How the Netflix sitcom “One Day at a Time” shapes the national identity of Cuban Americans through the use of humor.

Many cultural aspects that are portrayed on television cast a broad message that captures the attention of viewers across the world. This is especially true among the population of the United States; where television can be found in a majority of homes and is accessible to all age ranges. Mostly, the sitcom genre is viewed by the American people more than any other genre. A Sitcom is an archetypal U.S. mass-communication comedic genre, used often by Netflix, a modern subscription-based TV company. Netflix has become popular because the viewer is in control of the program entirely. It is not only popular because of these aspects, but also because it reflects topics and cultures that had not been previously represented. The Netflix sitcom “One Day at a Time”, manifest the trauma of Lydia, a Cuban citizen who has fled to the United States and began a new life without being subjected to the oppression of the Cuban Regime. Although Lydia and the other characters of the show are fictional, these characters represent an existing population of people who have undergone similar experiences caused by a single, traumatic, historical event. Even to the extent of the second generation, represented by Penelope’s character, who struggles with related, yet different, identity issues. This series exhibits how the national identity of people affected by traumatic experiences, and are shared by their Cuban-American families, influences the opinions of the public. This analysis examines how the Netflix production, “One Day at a Time”, utilizes humor as a unifying aspect to relate the Latin American culture of populations like Lydia and her family to the American viewer, who frequent situational comedy more than any other TV genre