by Ryan Silberstein

I knew the stereotype before I knew the stereotype – a smiling woman with a hat decorated with fruit – before I knew it came from a specific woman, Carmen Miranda. The first time I noticed Carmen Miranda was in Guillermo del Toro’s 2017 film, The Shape of Water, when Eliza (Sally Hawkins) and Giles (Richard Jenkins) are watching That Night in Rio on television. The Shape of Water takes place in 1962, very purposefully set against the height of Cold War tensions.. But its main characters are not gripped to the nightly news – classic movie musicals are most often on Giles’ television set. And in a key moment, Carmen Miranda’s beaming smile and energetic music spring forth into the apartment, offering a welcome refuge from the uncertain news of the day.