Needs Improvement
A scene from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s film, “In The Heights.” Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers
A report card shows that a record 42% of all movie roles went to people of color in 2020. But Latino actors got less than 6% of the casting, leaving many to ponder their roles as Hollywood “accessories”
For decades, Yareli Arizmendi has honed her craft in Hollywood—as an actress, a writer, producer and director. The entertainment industry has been relatively kind to Arizmendi: the award-winning actress has starred in dozens of projects including the acclaimed films, “Like Water for Chocolate,” and “A Day Without a Mexican.”
But like many other Latino creatives, Arizmendi, who identifies as both Cuban and Mexican American, believes that even in 2021 there are not nearly enough opportunities in front of the camera or behind the scenes.
“What keeps coming back to my mind is, who is telling the story and whose story is it? We are always the accessories to another person and another story that is not about us,” Arizmendi said.
Arizmendi’s concern is underscored by research. This spring the University of California, Los Angeles’ UCLA College Division of Social Sciences, published the Hollywood Diversity Report 2021. Researchers analyzed the top 185 English-language theatrical and streaming films released in 2020. They found a record 42% of all film roles went to people of color. But a breakdown, by ethnic group, shows Latino actors received about 6% of those acting jobs. Latinos are nearly 19% of the U.S. population. “When you look at the numbers in terms of who is working in the main casts, obviously it is a severe underrepresentation,” said Ana-Christina Ramón, the study’s co-author.
Behind the scenes, the numbers were worse in some categories. The UCLA report found that only about 3% of all film directors and writers in their study were Latino. “When you stop to consider that the Latinx community is close to 50% of Los Angeles, but we’re only about 6% of the casts in motion pictures–that’s problematic,” said Rafael Agustín, chief executive of the Latino Film Institute, one of the organizations that sponsored the study. “I think we have a long way to go.”
Yareli Arizmendi, as a reporter, on the set of “A Day Without A Mexican” with director Sergio Arau. Photo courtesy of Yareli Arizmendi
The UCLA findings underscore other entertainment industry reports. One study, released earlier this year by the Directors Guild of America, analyzed more than 4,300 television episodes in the 2019-2020 TV season. This study concluded that although there were some gains for all people of color, “Latinos and women of color continued to be severely underrepresented despite their sizable and growing presence in the population.” DGA statistics show that Latinos directed 7% of all TV episodes during the study period.
And a study that considered Latino character representation in the media uncovered another troubling trend. University of Southern California researchers analyzed hundreds of top-grossing movies released between 2007 and 2018 and found that about a quarter “of all Latino speaking characters were depicted as lawbreakers across a range of violent and non-violent crimes.”
A warped image
“What people see on screen is the way that they think the world works,” explained UCLA’s Ramón. “Media is a socialization agent.”
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has stepped in, meeting with movie studios and national media outlets, promoting inclusion at every level and minimizing offensive narratives about Latinos
The continued portrayal of negative stereotypes of Latinos and the apparent lack of meaningful access into the entertainment business have drawn scrutiny by federal lawmakers. Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro is the former chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “There is a missing Latino narrative in this country about the positive contributions that Latinos have made to the success of the United States of America,” Castro said in an interview with palabra. He warned that distorted media images delivered to audiences can sometimes have dangerous consequences. He cited the 2019 shooting in El Paso, Texas. “Where you had a madman who drove 10 hours to kill 23 people because he considered them Hispanic invaders to Texas.”
Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro.
Because of serious concerns over negative imagery, Castro said, the Hispanic Caucus has stepped up meetings with representatives of movie studios and national media outlets. The discussions focus on ways to promote inclusion at every level and minimize offensive narratives about Latinos.
A time for action
Hollywood guilds are also lending support. “One of SAG-AFTRA’s core values in the union’s mission states that our strength is in our diversity,” said Gabrielle Carteris, president of the Screen Actors Guild, known as SAG-AFTRA. “The union’s leadership, as well as its dedicated Equity & Inclusion department put sustained effort into educating the industry and using our collective bargaining tools to make Hollywood a more fair and equitable environment for our members.”
“It is vitally important that no group should be disadvantaged when it comes to developing a career,” said Thomas Schlamme, president of the Directors Guild of America. “And while we see encouraging growth in some areas, we will not be satisfied until we see fairness for all,” Schlamme added.
In the meantime, efforts from Latinos themselves could become game-changers. Actor Edward James Olmos is the founder of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, still going strong after 20 years. The most recent edition showcased Latino-themed films like the summer blockbuster, “In the Heights,” which has been the topic of many conversations this summer, and the bio-documentary, “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It.”
Actor Eduard James Olmos
Besides screening big budget films, the festival is a welcoming space for emerging Latino movie makers. “We’re giving them a venue, and the ability to have a place where they can show their films–not only show their films, but move forward to a place where they can understand their craft to the fullest and push it forward,” Olmos told palabra.
The veteran actor said he’s optimistic about what may come next. “We know that the studios are watching. We know that they know–very well, that the Latino in the United States of America makes up anywhere from 32 to 37-percent of (the) box office anytime they open any movies,” Olmos said. “But sometimes, like with ‘Fast and Furious,’ and the Marvel movies, we’re 52 to 58 percent. There’s a lot of financial support (for the film industry).”
The studios may also be paying attention to the Hollywood Diversity Report’s findings on what audiences want to see. “Increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse content,” said UCLA’s Ramón. “We have 10 years worth of film data, and every year we have found that audiences prefer diverse content.”
Where are our Latino friends? From class to sexuality, there’s a telenovela/Hollywood (look and feel) that’s just not real— it doesn’t feel authentic
The conversation around diversity and inclusion in film portrayals took a new and unexpected turn this summer.
Blockbuster, or blunder?
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights,” is set in a Dominican American neighborhood in New York City with a substantial Afro Latino population. The movie version of the hit Broadway play has won praise for its uplifting themes of hope, self-determination, family, and education. But there is criticism of casting choices in the production, centered around how the Upper Manhattan neighborhood’s population -- strongly Afro Latino -- is represented on screen. The film’s defenders suggest that, perhaps, the musical was not just about Washington Heights. Could it be that the neighborhood was simply a backdrop for a wider more universal narrative, with casting choices made to appeal to a broader audience? Just after the controversy broke, Miranda issued an apology and promised to do better next time. Clearly, all of Hollywood and the world have taken note of this imbalance.
A scene from the documentary, “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It.”
Although much of the accountability for inaccurate Latino portrayals has fallen on powerful American film studios, many believe that even Spanish-language networks should be held to the same standards. Over the years there has been much criticism of the mostly Eurocentric casting in Spanish language programming. Rep. Castro said there is a need for diversity in all Latino media images.
“We had a conversation with Univision within the last few years on colorism; on being more reflective on the shows that they put on, more reflective of the actual reality,” Castro said. “You just have to watch the Spanish telenovelas to know that (the portrayals are unrealistic). Look around Latin America, and (you) know that it’s not fully representative or an accurate portrayal of Latin America.”
Jairo Alvarado is a literary manager and producer at Redefine Entertainment, a new majority Latino-owned management company in Los Angeles. Alvarado says he and others in his Mexican American community questioned Latino media representation well before the recent controversy. “Where are all the Latinas that we know—that we grew up with? (Where are) our Latino friends? From class to sexuality, there’s a telenovela/Hollywood (look and feel) that’s just not real— it doesn’t feel authentic to me.”
If there is a silver lining ready to cut through the clouds of this controversy, it may be that more authentic storytelling could be on the horizon. Hollywood trade publications report increasing numbers of A-list Latinx performers such as Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña have been asked to direct or produce major projects.
Mariem Pérez Riera, the director of the Rita Moreno documentary, shared her personal thoughts about what could become a pivotal time in movie-making history: “It’s a great moment for the Latino community, and I am really hopeful that this is the beginning of many other projects and many other films and that we can have a voice.”
Yareli Arizmendi is hopeful too, but bluntly described the situation today in Hollywood: “I know there are tons of us working on it, but, oh, boy, is it slow!”
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Saida Rodríguez Pagán is an award-winning journalist, television host and communication professional based in Los Angeles. She has reported and produced for news organizations across the United States and has appeared in nearly 100 films, prime-time television programs and other projects. Pagán regularly conducts webinars and presentations on media-related topics.