Upon reading an article in Bitch Magazine regarding Dora the Explorer and the global industrial economy, I was first unconvinced that to single Dora out among all the various mass-produced children's programming and paraphernalia was appropriate. However, throughout the day I became more convinced that Dora, singularly, speaks to global capital's hold on the US-Mexican border and other Latin American countries. In one episode of Dora the Explorer, she goes on a quest for her missing toy--Osito, the teddy bear. Accompanied by Boots and some wandering estrellas to guide her way, she first comes across what appears to be an ancient Mayan pyramid (We can only assume this because Dora's ethnicity is never revealed) where she solves puzzles to move onto the next location which is revealed as an ancient Mayan city. There, she finds Osito the bear.
Thinking about this episode, I wonder what it would look like if Dora were to go on a "realistic" journey in search of her lost toy. Instead of the ancient pyramid, she would enter the metal doors of a maquiladora in Juarez. Instead of a golden Mayan city, she would see tired and poor workers going home to cardboard houses with no electricity or water after spending 12-16 hours making the very toys she seeks. What lies silent beneath this episode of Dora is the lives and places utilized to make the "Dora Empire" possible. The television children watch Dora on is most likely made in Tijuana, la Capital Mundial de la Television. The Dora toys, shirts, shoes, games, etc. are most likely not made in the United States, probably in Mexico, or Asia where labor is cheap and human rights and regulations are overlooked.
Eventhough Dora is a children's show and is innocent enough, what we fail to notice is what lies behind Dora. There are questions of race, class, gender, and global capitalism. We accept her because she is "multicultural", but really she is a nice and pleasant distraction from the real cultural problems we fail to address.
No comments:
Post a Comment