Although it may be considered a stretch to envision such a villainous character as Zeb Colter actually running for office , his ideologies are , in fact , shared by the present base of right-wing politics .
The Real Americans ’ recent opponents , Los Matadores , are not villains , but due to the lack of respect that they garner , it would be hard to classify them as heroes . Their ring attire includes flamboyantly colored matador outfits and facemasks , and they are accompanied by a “ bull ” mascot named El Torito , a Little Person in a full body suit and mask . They are caricatures of Spanish and Mexican bullfighters meant for comedic relief , not to be taken seriously . Souther argues that this type of negative stereotyping in professional wrestling works to reaffirm hegemonic forces , a process that “ normalizes latent racist attitudes and presents a very sectarian social stance as neutral or natural ” ( 274 ). Professional wrestling does have the ability to normalize racism and the practice of exclusion , to “ rall [ y ] the community against the supposed ‘ threats ’ of minorities , feminists , intellectuals , gays , foreigners — or whatever other villains can be created from the day ’ s headlines ” ( Souther 273 ). In this case , Los Matadores reaffirm the objectification of Latinos as racialized caricatures . Los Matadores do not speak ; they simply wrestle . They are objectified in the sense that because they are silenced , they are identified merely by their surface appearances , which as I stated earlier , are very silly , exaggerated and cartoonish caricatures of Latino culture . In the United States , “ this powerful populist imagery is often used to protect the social order ” ( Souther 274 ). The populism that Los Matadores aim for is an audience that is predominantly white , for whom the objectification of Latinos has been normalized and therefore unlikely questioned .
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