With the U.S. population reaching over 300 million last week, the largest minority group in the country continues to be Latinos. Occasions like the Hispanic Heritage Month and the Boston Latino International Film Festival provide an opportunity for the sizeable Latino community to express their perspectives on the American experience, in this case through the lens of cinema.
To discuss current portrayals of Latinos in American media and their effect on mainstream social perceptions, the Daily sits down with Antoinette Basualdo-Delmonico, instructor of the ExCollege course "Latinos, Racism, and Media."
Tufts Daily: What does racism mean for Latinos in the United States? How might this racism be expressed in American film and television?
Antoinette Basualdo-Delmonico: I think you have to consider that film, television and other forms of media are all some form of institutionalized socialization. We use media to convey messages about what is acceptable, what norms are, what is okay behavior and what is not okay behavior. There are forms of institutionalized racism that are part of films and media and television, by virtue of the way that we portray individuals of color - not only Latinos, but also other individuals of color.
We can go through life watching movies, sitting and laughing [as we watch them], and then all of a sudden we might say, "Why is it that I'm afraid of certain individuals of color when I encounter them on the street? Why is it that I have this concept in my head that every Latino is illegal, undocumented or that they work in cleaning? I may not have any experiences with Latinos, so how is it that I came up with that conclusion?"
We forget that we have been socialized, from "Sesame Street" all the way to "Desperate Housewives," about what it means to be who we are.
Today, Latinos are the largest minority population in the United States, yet they are invisible in media. When they are represented, they're represented under specific categorizations and stereotypes. You have the Latino gang-banger, you have the Latin lover, and you have the comic buffoon. When we look at Latinos, we have not had a wide range of Latino images, and the images that we continue to see fit into specific types of stereotypes.
TD: How does a television show with Latino roots - like "Ugly Betty" - affect Americans' perceptions of Latinos in the United States?
ABD: "Ugly Betty" is based on a Columbian telenovela. In this show, we have a main character who is the heroine of the TV show. I think she is portrayed as a strong young woman who knows what she wants; she perseveres and continually talks about sticking to her own beliefs.
The show is produced and has input from Latinos themselves, which makes a difference. Most television and film media are produced by individuals who are not people of color, so when they introduce people of color, how true can they be to the real experience? When we say we want to see this fantasy of this "diverse" world, it's like pretending that [minorities] never encounter any type of racism.
TD: How can a Latino be successful in Hollywood? As an actor, writer, producer, etc., how can he create something that appeals to all viewers? Or, at this point, is his goal simply to reach Latino viewers?
ABD: We have to remember who the bosses are in Hollywood: They are not individuals of color. In our country, it tends to be white men who are in positions of power. Those white men have certain values, certain beliefs about how things are, how things should be and how people should behave.
When a group of casting directors says, "We're going to have a Latino character," the Latino character is identified by certain factors. For example, he has to speak with an accent. [Without an accent,] he is not being "Latino enough." What does that mean? He's not being "Latino enough"? Or he doesn't "look Latino enough"? In order to be Latino, you have to look, you have to speak, you have to be like this. That is not true to people; Latinos are an extremely diverse population.
TD: When and how is this stereotyping going to change for Latinos?
ABD: As more Latinos and other people of color fill positions of power within media, we will begin to see a change in how people of color are portrayed in the media.
Things will also change the more you have people educated about the media. Instead of just being individuals who sit back and watch TV for the sake of entertainment, we should be more literate and analytical. Instead of just eating what they put in your mouth, take a look at it. We don't let people put stuff in our mouths, but we do let people put stuff in our heads. We need to be conscious of what's going into our heads, what's making us who we are and how we think.
