Hollywood Latinos – Still One of the Most Underrepresented Groups in Film

Making that “big break” into the Hollywood foray remains one of the most difficult dreams for anyone to achieve. It is even harder for someone who falls into the category of a minority – and even more difficult still, it seems, for Hispanics. According to a recent study by the University of Southern California, Latinos continue to be one of the most underrepresented groups in Hollywood films.

Researchers from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism concluded that Latino characters make up only 4.9 percent of all speaking rolls (when using data collected from a 6-year sampling period of films – and especially in a sampling of the 100 top-grossing movies of 2013).

“Hispanics and Latinos are one of the fastest-growing groups in the U.S.,” said Marc Choueiti, one of the study’s authors. “If popular films were the only way to gauge diversity, viewers would be completely unaware of this. Individuals from this group are almost invisible on screen.”

By comparison, black actors accounted for 14.1 percent of the sampling of 100-film’s speaking roles. This is astounding considering that the Hispanic community makes up 17.1 percent of the U.S. population and account for over 25 percent of the movie-going public. 

“Hispanics clearly are the most underserved racial/ethnic group by the film industry,” the USC report stated.

Birdman director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu holds his Oscars after the ceremony

Granted, last year’s Awards Season was a huge boost for Latinos in film, with Birdman winning top prizes for director and writer Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu at the Academy Awards (and many other precursors). So why is it then that Latinos don’t find themselves in more films, and in more starring roles? There are parts out there – more than apparent – but those parts tend to go to Caucasian actors or actresses, even when the part is meant for a Latino.

For example, the Oscar winning film Argo is about Tony Mendez – a CIA operative from Colorado who saves the lives of several America citizens during the Iranian hostage crisis in the early 80’s – played by Ben Affleck, who is not Latino. The film went on to be a commercial and award winning success – even so much as winning the Best Picture prize at the Oscars. Meanwhile, most roles for Latinos are reserved for the onscreen maids, cooks, gardeners, criminals, or “sidekicks”. Latinos are also the most sexualized of the minorities on film, as – according to the USC study – Latina women are more likely to be partially or fully nude on camera, while Latino men are usually costumed in revealing or very tight, hyper-sexualized clothing.

Ben Affleck in an interview with the real Tony Mendez

“Hispanics, just like other racial and ethnic groups in Hollywood, are marginalized on screen and behind the camera,” said the USC report’s author Stacy L. Smith, founder and director of Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative USC Annenberg.

One of the main reasons Latinos have such a difficult time finding meaningful work in Hollywood is the mixed-track record of Latino-themed films at the box office. Like so many things in this world, just follow the money. 

Nosotros, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Hollywood legend Ricardo Montalban, has been working to improve the image and working opportunities of Latinos in the entertainment industry for nearly 45 years. Current president and CEO Joel M. Gonzales noted that he’s found television networks have been more receptive than movie studios to the efforts of the group, but he added that complaining isn’t the key to getting more (and better) work.

“Let’s stop pointing the finger. Let’s start creating content that is at a [Birdman] level,” said Gonzales. “As an actor, really hone your craft so that when you stand out, you stand out as an actor, not as a Latino actor.”