Cultural Authenticity Review

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2018)

According to the dictionary, to be successful you must accomplish an aim or a purpose. The movie Coco created by Lee Unkrich fits into this definition by supplying knowledge about the Latin music culture. From different types of music being played to covering almost all of Latin culture, the movie Coco is a very successful form of delivering information about Latin music. Fernando Gonzalez (a member of the Latin community) claims, "Although American and Latin cultures are drastically different, they both find a way to merge together at points in order to teach others, and are successful in doing so." (1). This proves that no matter what type of media is spreading the culture, it is successful and delivers important information about music in the Latin culture. I believe that it is very important to include valid information that pertains to a certain culture so that your audience can learn to respect all boundaries of the actual Latin culture. In the film, the main character Miguel goes through a special journey by trying to connect with music. As the film progresses, the audience can start to see how important Latin music is to the characters. For example, in the film Miguel's family has a strict policy of no music, although Miguel states repeatedly "I'm gonna be a musician!". Later in the film, Miguel is in the spirit world when he is able to finally perform in front of a large audience. Everyone enjoyed him, giving him a greater reputation with music. He was so liked that the winners of the talent show which was held gave him an opportunity to meet his idol: Ernesto de la Cruz. The Hispanic passion for music is extremely powerful. From a real life source, a writer named Robin Moore explains "From the early 40's to modern times, many Hispanics have started out without any jobs and were able to transform into very wealthy musicians" (52). Not only is it great that people are able to succeed in this industry, but it is even better that they can spread the love for the music and to spread the passion for the music. Also, it is really great that Disney Pixar could capitalize by using the element of music in such an influential way. According to an article written by statista.com, "Latin music is the most preferred music genre in many countries, even outside of South America into nations like the U.S., Germany, etc." In my eyes, it doesn't matter whether or not you enjoy Latin music. All that truly matters is the joy it spreads throughout the Latin culture, and your respect for it. There is a huge movement behind the hearts of people who are involved in the industry/culture, and these important aspects are very successfully exemplified by the movie Coco.