So the fact of having a main cast be entirely Latino, played by actual Latinos, feels like a true achievement. ![]() In fact, Latinos see the largest disparity between actual and onscreen representation in the United States, prompting celebrities like Gina Rodriguez, star of The CW’s Jane the Virgin, to speak out with op-eds or social campaigns like #MovementMondays. population, but they made up only about 3% of speaking characters in films during the last decade. Rather, Lydia enjoys a fully-rounded character who may embrace a more traditional idea of “how to be a woman”, but this inclusion only further exemplifies the infinite diversity of personalities within one demographic that all too often suffers from one-dimensionalism. Her older age helps mitigate some of the problematic issues associated with sexualizing Latinas onscreen for example, the camera refrains from ogling her with the male gaze. While it’s true that Elena’s grandmother Lydia hams up this exact persona, with the vast majority of the matriarch’s jokes stemming from vanity or jokes about makeup, sex, and men, it’s all in jest. Her positioning as a teenage nerd feels contemporary, since she contradicts the longstanding stereotype of Latinas as sexpots-a trope exemplified through the character of Gloria (Sofia Vergara) in Modern Family or Sonia (Salma Hayek) in last year’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard. In any given episode, she’s railing against the gendered roots of quinceañeras or pointing out to her family that she feels more comfortable without makeup on. Neither is Penelope a one-note “badass” rather, the show follows her journey from flashbacks of her time in the army and the way she’s dealt with PTSD, to the way Penelope confronts gender bias within her current job as a nurse, to her dreams of going back to school in the hopes of becoming a full-fledged doctor.Īs for Elena, she doesn’t just buck gender stereotypes she actively chafes against the expectations put upon her as a young, teenage woman. Leslie Berkowitz (Stephen Tobolowsky), her endearing coward of a boss. Her competence is only amplified by the contrast between her and Dr. She’s intelligent and strong, even stating herself at one point: "I can assemble a rifle in thirteen seconds. Penelope comes from a traditionally male-dominated career path of serving in the U.S. On the characterization of women, Penelope and Elena flip gender norms. With women commanding such robust screen time, the show sails past the Bechdel Test in every episode, oftentimes within its first few scenes. The core family unit consists of Penelope Alvarez (Justina Machado), her daughter Elena, her son Alex (Marcel Ruiz), and Penelope’s mother, Lydia Riera (played by Puerto Rican icon Rita Moreno). Overall, however, don’t let its remake status fool you: Kellett and Royce’s One Day at a Time truly feels like a breath of fresh air. ![]() It’s a difficult balancing act, and minor pacing issues do exist, with some episodes spending too much time on setup before the action gets going. Complicated issues are given due nuance and the jokes-this is a sitcom, after all-keep the tone light to ensure the show remains accessible. Despite a throwback, multi-camera format, episodes never feel formulaic while storylines, such as daughter Elena Alvarez (Isabella Gomez)’s relationship with her sexuality, are developed organically across entire seasons. The updated One Day at a Time carefully toes the line between comedy and drama to achieve a delicate balance, thanks in large to impressive writing. In both the classic and the 2017 update by showrunners Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce, the throughlines of familial love and generational conflict remain intact. In Netflix’s remake of One Day at a Time, a sitcom originally conceived by Norman Lear in the 1970s, audiences follow the Cuban-American Alvaraz family as they tackles issues in modern day America. Creators: Gloria Calderon Kellett □□□□ and Mike Royce □□□□, based on the original show by Norman Lear □□□□
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