COMM 380:  Media Criticism

Like onions, societal issues such as immigration have many layers that must be analyzed and examined beyond the surface. Diane Paragas’ coming-of-age film Yellow Rose explores the life of a teenage Filipina girl who must navigate the obstacles of being an illegal immigrant while pursuing her musical career. Although the movie’s intentions of raising awareness are significant, it ultimately fails at delivering a worthy portrayal of an illegal immigrant’s life due to merely skimming the surface of a deeper story. 

 

Initially, on a rudimentary level, the film highlights the struggles of being a first-generation illegal immigrant in the deep south of the United States. The story revolves around high-schooler Rose (played by Broadway performer Eva Noblezada) and her widowed mother, Priscilla, who works as a housekeeper at a motel. The movie encapsulates the brutal treatment of ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) as it showcases the harrowing sequences of the mother and daughter attempting to avoid them before the mother is dragged off and deported. Even most reviews of the film mention how the picture attempts at least to showcase a depiction of an immigrant’s life, as the Associated Press writer states, “[the movie] sings an affecting, sorrowful and defiant song where dreams collide with a cruel reality” (Coyle, 2020, p. 5). Thus, its intention of bringing awareness about the lives illegal immigrants go through in the United States is an important takeaway that resonates with the audience.

 

However, despite the efforts of the writers to invoke a powerful message, the movie delivers merely a shallow and incomplete vision of what it could be capable of. For example, the film takes place in Austin, Texas, which is very close to the Mexican border. It feels like a lost opportunity to not incorporate Hispanic representation instead of simply having a small encounter with a fellow kitchen worker Rose interacts with. This could have given the film a greater scope and impact, which is why it fell short in this aspect, as some reviewers point out (Coyle, 2020). Creating a film to make a powerful statement on the issue of immigration is an important cause that Hollywood does not highlight enough but failing to provide a more profound story by not including all afflicted parties makes the message appear weaker.

 

Aside from lacking much Hispanic representation, the film also singles out a few members of the Filipino community without much regard for others. According to the United States Census, more than 130,000 Filipino Americans reside in the Texas (2020). One reviewer believes that since Austin has a large Filipino population, the movie should explore it and explain why Rose and her mother are alienated from the community throughout the film (Duralde, 2020). The interaction between Rose and her aunt Gail whom she had never met prior up until that point encapsulates this critique perfectly, as the movie never explains why Gail cut ties with the rest of her family, or why a disconnected family member like that should be the candidate to take care of Rose after her mother is captured by ICE. The movie’s refusal to explore the theme of isolation deeper prohibits it from cementing itself as a critically acclaimed classic in the genre of coming-of-age stories.

 

The lack of inclusion of the rest of the Filipino community is highlighted further by the fact that Rose is left to a group of white saviors who get involved in helping her every time she needs assistance. This can be seen several times throughout the film including the guitar store employee, Elliot, who befriends Rose and conveniently has a cousin who is an immigration lawyer, or the self-insert character in famous local country musician Dale Watson, who gives Rose a new guitar and a place to stay. As a study on these so-called “white saviors” in American films concluded, “the centrality of white saviors will persist as filmmakers continue to reveal and reexamine significant racial episodes from America’s sporting past” (Schultz, 2014, p. 212). While there is no malicious intent behind this in the movie, it still leaves a lot to be desired as one ponders the lost opportunities of possible representation the movie could have had instead. The lost opportunity to include different cultural representations and focus instead on white folk saving the day creates an ironic scenario that goes against the movie’s purpose in the first place, as the spotlight goes back on the same people who were trying to get rid of Rose and her family.

 

Another aspect that can expose the film’s shallowness is looking at it through the Uses and Gratification Theory lens. As defined by Hanson in Mass Communications, Uses and Gratification Theory posits that people consume media for a specific purpose as it fulfills a specific need (2022). Thus, stories are often created to have the audience root for a specific character or event to occur, such as the protagonist reaching their goal. However, there is very little revealed about the protagonist throughout Yellow Rose, aside from the fact that she is a Filipina high schooler with a passion for the musical arts. While it can be argued that the viewer does not need more context than this, that can only be true for a movie that is not trying to display a powerful political and societal message. The failure of the directors to create a more profound character arc prevents the viewers from entirely investing in this coming-of-age story and receiving a more profound takeaway.

 

Yellow Rose is a prime example of a film with positive motivations with its message but still fails to fully achieve what it set out to—bring about hope and motivation to those in similar positions as Rose herself. One can instead look to a film such as Lingua Franca as a more accurate representation of Filipina immigrants struggling with the United States’ inhumane immigration policies. Uses and Gratifications Theory helps in proving that audiences need a reason to consume a form of art such as a movie—and creating a shallow and unmemorable tale is not enough to spread a powerful message regarding immigration and isolation.

 

Ultimately though, having more representation and raising awareness for important issues such as this is always welcome in Hollywood—and it will eventually pave the way for higher budget productions that will do this sensitive topic justice by providing not only a more accurate account but a deeper one that will resonate with all audiences.

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References

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Duralde, A. (2020, October 9). ‘Yellow Rose’ Film Review: A Young Immigrant Finds Her Voice in Routine Indie. https://www.thewrap.com/yellow-rose-film-review-2020-lea-salonga/

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Hanson, R. E. (2022). Mass communication: Living in a media world (8e ed.). SAGE Publications.

 

Review: A Filipina singer with heart in “Yellow Rose.” (2021, April 29). AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-film-reviews-eva-noblezada-immigration-movies-25351b188be2f056a1e4cc3b410cede7

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Schultz, J. (2014). Glory Road (2006) and the White Savior Historical Sport Film. Journal of Popular Film & Television, 42(4), 205–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2014.913001

 

U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). Construction: Summary statistics for the US, states, and selected geographies (Table EC1723BASIC) [Data set]. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/TX,houstoncitytexas/RHI425221