Essay Questions

What real-life historical event is essential to the narrative?

The storyline of Olga, her brother, and their estranged mother returning into their lives is set against the backdrop of a devastating hurricane making a direct hit on their family homeland, Puerto Rico. This is not some melodramatic invention designed to serve the purpose of plot mechanics. The hurricane is named Maria and that is not some fictional coincidence, either. The Hurricane Maria which causes creates first a natural disaster that is then made even worse by the man-made disaster of pathetic federal government response to the American citizens calling the island home follows the factual events of strong Category 5 hurricane which made landfall on September 20, 2017.

Who is the unnamed President who receives the brunt of the blame for the federal government’s lackluster emergency preparation and subsequent response to Hurricane Maria?

The President in office is never mentioned by name by any of the characters, but is instead only referred to by the name of the office he holds. He is, however, alluded to through descriptive activity as well as opinions professed about him. For instance, he is criticized by Olga in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane as the president “busying himself with the patriotism of professional athletes and rallying crowds around a pedophile.” He is described by a TV broadcaster as “an avid news watcher” and by a Russian oligarch client of Olga’s as “a useful idiot.” The man who actually was President at the time Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico was Donald J. Trump though any resemblance between the unnamed President and any living person at the time may be entirely coincidental.

What is Spice it Up and why did it fail?

Spice it Up was intended to be a new reality TV show pitched as a cross between, well, a bunch of other equally pathetic reality TV shows. And Olga had been handpicked to be the star which promised to take a “bland American wedding” plan and really ethnic it up. Except that “spice” was used instead of “ethnic.” Ultimately, only the pilot episode would ever actually be produced and it would air just once at the worst possible time for any viewer it had been designed to appeal to: five in the morning on a Saturday. The reason for the failure traces to the reaction of focus groups and test audiences watching the pilot: audience members were steadfast in their dislike of the very concept of a Latina from New York City coming into the homes of white families and bossing them around.