Familism, as defined, illustrates an understanding of family loyalty and centrality that makes family members prioritize the needs and unity of the family over personal needs. In the film La Mission, the aspects of familism are depicted in the life of Che, a very proud Latino gentleman who values his cultural history, community, and legacy. However, this pride becomes shaken when Che discovers that his son Jesse has a homosexual relationship with Jordan (Bratt et al., 2010). When Che finds some of Jesse’s pictures with his boyfriend, he experiences conflicts in his life as this discovery challenges his way of living and contradicts his cultural value.
The form of masculinity associated with Latinos is a significant aspect of Latino men’s experiences throughout their lives. Alcalde (2014, 541) shows that despite the differences in cultural backgrounds between the U.S. and the Hispanics, loyalty to the family is not easily weakened because of migration. However, in the film La Mission, the generation by which Jesse is brought in fails to conform to the cultural backgrounds that Latinos embrace in their ways of life (Bratt et al., 2010). Jesse’s character is less macho and appears more honest and open, contrary to Latino men.
Unlike Jesse, the father, Che, despite being a good individual, have difficulty accepting the difference between distinct cultures. Based on his temper Che and his neighbor Lena have a strange relationship. In the scene where Che stares at Lena, Che shows resentment towers Lena simply because of her cultural background (Bratt et al., 2010). As Che looks at Lena, his despise for women comes out since, according to him, women exist simply for visual pleasure.
References
Alcalde, M. C. (2014). What It Means to be a Man?: Violence and Homophobia in LatinoMasculinities On and Off Screen. The Journal of Popular Culture, 47, 3, 537-553.
Bratt, P., Bratt, B., Alexander, E., & Valdez, J. R. (2010). La Mission. Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar: Screen Media.