Animation cel of Go Go Gomez from the animated series Dick Tracy
date: label: date made
content: 1960-1962
name: label: maker
content: United Productions of America
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Animation cel used in the production of the television series The Dick Tracy Show (1961-1962) depicting the character Go Go Gomez. The mustachioed character is wearing a sombrero, sandals, and a shirt with a tin necktie. The Dick Tracy Show was produced by the United Productions of America (UPA) animation studio as an animated television adaptation of the comic strip crime series created by Chester Gould. The series aired from 1961 to 1962 in syndication. The series featured a narrative frame in which policeman Dick Tracy would use his two-way wrist watch communicator to call upon cartoonish subordinates to investigate and fight crime. Manuel Tijuana Guadalajara Tampico "Go-Go" Gomez, Jr. was one of these police detectives, drawn as a stereotypical representation of a Mexican character, with a dark mustache, laconic face, and large sombrero. Though he is often depicted lazily lounging in a hammock, the cheerful Gomez is also capable of bursts of speed like fellow animated Mexican character Speedy Gonzalez. While the series was successful at the time, it did draw criticism for its employment of racial stereotypes and caricature, especially in the years after the initial run, when pressure applied by community groups succeeded in convincing UPA to pull the series from syndication. Some stations aired versions of the series with the racist characters edited out, but for the most part this series and its stereotyped characters has remained obscure since the 1970s.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Burbank
topic: label: associated subject
content: Animation
label: associated subject
content: Ethnic Stereotype
label: associated subject
content: Law Enforcement
label: associated subject
content: Mexicans
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2023.0178.04
label: catalog number
content: 2023.0178.04
label: accession number
content: 2023.0178
objectType: label: Object Name
content: animation cel
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 1/4 in x 12 1/2 in; 26.035 cm x 31.75 cm