Latino Representation in the Media

While I’ve blogged about the lack of Black representation in the media, there is inherently a lack of Latino representation in the media. The film, Latinos beyond reel: challenging a media stereotype, pointed out that there is a lack of positive Latino representation in front and behind the screen in the news media. The film analyzes how the news media has villainized the words such as mexicans, mexican americans, and immigrants and saw no difference in the descriptions the media uses. This is just a tip of the iceberg of how the media portrays Latino people.

White actors have often portrayed Latino people in movies and television shows. Even white voice actors are shown in the film portraying latino characters. These actors are benefiting by White privilege, by having the opportunity to portray any race no matter what the role is. This is a form of “brownface”, much like “blackface”,  where non-latino people disguise themselves as a latino person. These actors often mimic strong, stereotypical accents of  Latinos and Latino Americans. Culture is eliminated when White people are portraying these harmful caricatures of Latino people. 

Harmful stereotypes towards latinos such as the “lazy mexican”, “latin lover”, “violent latino criminal,” all contribute to how the public views Latino people and how the news media shows coverage of Latino people.

Much like how the media portrays Black women and men, Latino men and women are treated no differently. Latino men are portrayed as “bandits”, the “violent latino criminal”, and drug dealers. Latino women are hyper sexualized in the media and are often a “maid” or “prostitute.”  The film points out that Latino men and women are both commonly portrayed as “other” and “foreign.” There is also a problem of colorism against Latino people in the media. The film shows how the mainstream media hires certain Latino actors and actresses with fairer skin tones and no accent who are put in the face of the media to cater to the public. 

These stereotypes have distorted images of Latino people and their culture. Now, Latino actors, producers, executives are continuing to tell their own stories. While Latino people are in positions both in front and behind the camera in television shows and movies, there is still change that must be done to end the negative depiction of Latinos in America in the news media.

References

Picker Miguel et al. directors. Latinos Beyond Reel : Challenging a Media Stereotype. Media Education Foundation 2012.