海角大神

A short video circulating on social media and news sites in Mexico has shone an unflattering spotlight on the country鈥檚 elite youth.聽

A group of high school seniors from a privileged Catholic school in Mexico City released a slick graduation video that鈥檚 come under fire for its portrayal of women and its snooty message, as well as its use of an endangered jaguar cub. Critics say the video treats women as props 鈥� and sends the message that this class of so-called Mexican 鈥渏uniors,鈥� or elite youth, gets to party, play, and go on to inherit positions of power.

In Mexico, as elsewhere, rich kids are assumed to get whatever they want.聽But it鈥檚 a particularly sensitive subject here. Corruption and bad behavior often go unpunished among the powerful, something top of mind for many here after a six-month run of government scandals ranging from apparent kickbacks from big business to nepotism in hiring practices.聽

And a rising middle class聽(17 percent of 114 million Mexicans joined the middle class between 2000 and 2010, according to the World Bank) with access to social media and mobile technology feels empowered to call out bad behavior that鈥檚 historically slipped below the public radar.

鈥淚t [the video] says a lot,鈥� says Vicki Galacia, a preschool teacher walking her dog in a Mexico City park. 鈥淣o matter what we protest against now, there are more people who think they鈥檙e above the law that are鈥� growing up to be our next leaders.

The video is a constant topic in Mexican editorials and on social media.

鈥淲hat message do they want to send? Basically that . And that they couldn鈥檛 care less about what any of us might think of them,鈥� Mexican media critic Susana Moscatel聽wrote in Milenio Noticias. She says the only good that comes out of videos like these 鈥� which she says are a tradition at the school and are typically professionally produced 鈥� is that they offer an 鈥渦nadulterated look at how many of these people see the world.鈥�

In the video, a stream of young woman appear before a panel of bored, dismissive young men who are "casting" for their graduation party. It's pretty PG 鈥� no explicit sex or violence 鈥� but it stereotypes women as being crazy, ditzy, and subservient.

If this video has聽, it鈥檚 that 鈥渟ociety is aware and is getting upset at the portrayal of women as objects,鈥� Mar铆a Lucero Jim茅nez Guzm谩n, a political and social science researcher at the Universidad Nacional Aut贸noma de M茅xico told El Universal, a daily in Mexico City.聽

Mainstream backlash

In recent years, calling out bad behavior by 鈥淛uniors鈥� or 鈥淢irreyes鈥� (a play on 鈥淢y King,鈥� a pet name used by many upper class parents for their sons) has gone mainstream.

Take the 2013聽case of 鈥淟ady Profeco.鈥�聽The daughter of Mexico鈥檚 then-attorney-general for consumer protection threw a fit at a hip restaurant when she wasn鈥檛 given the table she wanted. The restaurant, Maximo Bistrot 鈥� a cozy space where it鈥檚 hard to imagine a 鈥渂ad鈥� table 颅鈥� held its ground; the woman threatened to have her father shut them down. Sure enough, officials showed up almost immediately, prepared to shutter the joint.

But thanks to the documentation and tweets of a number of diners, not only did the restaurant stay open, but the woman鈥檚 father was fired and she was named and shamed on social media.聽

There are many other such stories, including a high-profile drunk driving incident when a politician (who inherited leadership over Mexico鈥檚 Green Party from his father) tried to pay聽, according to local media. Mexicans subsequently discovered that he had only been held by police for a few hours,聽instead of the mandatory 24 hours.聽

But can we聽, asks Salvador Camarena in an opinion for newspaper El Financiero. There are so many examples of poor behavior by Mexico鈥檚 elites that go unpunished; these kids grew up understanding one shouldn鈥檛 鈥渇ight success,鈥� he writes.聽

Three days after the graduation video鈥檚 release, the school put out a statement.聽鈥淭he community of Mexico鈥檚 Cumbres Institute apologizes for the content of the video, which has offended and angered many people. This video in no way represents the values and principles of the high school, its students, families, and alums," it read.聽

The school said it 鈥渄idn鈥檛 know about the video鈥檚 content鈥� and is preparing to take action, though didn鈥檛 get into specifics.

A campaign on Change.org, signed by more than 15,000 people, is trying to inject a little more global awareness into these kids鈥� lives: It鈥檚 petitioning for 180 hours of required gender studies and human rights courses for the 2015 graduating class at Cumbres.

The video exalts money, praises fame, shows contempt for other social classes and represents women as sexual objects to be bought, writes Jorge Hill 聽news outlet Animal Politico. But what exactly is a course on human rights going to do, he asks.

鈥淢aybe the problem is that this course isn鈥檛 taught in all primary schools,鈥� Mr. Hill writes. 鈥淚 wonder, though, would this short course in primary, secondary, or high school make any difference if, once at home, parents and children laugh together at the content.鈥澛�