116 DIANE ACCARIA ZAVALA

his beloved "Spanish chicken." "Racist stereotypical discourse," writes Bhabha,
"in its colonial moment, inscribes a form of governmentability that is informed
by a productive splitting in its constitution of knowledge and exercise of power."
Moreover:

 By 'knowing' the native population in these terms, discriminatory and
 authoritarian forms of political control are considered appropriate. The
 colonized population is then deemed to be both the cause and effect of the
 system, imprisoned in the circle of interpretation. What is visible is the
 necessity of such rule which is justified by those moralistic and normative
 ideologies of amelioration recognized as the Civilizing Mission or the White
 Man's Burden. (83)

 Considering the rhetoric of Manifest Destiny in fifty-nine minutes of
celluloid, it is unquestionable that this film draws its ideologically charged
story line and representational manners from the fabrications made by
journalists and sympathizers, by social and economic organizations that
led to U.S. dominion over Cuba and Puerto Rico -and provided the
apparent justification for the colonial project. The film, in short, portrays
the visibility of colonial power as justified, showing it as "a form of
governmentability in which the 'ideological' space functions in more openly
collaborative ways with political and economic exigencies" (Bhabha 83).
 If the imprisonment and liberation of the real "Cuban girl martyr"
-Evangelina Cisnero (by direct intervention of Hearst's hired hands) was
the spark needed for provoking war and occupation in 1899 (Brown 96), her
re-told story would serve to continue rallying public support for the economic
control evidenced in Cuba, and the military rule evidenced in Puerto Rico. After
the U.S. landing, public debate over the desirability of assimilating these countries
into mainstream America continued despite the endless reports made of soldiers
and correspondents witnessing Cubans "scrounging for food and shelter," and
Puerto Ricans celebrating their arrival with chants that Loos would recreate in
her film.10 The Americano was made in the midst of discussion over the cost
of occupation and the benefit of what became a questionably profitable
endeavor.
 An incursion into the history books and photographic images made of
the period shows the need to appease the public and 'educate' them on the
benefits of the U.S. presence in the Caribbean. Knowlton Mixer, who along
with Josiah Strong was one of the many historians writing on the subject,
reiterates the destiny and duty of powerful nations such as the United States.


10 Most reports describe Cubans as reluctant to accept U.S. occupation as long term. It
became clear that if the U.S. were to maintain a desired presence in the region, Puerto
Rico and not Cuba would be the "gateway" for control of the region (Brown, 412). Also
see Ober's Puerto Rico and its Resources (New York: D. Appelton, 1899: 224-225).