Culture y Recuerdos: 20 years later, “The George Lopez Show” still counts
It's for good reason that "The George Lopez Show" has become so iconic in the 20 years since its inception. It has become a shared element of pop culture, evoking nostalgia and pride. It aired on Network TV for six seasons and drew millions, which is still almost unheard of for a show with a predominantly Latinx cast dealing with Latinx issues. We are the generation of cancellation after all.
A significant portion of that audience was Latinx: around 14%, at the time. "The George Lopez Show" is definitely for us - with jokes from transnational teasing, the occasional Spanish and nods to cultura like our love of baseball as well as some of the real struggles that come with being Latinx and live in the States. But it is also a program with general public ambitions. The Lopez family rocks all the mainstays of American sitcom white families — the beautiful suburban home, the (still) non-working mom, the two kids, the dog, and the soaring economic outlook. This positioning has surely made them more accessible to members of their Anglo-Saxon audience, inviting multi-ethnic viewing.
It's about an American family who happens to be Latinx, and the show is careful to treat each of its characters, and their Latinidad, with dignity.
But of course, members of the Lopez family aren't white (although some actors are). It's an American family who happens to be Latinx, and the show is careful to treat each of its characters and their Latinidad with dignity. George, Angie, Carmen and Max are relatable, clumsy and flawed people. Their main issues are family, raising children the best they can, supporting each other and growing together and individually. Now, there are times when "The George Lopez Show" has fallen into stereotypes. “George's Extreme Makeover: Holmes Edition” from season four comes to mind. George asks some old friends (including one played by Danny Trejo) to help him remodel his garage, pays them in beer, and jokes about how "lazy" they are. The writers' room joins in on the "joke", with the work of the Chicanos being so poor that it is doomed. Obviously it doesn't reflect who we are with
It's for good reason that "The George Lopez Show" has become so iconic in the 20 years since its inception. It has become a shared element of pop culture, evoking nostalgia and pride. It aired on Network TV for six seasons and drew millions, which is still almost unheard of for a show with a predominantly Latinx cast dealing with Latinx issues. We are the generation of cancellation after all.
A significant portion of that audience was Latinx: around 14%, at the time. "The George Lopez Show" is definitely for us - with jokes from transnational teasing, the occasional Spanish and nods to cultura like our love of baseball as well as some of the real struggles that come with being Latinx and live in the States. But it is also a program with general public ambitions. The Lopez family rocks all the mainstays of American sitcom white families — the beautiful suburban home, the (still) non-working mom, the two kids, the dog, and the soaring economic outlook. This positioning has surely made them more accessible to members of their Anglo-Saxon audience, inviting multi-ethnic viewing.
It's about an American family who happens to be Latinx, and the show is careful to treat each of its characters, and their Latinidad, with dignity.
But of course, members of the Lopez family aren't white (although some actors are). It's an American family who happens to be Latinx, and the show is careful to treat each of its characters and their Latinidad with dignity. George, Angie, Carmen and Max are relatable, clumsy and flawed people. Their main issues are family, raising children the best they can, supporting each other and growing together and individually. Now, there are times when "The George Lopez Show" has fallen into stereotypes. “George's Extreme Makeover: Holmes Edition” from season four comes to mind. George asks some old friends (including one played by Danny Trejo) to help him remodel his garage, pays them in beer, and jokes about how "lazy" they are. The writers' room joins in on the "joke", with the work of the Chicanos being so poor that it is doomed. Obviously it doesn't reflect who we are with
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