The cost of citizenship: Assimilation and survival in Cristela

• Published in: Latino studies 2019-12, Vol.17 (4), p.505-521
• Main Author: Bush, Doug P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ambivalence; Assimilation; Audiences; Citizenship; Cultural and Media Studies; Cultural Studies; Dreams; Ethnicity Studies; Hispanic Americans; Latin American cultural groups; Literature; Meritocracy; Migration; Minority groups; Narratives; Original Article; Postcolonial/World Literature; Power; Regional and Cultural Studies; Sacrifices; Viewers
• ISSN: 1476-3435; 1476-3443
• DOI: 10.1057/s41276-019-00206-x

The American dream narrative advances the idea that any citizen can achieve success through hard work, but research shows that meritocracy is continually denied to minorities both systemically and through acts of gatekeeping. ABC’s Cristela (2014–2015) presents a quintessential American dream narrative, and we are invited to cheer for the legal intern protagonist because she is hardworking, well-educated and makes sacrifices to get ahead. Nevertheless, Cristela faces strong gatekeeping from Anglo law firm owner Trent Culpepper. How will she respond? To understand how the protagonist surmounts this gatekeeping, this article considers circumstances of series production that necessitated speaking to two audiences simultaneously. For Anglo viewers, Cristela encodes submission to power structures as a positive act of assimilation, while for Latinos, it develops a narrative of submission as an ambivalent survival strategy. The cost of citizenship thus becomes what Cristela must sacrifice to gain access to the American dream, portraying the complexity of “making it” in America.