Looking at Latino S In the Media

Latino's In The Media

Latinos make up a large portion of the population of the United States. According to Rodriguez (1997) the rapidly increasing population of Latinos accounts not only for 17% of the people in the U.S., but also 20% of the 18-34 demographics that are the focus of marketing. Thus, it is a key target group in marketing. This ethnic group's dedication to movies and radio has surpassed that of any other group in America, whether racial or ethnic (Meehan and Riordan, 2002). In terms of economic contribution, this group's buying power is expected to reach 1.6 trillion dollars by 2016, ranking it at number fourteen in the economies of the nations of the world, if it was a country on its own. Thus, they make up a large part of the economy. Nevertheless, as Disch (2009) and Robb (2014) state the rate of their participation in the media has been minimal, if at all. Their roles in front of the camera as well as being it, in every genre, have not grown proportionately with their growth in population. Disch (2009) and Robb (2014) studied the period 2000 to 2010 when the Latino population grew by 43%. In terms of character portrayals on the camera, Latinos have been confined to stereotypical roles as those involved in crime, overly sexualized roles, menial laborers and police.

Hollar (2012) states that Latinos are not just great media consumers, but also serious contributions. They have been known to create great content for films and television, and with the new digital age, they have made their contributions online as well. This group is very sensitive to how it is portrayed, actively and successfully campaigning against negative imagery, so that content that is seen as promoting sentiment against them is not released. Latinos are also very loyal in terms of consuming movies that feature their own and that have stories inspired by them. The ratings of such films are very high among this group of people (Zamorano 2014).

Unfortunately, when it comes to participation in widely consumed English language films, television and other media, Latinos are left behind. Hollar (2012) and Zamorano (2014) state astonishing facts when they reveal that the participation of Latinos in lead roles or even Latino storylines is lower than it was seventy years ago, a phenomenon that needs to be investigated. Monk-Turner, et.al (2010), gives statistics, from the 1940s and 1950s, to back up this claim. They state that in the 1950s, 1.7% of total leads and 1.3% of lead appearances were by Latinos, and this was when they only made up 2.8% of the population. Again, in the 40s when they were under 2% of the population, their lead roles were 2% of the biggest movies of the time and 0.9% lead appearances.

Given these facts, therefore, this paper seeks to evaluate the degree to which Latinos participate in media, whether mainstream or internet. The aim of this will be to identify the setbacks as well as the avenues open for the promotion of a level playing field for all in media. The paper will focus specifically on Latino participation in television, the roles played by Latinos on television as well as the barriers that they encounter when they seek to enter into media.

Literature Review

Montilla (2013) says that in terms of Latinos, male leads were significantly more than female lead roles in the 90s. However, this experienced a reversal, especially between 2010 and 2013. Of the top ten movie and television programs, there was no Latino male lead and in supporting roles, they only accounted for less than 3%. During the same period, however, 4.6% of leads were female/Latinos and of the television supporting roles they made up 9.5%. In terms of Latino supporting roles, the females made up 67% of all appearances.

In the year 2013, the Latinos who make up 17% of the U.S. population had no lead roles in what made up the top ten movies and scripted television shows. This group was made up of 50 million people in the U.S. at that time. When they made up 2.8% of the U.S. population, they had 3.9% of lead actor roles. At this same period of time, in the 1950s, they had 1.5% of all leading roles (Negron-Muntaner, et.al, 2014). They go on to note that with few exceptions, the mainstream English media has very low Latino participation. They contrast the environment today with that which existed 70 years ago, noting that the entertainment industry crafts fewer roles and less accommodative story lines, which thus have fewer lead actor roles. Thus, the inclusion of Latinos in these lead roles has been increasingly narrowed over the years as their population in the U.S. has increased (Negron-Muntaner, et.al, 2014).

There have been promises to increase the participation of minorities behind the camera by most networks (Deggans, 2005; Negron-Muntaner, et.al, 2014). This, they note has been seen in the efforts made to create jobs and executive roles that support diversity. However, the strategy has not been effective in making room for diversity in as far as creativity and leadership are concerned. The composition of Latinos in these roles was minimal at best. They made up 6% of writers, 2.3% of directors, and 2.2% of producers in the ten top ranking movies. When it came to top ten television show creators, no Latinos were accounted for. However, in these shows, they made up 4.1% of directors, 2% writers and 1.1% of the producers (Rob, 2014). These were statistics for the year 2010-2013. In addition to this poor representation, Latinos make up zero percent of the owners, chief executives, presidents or heads of studios and networks. As Negron-Muntaner, et.al (2014) state, in terms of all English language broadcasting, as well as in studios and their top 53 executives, only one Latina could be found.

The studies done by Deggans (2005) did not touch on the Univision and Telemundo, which are Spanish language broadcasters. In these broadcasters, those who are non-Hispanic make up about the same number as the Latinos in English media.

Stereotyping has been an issue raised by Negron-Muntaner, et.al (2014) and Montilla (2013) when they state that English language on media is keen on portraying Latinos in roles of criminals, law enforcers or menials. When comparing the statistics of 2012-2014 with those of 1994, Montilla (2013) states that 24.2% of television roles were linked to crime in 2012-2014 as compared to 6% in 1994. 69% of media maids are also Latinas, whether on television or movies.

Negron-Muntaner, et.al, (2014) notes that while the male leading roles have been disappearing, the female roles as well as Afro-Latino roles have been increasing. McKinley, et.al, (2014) highlight the low news coverage of Latinos, stating that they are given less than 1% news coverage and this is mostly with regard to crime. At the same time, Latinos as news anchors and executive producers were non-existent in the most highly rated news programs in 2013.

Statement of Argument/Thesis

In contrast with all this lack of inclusion, their purchasing power has increased so much that it is expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2016. They watch more movies and listen to the radio more than any other group. They are more loyal to their programs, stories and actors than any other group, pushing ratings of movies featuring them to the top. They make up 17% of the U.S. population and significant marketing demographic (Negron-Muntaner, et.al, 2014).

However, the negative image of Latinos that has been propagated by the media leads to the negative perception of Latinos in the minds of others (Merskin, 2007; McKinley, 2014). This negative portrayal by the media not only affects Latinos, but immigrants as well. It has the power to increase stereotypical perceptions or decrease them. Latinos are viewed more positively by those who interact with them more closely. As Merskin (2007) and McKinley (2014) note, networks that carry negative entertainment promote negative views of Latinos and some of these are conservative radio as well as Fox News' audiences. Even audiences interviewed by the writers stated that the roles they knew Latinos to play were criminals, maids and gardeners.

Methodology

The survey was used as a research instrument in this research as it was qualitative. The participants who had been randomly selected comprised those at work, in school and at home. These participants had been contacted earlier and were sent emails for the purpose of the survey. The online survey had twelve participants. They answered pre-written questions designed to establish the stereotypes that existed regarding Latinos on television.

Findings

The participants were randomly selected and ranged from 15 to 65 years, atop being of different ethnicities. Most of the participants could only name three Latino personalities on television and these were Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria and George Lopez. The participants watched between one and two hours of television per day and most had not seen a Latino lead actor in a long time. From these participants, ten stated that a lead Latino role was something that they had never seen. The research question, "Where are all the Latinos on television?" thus applies. Majority of the participants watching one to two hours of television daily could not remember a Latino playing a lead role. Of the two participants who had seen Latinos playing leading roles, Spanish television was part of what they watched.

Analysis and Discussion

In the 1940s and 1950s, Latinos had accounted for 1.7% of the leading roles as well as 1.3% of the lead appearances. Seventy years later when their population had increased to 17% of the total U.S. population, they could not be found in leading roles of the best rated movies or scripted television shows on networks. Being the biggest minority group in the U.S., one would expect them to make up more than the 4% roles they hold on prime time television. More than 33% of prime time series do not have them regularly appearing as characters. In only a few genres and in very few shows are minorities to be found as regular characters. The study revealed that almost nine out of ten television series feature zero regular Latino actors. The composition of Latino population in California accounts for a third of its population and can be found in great numbers in Los Angeles. Astonishingly, even with Latinos making up the biggest ethnic group in Los Angeles, the movie and television industry has chosen to ignore them and produce works that entirely leave them out (Disch, 2009; Rodriguez, 1997; Valdivia, 2010).

In the leading ten genres, the study found that Latinos are missing in six of them. This is in terms of regular characters or hosts in reality shows, medical shows, news, teenage genre variety shows and animations. All the way from cartoon world to even non-fiction, Latinos are poorly represented. So, whether in fantastical works or documentaries and other non-fiction works, Latinos have been left out. Perceptions are shaped by this lack of inclusion. However, in the situation-comedies, regular Latino characters made up at least 7%, the highest recordings so far. Two shows in particular made up 44% of Latino actors in 2002 and these were the George Lopez Show and the Greetings from Tucson, yet they only made up 2% of all the primetime series'. Meehan and Riordan (2002) and JCPenney (2007) note the fact that were any of these two series to be cancelled, Latino presence on primetime television would be effectually erased, as also stated in a Hoffman study.

Diversity has been supported by most of the executives in the media. This has been evident through the creations of positions and functions that support this. Nevertheless, positive impacts from these efforts are yet to be felt. In fact, in the creation and production of television shows and movies, the Latinos make up less than 5% of those involved, whether they are directors, producers, writers or others. As much as functions and roles have been created for them, they do not head these studios or networks. Only one head of any of these was a Latino. Noting their distribution in the population, one would expect that they would account for at least 10% of these top positions.

The perception of Latinos is varied across contextual and personal bearings. Differences of perception will be found, depending on the age of the respondent as well as their familiarity with the Latinos. These are the two major factors that determine perception of Latinos. Whereas one's education and income level also impacts their perception, this is not as consistent as perceptions based on interaction and age. Information about Latinos and the images that are portrayed by the media play a big role in shaping perception. It has been noted that the negativity portrayed, in at least 62% of all television shows, 59% of all radio programs and 59% of all print media, has served to create a stereotyped image of this ethnic group of people (Mastro, 2009; Monk-Turner, et.al, 2010).

The relentless portrayal of Latinos as menials, criminals or police by television and movie productions has further carved the stereotype. Criminal characters made up at least 17% of those played in movies between 2012 and 2013. In the same period, over 24% of the Latino characters on television were portrayed as criminals. In 1994, only 6% of the characters were portrayed this way. The industry has also ensured that iconic maid characters are primarily Latinos, making up 69% of these roles since 1996.

The study also found that the coverage of Latinos in terms of news comprised just under 1% of the total news coverage. In fact, the stories were mostly covered when crime was involved. As though to answer why this is the case, facts reveal that, of the top television producers and the anchors in the top ranking news programs, there were no Latinos to be found. In all news producers, only 1.8% are Latinos. Latinos were considered to be mostly illegal immigrants as was stated by 56% of the respondents. This term was comfortably used by respondents who responded in this way. Even where positive information was presented, the stereotype still held. In a study carried out on viewers of the West Wing and listeners of the Good Radio news piece, 54% of the former and 53% of the latter held to the term "illegal immigrants," when referring to Latinos. Half the viewers of television and those who read print media agreed with this view. 48% of television viewers as well as 47% of the readers of print media agreed that most Latinos are illegal immigrants (Monk-Turner, et.al, 2010; Harwood and Roy, 2005).