Latin America in Caricature

This book genuinely deserves a 5-star rating. Johnson not only gives fine insights into the nature of US stereotypes about Latin America/ns, he provides dozens of samples of a key source: editorial cartoons from US newspapers. They both intentionally & unintentionally reveal our prejudices & preconceptions about the regions & peoples who share the Western Hemisphere with us. The book has a sound introduction, but the heart of it is the cartoons themselves, which appear on odd-numbered pages with 1/2 to 1-page commentary opposite. These commentaries are essential to the book's success, because they give context to many old cartoons which are otherwise as obscure as the long-ago events they depict. The emphasis is on major episodes in US-Latin American relations (Spanish-Cuban-Philippine-American War; Mexican Revolution; Good Neighbor Policy; Castro's Cuba, etc.). While the cartoons are overtly political to a great extent, Johnson's accompanying analyses skilfully reveal the cultural, ethnic & racial essentialism underpinning our perceptions of Latin America. Many readers will be surprised to learn how deep are the roots of such attitudes. Less surprisingly, the images, which have both influenced & reflected US attitudes, mostly portray negative stereotypes, but even these have varied over time with the shifting course of events. This book would be an outstanding text to use in a general Latin American Studies class, and also in courses on US-Latin American foreign relations. It is hardly a dryasdust academic treatise, & would be enjoyed by interested members of the general public. However, it could also be supplemented by works with a fuller discussion of the topic, such as Frederick Pike, "The United States and Latin America: Myths and Stereotypes of Civilization and Culture" (U of Texas Press, 1992).