Frank Javier Garcia Berumen, educator and author of "The Chicano / Hispanic Image in American Film," lives in a world of mirrors.

As a child growing up in Lincoln Heights, he saw the movie screen as a mirror reflecting a distorted image that defined his people for a hundred years. But on summer trips with his family to Mexico he saw in the people and on the screen a different reflection--of pride in culture, family and history.

"I saw film and television as a mirror, and the reflection I saw was distorted," he said. "What happened when I went to Mexico was a different thing coming back at me. It was positive."

Berumen is the mirror maker of Lincoln Heights. His first book chronicles the film portrayal of Latinos from the silent screen days through 1995.

"If art reflects life, then American film reflected the prevailing images of people of color within the context of the times, periodically racist and frequently stereotypical," he said at a recent book signing at Cal State L.A. "Thus the Latino was inevitably portrayed as lazy, unintelligent, oversexed, criminal and foreign."

Later, elaborating on his point, he cited the film "The Rookie" as an example in which "a Latina is seen as a promiscuous sex object, a garden of evil."

"It is images like this that degrade Latinas and undermine the pride in our culture," he said.

In 1982, Berumen obtained a dual bachelor's degree from Cal State L.A. in history and education. He also completed graduate work at Oxford University in England and received a master's degree in education from Harvard University.

Berumen, 36, returned recently to Harvard to pursue a doctorate in education. He is on leave from his alma mater, Abraham Lincoln High School, where he has been a history teacher for six years.

Berumen says his barrio experiences have influenced his dissertation theme--to develop a curriculum for Chicano students involved in or susceptible to gang activity. The academic plan includes classes that emphasize Chicano history, leadership and conflict-resolution skills--themes that Berumen has incorporated into his teaching agenda.

"In one class where the students were studying the genocide of Jews, he had them discuss racial injustice," said Gloria Salcido, a Lincoln High counselor. "He asked them to look at racial barriers in their own lives.

"He motivates them to think critically, to relate the issues in the history books to issues today," she said. "He is strict, but all the kids love him."