Stereotypes about Hispanics in the Media in the States - Essay Example

How Hispanics are stereotyped in the media. Any dictionary defines media as "a medium of communication as radio, newspapers, television, or film thatis designed to reach the mass of the people". For years, media has helped to form culture by serving as a resource to report to the public of the episodes that take place in our society. Its power has been magnified a hundredfold with the advent of globalization and technology where the world was reduced to a small village and that communication is possible real time and delivered in a speed of light. Hence, its function as an arena that shapes public opinion has also grown in leaps in bounds. Media is perhaps, the most influential, in shaping community consciousness and has a well-known role in highlighting stereotypes. Stereotypes typically categorize individuals by their class, origin/ethnicity, profession, and gender. In its most extreme, the concept of stereotyping is used in a negative or prejudicial sense and is frequently used to justify certain discriminatory behaviors. Stereotyping in the media, if we look at it objectively, is not intentionally done with bias as the stereotypes are used very often to give the audiences insight on the particular condition or character. However, stereotypical portrayals in the media contribute to the misrepresentation of certain groups in society. For instance, now and again, the media distort or exaggerate the representation of Hispanics/Latino in the United States and frequently these distortions are based on depictions. “Hispanics” Let us start with the term ‘Hispanic’. It is broadly used to define a variety of people whose common heritage dates back to their Iberian ancestors or more specifically, Spain and the Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. However, the word is currently used to describe three primary groups of Spanish speakers in the U.S., namely Cubans, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans. As it is, the term fails miserably to describe and define the “extremely rich ethnic and racial diversity of Latin Americans.” Instead, if we look at the word critically and the connotation that comes with it, “Hispanic” itself became one big label for a highly diverse segment of American populace. Largest Minority The Hispanics constitute the largest minority group in the US. The latest statistics from the Census Bureau places the figures to 41.3 million, which accounts for about 14% of the entire US population.1 The diversity of this population encompasses those who have both Caucasoid and Negroid ancestries while some may even have Indian bloodlines. The Hispanic common identity is evident in their culture, religion, and language. This is in opposition to prevailing system in the media where labeling ethnic groups is based solely on physical appearances. Today, a great proportion of the Hispanics are identified as mestizos, those who have mixed bloodlines, regardless of national origin (of, course this is still confined within the Latin American/Spanish context). Stereotype Despite the abovementioned facts, Hispanics are the most misunderstood minority, owing to its depiction in the mainstream U.S. media. There are numerous factors that have characterized the image of Latinos in U.S. media: the image of Hispanics that exist in television and film are continually simple, stereotyped, and nearly depicted and negative; Latinos, when they appear in productions, with few exceptions; are constantly portrayals of a group with blur differences among the truly diverse Hispanic groups; and the lack of proper Latino representation in mass media has been seen as a “symbolic eradication” from the U.S. cultural majority. It is important to mention that the media industry has finally realized the “challenges of attracting multicultural audiences and consumers who are proud of their traditions and the need to produce products that appeal to broad audiences.” However, the conflicts of producing authentic multicultural products still exist. Latinos are still victims of inauthentic representations in U.S. entertainment media. Commonly, Hispanics are almost imperceptible in the very lucrative entertainment arena and hardly appear on national network primetime shows. Marti Olivella observed that cultural stereotyping serves a double function in Hollywood or perhaps in the media as a whole. According to him, it helps media outfits, particularly the studios in Hollywood “to flatten and/or assimilate cultural otherness in order to appease the fears of white Anglo-Americans.” On the other hand, Olivella added, stereotyping becomes a narrative staple that helps to identify, and, therefore, to commercialize the Latino film in the context of specific representational type, often labeled under the domesticated rubric of “magical realism.” Latino/Hispanic stereotype and media characterization in U.S. entertainment have included the labels: male buffoon, the bandit, the drug dealer, the prostitute, the Latin lover, the maid and the gang member. Male Buffoon The I Love Lucy Show is probably one of the most influential media materials, which portrayed the Hispanic male as a male buffoon - an unsophisticated guy that butchers the English language and looks most of the time dirty and messy. Ricky Ricardo, the main male figure in the show, was the bongo-playing Latino husband. The stereotypes, besides the appearances, would come into play during the arguments when Ricky would scream “?Lucy, you got some ?splainin to do!?” This is the characterization, which combined the stereotypical hot Latino temper and the broken English when the Hispanic man is angry. According to Charles Berg, this portrayal is the exact opposite of the typical Anglo American male, which is a loving and understanding husband. The Bandit Jesus Salvador Treviño explained that “as early as 1908, D. W. Griffiths The Thread of Destiny used the term "greaser" for the Mexican "bandit" type. Later silent films took this portrayal and expanded it in such films as Tony the Greaser (l9ll) and The Greaser’s Revenge (1914). At the time when revolutionaries were struggling to free Mexico from the abuses of the Porfirio Diaz tyranny, Hollywood disavowed revolution in Mexico by using Mexican banditos as convenient foils to the North American cowboy.” The Hispanic bandit image – Mexican, foul and greasy - would stick in Hollywood films with very little modifications as years passed. It was even reported that then President Woodrow Wilson implored Hollywood to "please be a little kinder to the Mexicans." Bad Guy You need not guess, for chances are big in films, news or media material you will come across, that the gang members and the drug dealers - the bad guy in the picture - will most likely turn up to be Hispanic. We should not dig far for we can take the case of the recent movie, Traffic, as an example. Some people might have loved it simply because there was an impressive Hispanic ensemble and a plethora of Spanish dialogues. But the message and nuances are clear – the Mexicans are the drug dealers - illegals streaming in alarming number from the Mexican border - and primal beasts who drag Americans in the dark activities of the underworld.2 In a Cinemax Reel Life Documentary, “The Bronze Screen: 100 Years Of The Latino Image In Hollywood Cinema,” the development was documented on how the Hispanics, particularly the Mexicans earned for themselves the image of dark, dumb and violent, courtesy of Hollywood films. Meanwhile in the real world, we turn to a report by Mendez and Alverio, which “found that Latinos continue to remain virtually absent from network news coverage. [And] when they are covered, the stories are usually unbalanced and provide a stereotypical portrayal of Latino life in the United States.” They cite the following instances that underscore this fact: Crime, terrorism, and illegal immigration accounted for 66% of all network stories about Latinos in 2001. The arrest of suspected terrorist Jose Padilla, for allegedly plotting to detonate a "dirty bomb", occupied a central role in the coverage of Latinos in 2001, with 21 network stories or 18% of all stories that aired on Latinos. The number of Latino-related crime stories in 2002 was grossly excessive when compared to statistics on crimes involving Latinos. This report examined news stories aired in evening newscasts of CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN during 2002. 3 Macho Latino While other stereotypes are bound to be extremely negative, there are also those who are deemed fancy, outright foolish or even whimsical. Enter the Latino lover who can conquer woman with his looks. It was Rudolph Valentino who was widely credited to have introduced this stereotype to the American psyche. One of the most notable of films depicting this stereotype was The Four Horseman of Apocalypse, where Valentino seduced women with Tango and the daring of his advances. A Spaniard by the name of Antonio Moreno, would further cement this image of the Latino macho with his successful portrayal of a Hispanic man that is daring, suave, romantic and one reeking with sexual danger in the film Voice of the Million. Although filmed in 1912, it made the American woman swoon to Latino screen heartthrobs from then on. Proofs of this are the contemporary popularity of Antonio Banderras and Andy Garcia, who must suffer the same kind of typecasting, and the connotation or idea why the Spanish accent is deemed to be “fashionably sexy.” Prostitute In the tradition of the Latino lover, it is but natural that his counterpart would have the same degree of sensuousness and one that radiates with raw sexuality. That is why we have the prostitute-stereotype for the female Hispanic – a lusty woman who uses her sexuality to get anything she needs. As Gary Keller said, outside of romance or sex, there were no roles for Hispanic females, so Hollywood created one for them. 4 This is very derogatory label and is also reflective of how the status of Hispanics is unfairly viewed by the American public – that of people who cannot provide for themselves in a level playing field. The Maid Finally, the label of “housekeeper” or “the maid” is one of the stigmas that most Hispanics have a hard time to shake off. We see this stereotype in one of the most recent and highly acclaimed films today – Crash. The movie is admittedly a highly symbolic film representing the diversity of America and its stereotypes, and in its portrayal of the Hispanic, a role of the housemaid was there for Jean Cabot (played by Sandra Bullock) to disrespect. The redeeming factor might be that of Cabot’s realization in the film’s denouement where the Hispanic turned out to be her only friend after all, and yet there is the stereotype for all its well-meaning intention – a Hispanic woman in the film and that she is the maid. One-sided Reality These stereotypes, according to Treviño have one thing in common – “they reduce to a one-sided, superficial and exaggerated depiction the real variety and depth and complexity of a struggling people. Significantly, the underlying social issues affecting Latino life in the United States have seldom been addressed… and hardly ever have Latinos been portrayed as people in control of their lives, capable of standing up for their rights, or having an interest in their own future.” Distorted Message Although stereotypes are usually based on true aspects of a culture, it is important to understand that they are generalizations and do not represent an ethnic group by themselves. The repeatedly misrepresentation of Latinos in television and film affects the way the audience perceives the Hispanics in real life and harms the dominant culture. The use of stereotypes only conveys to confuse the general listeners and generates a negative message to the public. Stereotypes of Latinos or any other minority group in society can bring about problematic outcomes. For instance, using such stereotypes renovates assumptions that can create social prejudice and inequality among diverse groups. Coping Unlike other ethnic groups, Hispanics have dealt with their misrepresentation in US media. For example, in order to maintain their culture and avoid stereotypes, Latinos have established their own Spanish-speaking television stations that cater exclusively to the Hispanic audience in the United States. Experts believe that this type of Spanish media is a sign of separateness and does not help to erase or correct the stereotypes in the U.S. population because only Hispanics watch the channels. On the other hand, the channels as Telemundo and Univision celebrate the Latino heritage and they attempt to balance the portrayals of Latino in the U.S. media. Though Spanish television produces crossover celebrities that appeal to the American audience, as long as they continue to be exclusively marketing the Hispanic public, they never change the stereotypes of Latinos in America. It is upsetting that the media maintains these inconsequential Latino stereotypes, which have been ingrained in our heads. U.S. media rarely represents the interests or perspectives of minority groups such as Latinos, and normally portrays Hispanics in a negative tone. It is a shame that in general, Latinos, have been negatively affected by stereotypical representations and that the American media and film have not overcome this step in adversity. Bibliography Anthony, Adelina. “"Traffic" is no triumph for Latinos, African Americans.” Progressive Media Project. March 2001. 14 June 2006 Charles R. Berg. A Crash Course on Hollywoods Latino Imagery, Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, Resistance. Austin: University of Texas Press, 71-72. “Cinemax Reel Life Documentary The Bronze Screen: 100 Years Of The Latino Image In Hollywood Cinema.” Dirs. Susan Racho, Nancy Alicia De Los Santos and Alberto Dominguez. HBO Latino, 9 Oct. 2002 Crash. Dir. Paul Haggis. Writer. Paul Haggis. Perf. Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Matt Dillon. Video. 2005 Isais, Elsa. Latinos Work to Change Stereotypes in Hollywood. El Paso Community College. Feb 2006. 14 June 2006. http://www.epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/15_latinos_change_stereotypes.htm Mendez, Serafin M., & Alverio, Diane. Network Brownout: The Portrayal of Latinos in Network Television News, 2002. National Association of Hispanic Journalists. 2003. pp. 3 Olivella, Marti O. When the Latino Family goes to Hollywood. Allegheny College. April 17, 1997: pp. 2 Trevino, Jesus Salvador. Latino Portrayals in film and Television. Jump Cut March 1985: 30, 14-16 Read More