Mexican-Heritage Ethnic Identity: How Coco Serves as Context for Ethnic Socialization

Abstract

This study investigated the role of media as a context for ethnic socialization in Mexican-heritage families. We studied whether and how Mexican-heritage parents used the Disney film Coco as a springboard to talk with their children about important cultural traditions, values, and practices. Participants included 23 parent-child dyads. Children were in kindergarten through fifth grade. Parents and children completed quantitative ethnic identity surveys individually, watched the movie together, and were interviewed individually about their experiences with and conversations about the film. Results showed that ethnic identity, ethnic socialization, and orientation toward Mexican or American media were associated with parent-child conversations and experiences with Coco. Participants’ who scored high on ethnic identity and socialization scales discussed nuanced ways in which the cultural representation in Coco related to their own cultural practices and experiences.