Hollywood ignores Latinx audience once more

The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative published in September 2021 a news report concluding that popular Hollywood movies continue to underrepresent Latinx communities.

USC graduates Ariana Case, Zoily Mercado and Karla Hernandez reported this by analyzing Latinx actors, speaking characters, directors, producers and casting directors in 1,300 films from 2007 to 2019.

The study found that movies continue to lack Latinx actors even though they comprise 20% of the U.S. population. Only 5% of the 51,158 on-screen characters are Latinx, while 3.5% of films cast them in leading roles. Girls and women performed a majority of these leading and co-leading roles, but comprise a mere 1.9% of all 1,300 movies. 

This lack of representation was much worse in the 45 and older category, where Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz were the only actresses seen. 

Latinx actresses were often seen as background characters when they were featured, making up only 2.2% of leading and co-leading roles. Only six of these leading actresses were Afro-Latinx. 

Hollywood’s disregard of these communities is severe given that 79% of U.S. states have a higher percentage of Latinx residents compared to the representation of Latinx people in films produced by Hollywood. 

The Latinx community makes up 39% of California’s population and 49% of Los Angeles’ population, but movies swiftly disregard these statistics along with the rate of consumer spending. While 25% of movie tickets are bought by Latinx people, meaning they make up $1.7 trillion in profit, 35 films had no Latinx characters.

These movies especially failed to represent Latinx characters through an intersectional lens. Ninety five films failed to feature any Latinx characters with disabilities, and 98 films had no LGBTQ+ Latinx characters. 

The behind-the-scenes demographics align with the stark on-screen disservice. Across 1,300 films, only 4.2% of directors were Latinx. This resulted in a 50 to one ratio of white male to Latinx directors. The statistics were bleaker for women, with only three directors of Hispanic or Latina origin out of 1,447.   

Much of the representation that occurs on screen is accompanied by common stereotypes. Out of 94 Latinx characters, 8.5% were immigrants; 37.2% spoke no English and 30.5% had a foreign accent. The 30.5% was deduced from 59 characters who spoke English in the film, implying that the rest did not speak English. 

Films also carried a prevalent portrayal of Latinx people as criminals, perpetrators of organized crime and violent crime, tying them to illegal behavior and its consequences. As a result, most characters would often be affiliated with gangs, cartels or other syndicates. 

The report suggested solutions to this lack of diversity that could potentially shift the plates of inclusion. Talent agencies could create consideration lists adjusted to the proportion of the Latinx community within the general populace, eventually recruiting and signing more actors. 

Studios and production companies and casting directors could broaden casting to encourage Latinx talent to audition, even recruiting new Hispanic or Latinx directors for top jobs. Film festivals and nonprofits could launch initiatives to nurture Latinx filmmakers and philanthropists to fund these communities. 

Corporations could hire more Latinx workers to work behind the scenes of ad campaigns. In addition to this, legislators could create tax incentives for productions starring and including Hispanic and Latinx talent while funding their arts education. 

The report presented the unequivocally ignored Latinx talent who deserve recognition and gratitude for their contribution to Hollywood films. The findings also display Hollywood’s lack of progress in terms of serving the Latinx community who so frequently patronize Hollywood’s films.