the Spanish-language media (Paredez 204).
Yet, Rohter in a New York Times piece clarifies that unlike what many believe Selena was not automatically a success. In reality, there was much resistance to Selena which is evident through the derogatory terms used by upper-class neighborhoods of Mexico to describe her (Rohter). As a consequence of the film focusing on the double discrimination Selena faced in the U.S. and overlooking the difficulties Selena had to overcome on the south side of the border it can be said the success story of Selena in Latin America is undermined while her success story in America is overemphasized. Thus, the idea that she represented the American dream is perpetuated. Though before it is further explained how this is so the meaning of the ‘American Dream’ should first be