"Declare Yourself" Video Declares Us Angry, With Stereotype Fatigue
Good-intentioned political organization Declare Yourself wants to encourage young people to register to vote in the upcoming primaries and presidential election. According to their flacks, they want to use the internets to recruit the young, indifferent masses: “Using […] mobile and Internet technology, Declare Yourself’s campaign blankets the landscape of popular culture […] with a simple, clear message: REGISTER and VOTE!” One of said soporific blankets aimed at the Latino market is a video called “La Pasión de la Decisión.” Or, as we like to call it, We-Wish-The-Writer’s-Strike-Would-End-Already. We’re pretty sure every Latino stereotype is included in Episode 1: Tank-tops, farmers, livestock, undersexed characters, sangria, cattle, hot gardeners, La Virgen de Guadalupe. Nothing brings political issues to the front like telenovela melodrama and b-list “talent”.
La Pasion de la Decision - Ep. 1 [YouTube]
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- Managing Editor
Daniel Mauser
- Editor
Cindy Casares
- Associate Editor
Alex Alvarez
- Contributing Editors
Gabriel Caro - Camilla Rowan
- Video Editor
Marcelo Cunning
Well that settles it. I’m voting now.
Posted by El Bulto | January 25, 2008
I give them props for using “Te Sigo Amando.” Hearing that song made me laugh. The rest of the video only made me embarrassed for them.
Posted by Latin_Princess | January 25, 2008
It looks and feels like a Telemundo telenovela but with darker protagonists… je je je
Decisiones… the dark side, just as cheesy
Posted by e | January 25, 2008
It looks and feels like a Telemundo telenovela (decisiones) but with darker protagonists… je je je
Posted by e | January 25, 2008
Well it can’t be that offensive. If you look at the end slide, Voto Latino was a partner in the video’s creation, and they are an all Latino organization about motivating Latinos to register and vote. I’m pretty sure they were ok with stereotyping.
Posted by Roxy | January 25, 2008
ay, come on you guys, that was hilarious. nobody likes satire anymore. Five year diabetic coma!
Posted by calaverita | January 25, 2008
man, just when you think Fez redeemed himself in fast food nation, he makes out under La Virgen with the head punta from Sin City! Mario Lopez, where are you???!!!!
Posted by Sol 6 | January 25, 2008
Wilmer directed these psa’s. They’re supposed to be “telenovela spoofs”. MTV Tr3s did a story on it:
http://think.mtv.com/Campaigns/voces/
Posted by Mad Shady | January 25, 2008
As many of the previous comments have pointed out, “La Pasión de la Decisión” is meant to be taken as a satire of the telenovela format, just as the format has been depicted several times on the hit show “Ugly Betty”. Getting young people registered to vote, no matter what their ethnic or racial background, is the main goal of Declare Yourself. We have had much success in past campaigns as well as our current venture in using celebrity talent as spokespeople, often having them star in viral videos that play off of stereotypes or misconceptions about voting. Like it or not, this young population responds to sarcasm and celebrity. Working in part with Voto Latino, we produced four episodes of a “telenovela” – if you are going to take offense to the production, please wait until you have had a chance to see all four episodes. We hope that everyone will find the humor in them, as well as register to vote at http://www.declareyourself.com or http://www.votolatino.org if they have not already done so.
Posted by Declare Yourself | January 25, 2008
Declare Yourself, you don’t have to Defend Yourself. Guanabee is just hypersensitive when it comes to those sort of things. You’d think it got beat up as a kid or something because of its ethnicity.
Posted by bornAgainChicano | January 26, 2008
well….I thought it was pretty damn funny. That Mayte girl is smoking hot. Te Sigo Amando!
Posted by Cubarican | January 26, 2008