The Three Caballeros

“Consumption of the exotic is not only the process of consuming products from elsewhere, it is also a process of differentiating between us and them” (Goldman 30).

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When reading Goldman and reflecting upon my viewing of The Three Caballeros this was a quote that encapsulated my thoughts on the film. The movie not only objectified Latin American and its people but it also went to considerable effort to define Latin American as significantly other than the “normative” United States. Although intended to contribute to the “Good Neighbor” foreign policy initiative in the early 1940s, The Three Caballeros only widens the gap between the United States and Latin America.

            In the movie Latin America is portrayed as exotic and other, specifically though Donald Duck’s reactions to the experiences he has with the women in Brazil and Mexico. Throughout the movie Donald has a stupefied ignorance which emphasizes the experience he is having in Latin America as foreign and not to be considered normal. Further, the physical portrayal of the birds representing Brazil and Mexico enhance the feeling that these countries are exotic and should be treated as foreign by people who understand the United States as the cultural norm. The bird representing Brazil is green and yellow objectifying the national colors. Further he wears a stereotypical top hat and consistently has a cigar hanging out of his mouth. The bird representing Mexico, portrays a derogatory representation of how Mexican culture was perceived in the 1940s. He is a bright red bird carrying a holster and gun. This presentation of Brazilian and Mexican culture does not show respect because it refuses to take the culture seriously and it refuses to imagine that there are aspects of Brazilian and Mexican cultures that the United States could learn from. The representation of the birds in stark contrast to Donald’s very plain blue outfit emphases the portrayal of Latin American cultures as “other” compared to the United States’ culture.

            Another aspect of the movie that struct me was the consistent sexualization of Latin America as a female to the United States’ male counterpart. Goldman describes it as “staging [the] ground for a gendered narrative of U.S. masculine-identified hegemony vis à vis a highly feminized representation of Latin America” (25). The masculine, feminine contrast forces Latin America into the submissive female role that was normal in the United States in the 1940s. This combination of imposed gender norms and cultural appropriation portray Latin America as an “other” that should not be treated with the same level as respect as one would treat the United States. Beyond the clear misrepresentation of female sexuality throughout the film, the gendering of Latin America contributes to the overall message of the movie that Latin America is this other world that can only be explored through the stereotypical lens of the United States’ cultural narrative.