Let’s talk about your class experience. Please have a conversation with three people in the classroom based on the following questions:
How would you evaluate your performance in this class?
What was the most rewarding aspect of the class?
What was the most challenging aspect of the class and how did you tackle it?
Takeaways:
After hearing from everyone, please share your main takeaways from the conversations. What were some common challenges or rewards that emerged? Did anyone share any particularly unique perspectives or strategies? How might this inform your future engagements with similar interdisciplinary classes?
Final Project Workshop
What challenges did you encounter (or think you will find) during your exploration of the Latinx neighborhood, and how did you overcome them (or plan to overcome them) to capture the essence of the community through your photos and personal essay?
How did (do) your personal experiences and observations in the Latinx neighborhood align or differ from the sources discussed in class? In what ways did the sources influence your understanding of the community, and how did they (will they) inform your photo essay?
Reflecting on the process of creating your personal essay and photo essay, what did you learn (or what do you think you will learn) about yourself, your biases, and your preconceived notions about Latinx culture and communities? How will this experience shape your future interactions and engagement with these communities?
Raising Victor Vargas (2002) is a Latinx coming-of-age comedy film. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews from critics, and is now considered a classic of Latinx cinema. It was directed by Peter Sollett and co-written by him with the aid of -at the time- non-professional actors and the movie co-producer Eva Vives. The film is built around a series of structured improvisations. They tell the story of Victor Vargas, a teenage boy living in Loisaida, the Lower East Side of Manhattan, who struggles to navigate the complexities of adolescence, gender norms, and relationships while also dealing with the expectations of his traditional Dominican culture embodied by his abuela.
Raising Victor Vargas is ultimately a film about the abyss between reputation and experience, self-awareness, cis heterosexual gender performance, and teenage lust. The film explores the pressure that Victor feels to conform to traditional gender roles within the Caribbean culture of Loisaida where being a so-called “real man of the streets” is highly valued. Similarly, Victor’s grandma has difficulty accepting her grandchildren’s puberty and life changes. Victor and his family must deal with other ways to understand intimacy.
Entry Questions
How do the film and the main characters navigate the complexities of masculinity?
How does Raising Victor Vargas explore the tensions and disconnections between self-image and reality; patriarchal gender roles, and intimacy?
How does Victor’s performance of masculinity (and the other male characters) fluctuate depending on the spaces they are in and the people they interact with?
How the film Raising Victor Vargas illustrates or challenges masculinist ideas
.Dominican and Puerto Rican boys embody heteronormative masculinity as a reflection of their social worlds. These male teens claim male supremacy and belonging by acting their maleness, la hombría. Boys did not experience puberty on their own but rather within their homosocial group.
.Male adolescence is a social process as much as a biological transformation. A social process means that there are interactions and a collective embodiment. You become yourself by fitting into the group’s norms. Dominicans and Puerto Ricans residing in low-income neighborhoods such as old-school Loisaida constructed their masculine identities by reproducing dominant gender expectations in their barrios, in the media, and in the norms of their countries of origin.
.Groups of male friends police each other regarding their gender performance. Boys must be vigilant regarding these gender expectations and thus should put an appropriate masculine performance in front of their friends and family. However, the ideal masculinity might look different depending on the social setting.
.In flirtatious exchanges, the boys and girls often incorporated sexual innuendos that called attention to their own developed bodies and those they desired. These interactions allowed the boys and girls to express their physical attraction to one another and explore the personal and physical boundaries of potential boyfriends and girlfriends. Collective notions of beauty constrain young men.
.The film also explores feminist visions in relation to the overwhelming machismo of the Loisaida community.
Conclusion
In the film, consent is given when the stereotypical performances of masculinity are dismantled, and the young men show consistency and their vulnerable selves without imposing themselves. First Melonie and then Judy affirm their desires accepting Harold and Victor but on their own terms. Vicky also accepts the friendship of a boy that pursues her, Carlos, once she establishes her boundaries with him. Arguably, la abuela sees the importance of letting go of her moralist grip, unrealistic expectations, and the need to communicate better her necesidades around the house.
Overall, Raising Victor Vargas presents a nuanced and complex portrayal of masculinity, showing how cultural, familial, and personal influences shape it. Masculinity ends up being performed by Victor in the context of his relationships with the women in his life (his grandma, his sister, and Judy). As he navigates his feelings towards his family, his friends, and Judy, he modifies his performance of masculinity questioning common stereotypes and learning what a fluid, respectful and caring masculinity entails.
