CHICAGO — In her police mug shot, the doe-eyed cartoon heroine with the bowl haircut has a black eye, battered lip and bloody nose.
Dora the Explorer’s alleged crime? “Illegal Border Crossing Resisting Arrest.”
The doctored picture, one of several circulating in the aftermath of Arizona’s controversial new immigration law, might seem harmless, ridiculous or even tasteless.
But experts say the pictures and the rhetoric surrounding them online, in newspapers and at public rallies reveal some Americans’ attitudes about race, immigrants and where some of immigration reform debate might be headed.
“Dora is kind of like a blank screen onto which people can project their thoughts and feelings about Latinos,” said Erynn Masi de Casanova, a sociology professor at the University of Cincinnati.
For about a decade, the Latina character has taught children the English alphabet, colors and Spanish phrases on a Nickelodeon TV show. But since the Arizona law passed, her life and immigration status have been scrutinized and mocked.
On the Facebook page “Dora the Explorer is soo an Illegal Immigrant,” there are images showing her soaring over the U.S.-Mexican border.
Representatives from Nickelodeon declined to comment on Dora’s background, and her place of birth or citizenship have never been clear. She has brown skin and dark hair, and some experts who have studied the show say she speaks Spanish with an American accent.
