Throughout the film, I Like it Like That there were political references that related to political situations going on at the time. For example, certain government officials were responsible for creating legislation that greatly affected the lives of those living in the area, like welfare and unemployment rates. The viewers of the film gain a sense of the political hardships faced by Latinos through the hardships the characters face.

In the early 1990’s, two important political figures were prevalent in the everyday lives of Latinos. David Dinkins, a Democrat, took office in 1990 and ran for reelection in 1994, but was defeated by Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican. Throughout this election, there were allegations of ballot tampering by each opposing party, but no concrete evidence was found. While Dinkins was in office, he had the support of many Latinos and other minority populations, mainly due to the large number of Latinos in the City Council. There are 23 blacks and Latinos in the Council who have the power to challenge the Mayor. Four weeks before the election of 1994, Maria Hinojosa conducted a radio broadcast between the two candidates, and claims that:

Dinkins was well known for being an excellent speaker and for his many good ideas, but he was never able to put all of them into action. Some of the issues he had to deal with were welfare and unwed mothers. For instance, one-third of the Puerto Rican families were on welfare and three-fifth of all Puerto Rican mothers were unmarried(2). To show his support and willingness to create a solution, Dinkins took a trip to Puerto Rico, but this trip was seen as a futile attempt to gain support from Latinos. Puerto Ricans became skeptical of whether or not the Democratic Party would deliver on the issues he promised in his campaign.

Rudolph Giuliani began his mayoral campaign with the knowledge that the Latino community was losing faith in Dinkins. He used this knowledge to manipulate the Latinos into thinking that he could resolve the issues that Dinkins did not. Giuliani brought the Latino community together, and began to butter up the community by claiming ways in which he was going to solve problems such as welfare, unemployment, crime, and drugs. Two years into his term, his approval began to slide. According to a Daily News poll, his support among whites remained strong although those among blacks and Latinos were decreasing.

Giuliani cut jobs that could have been used by Latinos, increased the privatization of hospitals, and he cut other proposals that would have been a benefit to the Latino community.

These two mayors were unsuccessful in their overall approval by the Latino community. They used manipulation techniques in order to gain votes from the minority groups and in most cases never intended on following through on any of the issues they claimed would be resolved.

For those families in need, a system of Welfare was created. This system serves the purpose of giving aid and assistance to those who are unable to support themselves. Since the middle of the Twentieth Century, there have been many different forms of welfare available. Whether it was through food stamps, federal housing aid, or employment opportunities, the health and well being of many families and children was improved. For more information about welfare click here. In 1989, approximately 41% of Hispanic persons in the Bronx County of New York were below poverty level(4). In comparison, 19% of white persons and 29% of black persons who were also below poverty level. According to these statistics, it is obvious to conclude that minority populations in the Bronx are in need of welfare more so than the white population. At the start of Giuliani’s term:

For a Mayor who claimed he was going to help those in need, it is apparent that he was untruthful in his campaigns.

In the film, I Like it Like That, there were a few scenes in which the main character, Lisette was faced with issues of welfare. For instance, when her husband Chino was put in jail, she had to find a means of support for her and her family. She wished to get a job, but he would not allow it. He claimed that it would be more beneficial for them to go on welfare. For people who are unfamiliar with situation, it may appear that welfare would be an easy way out, but as we see in this film, it is a difficult decision. Lisette feels that she would be ridiculed for going on welfare and this proves to be true when she tries to buy cigarettes and diapers with her food stamps. It is also apparent that the welfare she was receiving was not enough when her son looked toward drug dealing as a way to earn more money for himself and for his family.

The fact that she did not want to go on welfare, and the fact that it was providing an insufficient amount of support, led to Lisette looking for a job. Unemployment rates in the Bronx were very high, and it was even more difficult to get a job without any experience. Unlike other Latinos and most minority groups, Lisette was very lucky in finding a job. The South Bronx was a place of high unemployment rates for adults and for teenagers, making the struggle of running a family even more difficult. Such organizations have been created in order to help those interested in finding places to work, one such organization is the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation.

This 22-year-old organization aimed at bringing businesses back to the Bronx, and offered a pre-employment training program to teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19. They were trained about the importance of being on time, customer relations, and the conflict of having a job and schoolwork. At the end of these training sessions, many of the teenagers were offered employment. In 1993, the annual average rate of unemployment for teenagers in New York City was 36.4%(6). As for the Bronx, in March of 1997, the rate of unemployment was 11%. This came to approximately 50, 000 people searching for a job. In New York City, at the same time, the unemployment rate was 9% totaling about 305, 000 people jobless. Luckily over the past year, these rates have decreased. In March of 1997, the average unemployment rate for the Bronx was 12.8%, leaving 52,000 people without jobs(7).

Common among many Latinos was the inability to keep a steady job. We see this in the movie when Chino was fired from his job due to his criminal record. Disgruntled over his recent dismissal as a bike messenger, Chino claimed that he would be a faithful employee. He tried his hardest to get his job back because he knew that it would be his responsibility to support his family, unfortunately his pleading was unsuccessful. Lisette on the other hand, had landed a good job with her pushy attitude and being in the right place at the right time. She began work as an image consultant at a nearby record studio. Although she had none or little experience, Lisette could relate to the clients more because they shared the same ethnicity. Employment without proper education is possible but not plausible. In the film, education played a minor role; in fact, we only see one scene in which the children were getting ready to go to school. In 1994;

Overall, the political aspects in this film were directly related to happenings that were going on in the Bronx at the time. Although they were subtle and not the focal point of the movie, they were definitely present. Unemployment, racial discrimination, welfare, and education were dominant factors in deciding the standard of living for most Latinos. In the movie these issues are brought to life, and as a member of the audience we learn what it is like to live within these limitations. We see how the actions of major political figures like Dinkins and Giuliani effect the population indirectly. These actions give the film a greater sense of realism that enables viewers to relate to it better.

Go back to cultural references in the movie

Go back to the index

"New York Mayoral Candidates Race for Latino Votes." Robert Siegel. All

(2)Jordan, Howard. "Latino Mayoral Vote: The Margin of Victory."

(3)Siegel, Joel. "Mayor's Support Split on Race Line." Daily News 3

(4)"USA Counties-Bronx County, New York."

(5)Mitchell, Alison. "Mayor is Planning to Trim Programs that Assist the

(6)Enrico, Dottie. "A Long, Dry Summer for Job-Seekers." Newsday 31

(7)"In the Nabes Deadline Job Program." Daily News 17 April 1998: 292.

(8)McLeod, Ramon G. "Education Levels Rise for U.S. Latinos." The San

Batista, Frank. "Why Solarz' Foes Won't Form a United Front."

Breslin, Patrick. "On these sidewalks of New York, the sun is shining

Carroll, Maurice. "Time to Begin Next Campaign." Newsday 9

Constable, Pamela. "Health Worries Rising for D.C. Latinos; Proposed

Enrico, Dottie. "A Long, Dry Summer for Job-Seekers." Newsday 31

Goldstein, Matthew. "Ban Continued On City Policy For Homeless;

"In the Nabes Deadline for Job Program." Daily News (New York) 17

"In the Nabes $2.1 For Youth Training." Daily News (New York) 4

Jordon, Howard. "Latino Mayoral Vote: the Margin of Victory."

Kappstatter, Bob. "Ferrer Begins Quest to Cultivate New Jobs." Daily

Martinez, Rafael. "Are There Bones In Their Backs?" Newsday 10

McLeod, Ramon G. "Education Levels Rise for U.S. Latinos." The

Mollenkopf, John. "Campaign Battleground: Bronx." Newsday 26

Neeley, DeQuendre. "Finding Work For Summer: It's No Easy Job;

"New York Mayoral Candidates Race for Latino Votes." Robert Siegel.

Riley, John. "Ferrer Mulls Race for State Comptroller." Newsday 24

February 1993: 25.