We opened class with this question…what is the difference between Hispanics and Latinos? What a very good question. I used to be confused with the two terms and majority of the people I know probably would mix the two up and use the term interchangeably as well. But the reality is, there is a difference.
As explained on the website Diffen, Hispanic is a term that contemporarily refers to the nation of Spain and its culture. A native of Spain living in the U.S. is considered Hispanic and Latino refers to people or communities of Latin American origin.
We have explored how women are portrayed in the media versus men and now it’s time to examine how Latinos are portrayed in the U.S media. Latinos Beyond Reel is a documentary that focuses on how Latinos are portrayed in media very in-depthly. It explains how the images of Latino men being portrayed as law breakers and women as sexual, sensual and firecrackers have existed so long that they are the norm.
After watching the film, I had to really think about how Latinos are marginalized in movies and the media that I have seen personally. When I thought about it, I could clearly see how they are portrayed in such a negative way more often than positive. It doesn't really surprise me though because minorities in general really haven't had the best representation in media all together. Just like Latinos, African Americans have also been portrayed in media as uneducated, violent and sometimes invisible until there was a crime committed.
Something really disturbing I learned from the documentary was the fact children's movies and games are bombarded with these negative stereotypes of Latinos. We know that media representation is very influential on everyone especially children who are too young to really decipher between the truth and the negative connotations of a race of people that they see. Shows like the Speedy Gonzales cartoon is an example of a children's show that show negative stereotypes of Latinos specifically. The rat is shown speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent and was seen as overall offensive. Speedy's first appearance goes as far back as 1953.
One of my all time favorite shows is Ugly Betty, a show about a young Latina from Queens who lacks fashion sense but is very sweet and intelligent. She lands a job at a fashion magazine in Manhattan and juggles everyday life with a mixture of her culture and American culture in a very fast paced world. This show along with others like Dora, The Explorer, The George Lopez Show and other Latino characters have left loving impressions of Latinos. The reason I like Ugly Betty is because she is portrayed as a young adult in America who is trying to get established in her new career where the fact that she is Latina is an enhancement to her overall character and not the burden. Here we see a Latina character who is true to who she is and her culture and looks like every other young adult in America in the sense that she is trying to figure life out and who she really is. The culture of Latinos isn't depicted negatively in this show but just from the perspective of young girl who is just as a part of America as she is Latina.
The reality is, Latinos are a part of a fast growing segment of America. Their portrayal in media is important because they make up part of America. Negative connotations of the race in media need to be diminished and replaced with more positive connotations. Although the media has come a long way from the negative representation they have portrayed of Latinos, more positive shows need continue to hit the scene of Latinos showing them in a positive light as well at other minorities.
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