Graphic by Kinsey Couture ’22
BY MARIANA JARAMILLO ’20
Released on Aug. 9, a live-action “Dora the Explorer” film extended the legacy of the beloved Nickelodeon series.
I grew up watching “Dora the Explorer” in Colombia, where she taught audiences English, not Spanish. I always admired her sense of adventure and tried to emulate it, especially when I moved to the United States as an 8-year-old. I used some of the English I had learned from watching the show to communicate with my new classmates.
As I got older and was indoctrinated into American culture, my expectations of how Hollywood portrayed South America on the big screen plummeted. There are many media sources that portray Colombia as a lawless land run by drug lords, which could not be further from the truth. I began to expect South America to be portrayed as the land of cocaine and prostitution, as in the Netflix show “Narcos,” and the Hollywood film “Snatched,” starring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn. This frustrating misrepresentation fueled my interest in joining the world of filmmaking and making honest content that exemplifies the beauty of the continent I love so much.
However, I have never seen such a positive representation of South America as is shown in “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” The film manages to win its audience’s laughter without relying on stereotypes about the countries it portrays on Dora’s journey through Colombia and Peru. It is significant that these countries are being portrayed in a family movie as beautiful places full of history.
Dora solves a millennia-old mystery in the South American jungle without ever having to rely on negative assumptions about South American countries. Furthermore, she inspires her audience to unapologetically be themselves by staying true to her upbringing and following her passion for adventure