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The Mexican filter, or Mexico filter, is a yellow-colored or sepia filter that is sometimes employed in films and television productions to visually represent scenes set in Mexico,[1][2] as well as other Latin American and South Asian countries.[1] It has been criticized for tending to wash out the faces of people with darker skin, and for stereotyping the countries it depicts.[1][3]

A photograph showing a filter added to half of an image of a Mexican landscape.

History

The use of yellow color filters for Mexico began around 2000, when technical advancements in film-making allowed the easier use of color filters.[3] Traditionally used to convey a sense of heat and aridity, the use of yellow color filters for Mexico eventually became a trope.[3] It has been disputed that temperature is a good justification for using the Mexican filter given that hot cities in the United States are rarely if ever depicted with yellow filters.[1]

Use in movies and television

Notable examples of Mexican filter use include:

Other usages

The term Mexican filter has been used to describe the appearance of New York City during the 2023 Canadian wildfires.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "The Mexican Movie Filter Is Worse Than We Thought". Cracked.com. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  2. ^ "Mexican Filter". Know Your Meme. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  3. ^ a b c Bose, Tulika (2021-02-12). "No, Mexico isn't actually that orange. Hollywood is just racist". Mashable. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  4. ^ "Mexicans wince at Hollywood's sepia portrait". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  5. ^ "Breaking Bad Recap: Ground Control to Walter White". LA Times. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  6. ^ "Yellow Filter: A Cinematic Technique or Pushing Stereotypes?". Media Diversity Institute. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  7. ^ "'X' Review". The Digital Fix. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  8. ^ "The Internet Thinks NYC Looks Like It Has 'Mexico Filter'—We Explain". Remezcla. Retrieved 2023-12-31.