Julieta Cardenas
WRD 103 416
Dr. Maria Prikhodko
28 October 2018
Where’s my Hero?
Did you ever have a favorite movie character or princess? Did they look like you? Because as a young girl, my favorite princess was Aurora. She is fair skinned with blonde hair. My little sister’s favorite princess was Snow White, black hair but still fair skinned. My twin sister’s was Belle, French girl and fair skinned. But as Mexican girls, where was our Latina princess? Who looked like us?
Before we talk about the lack of Latino representation, let’s talk about the type of representations Latinos do have in film.
First in “Maid in Manhattan”, Jennifer Lopez plays a hotel maid who falls in love with a rich white man when she gets mistaken as a socialite. Second, in Adam Sandler’s “Spanglish”, he falls in love with his Latina housekeeper who knows very little English. In “West Side Story”, we are portrayed as the gang members. So we have a maid, another maid, and criminals. So far, not good.
What kind of message does that send to young Latinos? Especially those in need of a good role model? Kids should be able to go to the movies and see people who look like them as lead roles and not just supporting characters. Not just as the criminals and the help.
Name a famous white superhero movie. Easy right? Now name a Latino one? Still thinking? Me too. Why is there no Latino in the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic 4, and Justice League movies?
Don’t worry though, there is one Latino character in the “Suicide Squad”, a movie about a bunch of supervillains on a government mission. Because to Hollywood, we aren’t the heroes, we are the criminals.
So I’m thinking that we can play the help and as the criminals, but we can’t be the princesses or the heroes?
I read an article in where Fanny Veliz, a Latina actress, talks about her struggles in the movie industry. She describes how she would only be given auditions to play the help, an undocumented immigrant or a criminal. She also says that she has been told that she can only be cast as a supporting role or in an all Spanish movie. She even talks about how an agent told her friend to switch her surname to “Smith”. This way, she could land more roles (Mata). These are common struggles Latina actors have to go through to earn any sort of income in their industry.
Also, there are Latino roles not given to Latino actors! For example, Gabriella Montez from “High School Musical” is played by Vanessa Hudgens who has no Latino descent. Next, there is an upcoming film titled “The Curse of La Llorona” also known as the weeping woman. In short, the film is based on Mexican folklore. However, Latinos are mad because it has a white lead, Linda Cardellini. How are you going to tell a Mexican story without any Mexicans? You’re telling me that Hollywood is going to make money off our story and not include us? As much as I would have loved to see a movie on the story my dad used to tell me as a kid, I am disappointed at how Hollywood decided this story should be told. Sadly, you can count on the fact that I won’t be buying a ticket to that show. A real tragedy since I love scary movies. The saddest part of it all is that I am sure that it would have been successful with a Latino lead. Another example is the movie “Scarface” which follows the protagonist, Tony Montana, a Cuban drug lord. The character isn’t played by a Latino though. Italian actor, Al Pacino, plays the role. Let’s also not forget that this Latino character is a criminal. One of the stereotypes Latinos play in popular movies. One more example, a movie based on the true story of Mexican American singer named Ritchie Valens. Lou Diamond Phillips, a non-Latino, plays the musician in “La Bamba” (Arreola). I would just really like to see more Latinos play Latino characters. The actors are out there, they just aren’t cast.
It is true that the Latino community contributes to criminal activity and service work. Some Latinos, are in fact, undocumented. That’s not all of us though. We are much more than that. Because we aren’t only criminals, landscapers, and maids. We are also doctors, lawyers, and business owners and some of us are even fluent English speaking citizens. So why are we so commonly depicted as our stereotypes?
The reality is that we are underrepresented in film. On a study by UCLA, “Whites were overrepresented among all top films roles in 2016, claiming 78.1 percent of the role but constituting just 61.3 percent of the U.S. population. At 13.3 percent of the population, Blacks approached proportionate representation, claiming 12.5 percent of the roles. All other minority groups were significantly underrepresented” (Hunt et al). Also from this study, 2.7 percent of roles are given Latinos. According to the last Census, Hispanic and Latino descent is 18.1 percent of the population. This makes us the largest minority in the United States. So, for being a pretty big chunk of the population, shouldn't there be at least one mainstream superhero?
Figure 1. “UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report.” Remezcla.com, Digital, UCLA, 2018, http://remezcla.com/lists/film/ucla-hollywood-diversity-report-2018/
It’s not like movies with a minority cast doesn’t do well. Recently, “Crazy Rich Asians” made $35 million its opening. Similarly, “Girls Trip” made 31.2 million its opening (Forbes). Which just proves that diversity sells. People will pay to see these types of movies. That’s why it is important to support movies with diverse casts.
Personally, I loved “Coco”. I thought it was wonderful that they represented how Latino culture is beautiful and colorful. However, it’s not the first to be based off of the Day of the Dead. I do remember watching The Book of Life a couple years before. I won’t say that there is no Latino protagonist in a mainstream movie just because I can’t think of one off the top of my head, but why are they so rare to find?
Supporting movies with diverse casts is the first step because it shows there is money there for filmmakers. I strongly believe we can convince Hollywood that Latinos are more than their stereotypes. Who knows, maybe in the future, my kids will be lucky enough to have a favorite movie character that looks like them. I know I didn’t.
Works Cited
Arreola, Christina. “13 Times White People Stole Latino Roles.” LATINA, 29 Jan. 2016, www.latina.com/entertainment/movies/roles-white-people-stole-latinos.
Betancourt, Manuel. “This Diversity Report Is All the Proof Latinos Need to Start Boycotting Hollywood.” Remezcla, Mar. 2018, remezcla.com/lists/film/ucla-hollywood-diversity-report-2018/.
Hunt, Darnell, et al. “Hollywood Diversity Report 2018.” Social Sciences, UCLA, socialsciences.ucla.edu/hollywood-diversity-report-2018/.
Mata, Mary. “Hollywood's Bias Against Latino Actors, Films.” News Taco, 11 Apr. 2011, newstaco.com/2011/04/11/hollywoods-bias-against-latino-actors-films/.
Mendelson, Scott. “Box Office: 'Girls Trip' Crossed $100M By Being An Event Movie For Adult Women.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 18 Aug. 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/08/18/box-office-girls-trip-crossed-100m-by-being-an-event-movie-for-adult-women/#484f60967d57
Mendelson, Scott. “'Crazy Rich Asians' Box Office: 10 Reasons Its $35M Weekend Is A Major Triumph.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 Aug. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/08/20/box-office-10-reasons-why-constance-wu-and-henry-golding-crazy-rich-asians-is-a-big-deal-and-a-huge-win/#6e35c817d6e5.
Nittle, Nadra Kareem. “Five Common Latino Stereotypes in Television and Film.” ThoughtCo, 22 Jan. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/latino-stereotypes-in-television-and-film-2834654.
“The Curse of La Llorona Faces Controversy for Casting White Actress Linda Cardellini in the Lead.” PEOPLE.com, people.com/movies/the-curse-of-la-llorona-faces-controversy-for-casting-white-actress-linda-cardellini-in-the-lead/.
“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: UNITED STATES.” Census Bureau QuickFacts, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217.