The new biopic film Flamin’ Hot is honoring Mexican American culture. 

The new biopic film Flamin’ Hot is honoring Mexican American culture. The film, directed by Eva Longoria, tells the story of Richard Montañez, “the self-proclaimed inventor of the Flamin’ Hot [Cheetos] flavor that has captivated generations of snackers.” Throughout the film, Longoria made it a point to insert small moments nodding to her culture, making the biopic a “love letter” to Mexican Americans—especially through its cuisine. For example, in one scene a character “grabs a bottle of Tapatío and douses it on a plate of spaghetti” and Longoria noted how important these small details were, telling the press “We do that. Mexicans do that. We put Tapatío on everything basically.” While Frito-Lay has denied Montañez’s involvement in the creation of the Flamin’ Hot flavor, the story will ignite important conversations around cultural appropriation—an issue Gen Z and Millennial POC have been calling out on social media as trends (especially around food) that are presented as being created by White people are taken from long-standing cultural practices. (Eater)