Thursday, October 28, 2010

A bit more on Sofia Vergara

As we were talking about Sofia Vergara/accents today I remembered that on an interview on Lopez Tonight she mentioned that she was a natural blonde, but when she came to the US she was told that she didn’t look like a Latina even though she talked like one, and it was suggested that she dye her hair dark in order to look like a Latina.

Yesterday’s episode of Modern Family had a lot of funny moments where Sofia Vergara’s character, Gloria, is frustrated with being corrected by her son and her husband when she mispronounces words as she converses. You can see this starting at 7:25 minutes into the episode.

Modern Family, Season 2 Episode 6:
http://abc.go.com/watch/modern-family/SH559066/VD5593528/halloween

As we know, Sofia Vergara plays roles which fit Latina stereotypes- loud, curvaceous, promiscuous, etc. In interviews I really like that she seems very down to earth, and we can see that her accent is not that heavy and that her English is perfect. I would really like to see her play something outside her usual roles, where she doesn’t fit the Latina stereotypes.

3 comments:

  1. Sofia Vergara on Ellen

    I love watching Modern Family too. The whole cast is very diverse but as we've talked about in class, Sofia Vergara stands out as the fiery, sexy, and hilarious Gloria. This specific article focused on Sofia's visit to Ellen. The main idea for this article is Sofia admitting she can't get rid of her accent. This reminded me of our discussion in class about accents. This also reminded me of my mother and the other classmate that shared how her accent is still noticeable in certain words. I was once again reminded that you don't need to be ashamed of the accent you can't get rid of, but work with it.


    This article interested me because it made me wonder why she would need to get rid of it anyway. Obviously, she has been able to get onto a prime time show with her accent. Watching her on Chelsea Lately and now on Ellen, it is obvious that she is going to work with what she's got -- which is a good sense of humor, a beautiful appearance, and a thick accent. The rest of the article shows a video of "With an earpiece on, Sofia went to a store near the set of the show, and like the good sport that she is, made a complete fool of herself"

    I have to admit, the video definitely made me laugh but also made me wonder what the people in the store thought of her. She was this sexy woman coming into the store and then when she spoke, all of a sudden, she became a joke and the rest of the people in the store were laughing too. Also, Ellen gets a great kick out of Sofia's mispronunciation of "Howdy y'all!" showing that she sounds as if she is speaking another language saying a "typical American phrase." Another interesting part of this article is that it starts off by saying that Sofia goes onto the show to promote Modern Family but the conversation shifts to her accent, just like on Chelsea Lately. What a coincidence!

    Although this article did not delve into her talent as an actress, just seeing how she is able to laugh at herself along with others shows a lot about her character as a actress and as a proud Latina. Sofia has become an image of confidence in what others might look to as a weakness, although she knows she may never lose her accent, she embraces it. I also want to see her in different roles, maybe something more serious where she doesn't have to make fun of her own accent but use it to show drama maybe? I'm sure her confidence can push her to surprise everyone!

    As for her accent, what else can you do when people point out the obvious? Agree and laugh it off =)

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  2. This post on Sofia Vergara and the Latin image she is presented with reminded me of another famous Hispanic actress, Salma Hayek. One of her most famous acts was the dance she performed in the movie From Dusk Till Dawn. In this movie she plays a vampire, Satanico Pandemonium; her grand entrance is an excessively sexual dance on top of tables. This dance made Salma Hayek a sex icon in Hollywood; it is one of her most commemorated scenes. The idea of Latin women like Salma Hayek and Sofia Vergara as very sexy, exotic, or different in a “hot Latina” is another form of excess. There is a notion that Latinas are naturals at dancing and especially at moving their hips (i.e. Shakira, Salma Hayek) that is not always true. Just as we had previously discussed in class dance varies across all of Latin American. Just like salsa or tango are not popular or prominent dances in Mexico, banda and other Mexican types of music are not popular in other Latin American countries. Going back to the film I also found it amusing that at the closing scene, the bar were the film takes place is supposed have laid on top of an Aztec temple.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdvwQPbhq1E

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  3. When Jay, her husband in the show, says "English is your second language, you're doing great" reminds me of something we talked about in class. That making mistakes in English or having an accent is often portrayed as being uneducated, when it actually means that the person speaks at least two languages and is familiar with at least two different cultures.

    But Jay is the one who is uneducated in Colombian culture and the Spanish language. This is proven true in a particularly funny way during the grandmother episode (I think). Where Jay mocks her and her beliefs so she makes a fool of him by telling him it is customary for the man to slap the chicken and scream before cooking it. Since he, of course, doesn't know anything about Colombian culture, he stars slapping the chicken and screaming and she ends up laughing at him. I love how she uses his ignorance (and guilt) against him!

    But anyway, in regards to her accent, I think she sometimes overdoes it on purpose even outside of the show to fit the stereotype, like changing her hair color.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsEMUW77vjE&feature=fvst

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