Hollywood woos Latinos… But to what extent?

By Grace Flores-Hughes, Voxxi

Last week, the Wall Street Journal presented an extensive front page article on the growing movie attendance by Latinos in the United States. According to the article, Hispanics went to see nearly 10 films in 2012, compared with just over six for Whites, African-Americans and Asian-Americans.

This growing trend may be surprising to some outside the Hispanic community, but to me, it seems like business as usual. When I was growing up in south Texas during the 1950s, I went to see Spanish-language movies with my family on weekends. On weekdays, I went with other family members and friends to see English-language movies after school.

The article goes on to mention that Latino ticket buyers go to movies in groups of four or more, making it a family outing, and Robert Rodriguez, the director of “Spy Kids,” confirms this, based on his own family movie experience.

Of course, some may argue that since the population of Latinos is well over 50 million, it stands to reason that the number attending movies would be high among this group. True indeed, but there is still something else going on, and that is the recent decision by filmmakers to introduce subject matter attractive to Latinos, as well as a diversified cast that are is more in tune with these fans.

Latinos’ power in Hollywood

For example, the “Fast & Furious” franchise — which was originally set in East Los Angeles — was a high-earning film this year, due in large part to the more than 33 percent of ticket buyers who were Hispanic. If this ticket-buying trend continues, Hispanics can very well drive the types of films Hollywood will invest in and show to the public for years to come.

However, there remain a few sore subjects with many in the Hispanic community, and that is the obvious lack of creators in the film industry and Hollywood, and the lack of Latino actors in film, television and stage, especially in leading roles.

Add to that irritant the continued casting of non-Hispanic actors playing Hispanics. Recently, the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts called for a boycott of the film “Olympus Has Fallen,” because the character of Vice President Charlie Rodriguez is played by non-Hispanic actor Phil Austin.

This is nothing new. Over the years, movie audiences have been subjected to watching non-Hispanics play Hispanic roles. One such example is the 1952 film “Viva Zapata,” in which Marlon Brando played the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, and the list goes on.

Another major complaint is that when Hispanics — especially men — appear in American films, they are reduced to stereotypical roles such as drug addicts, drug dealers or drug lords, take your pick. In the case of women, their roles are usually that of flirtatious dumb bunnies, domestic workers or unhappy housewives.

Today, you can’t count on one hand the number of high-earning American actors in Hollywood with a Spanish surname. Not since Anthony Quinn has a Hispanic been front and center on a theater marquee.

Admittedly, back in the days when Mr. Quinn was a leading actor, it wasn’t necessarily “chic” to come out and proclaim your ethnicity, especially if that ethnic background was from south of the border. In Mr. Quinn’s case, he was of Mexican and Irish background — thus the name Quinn — and for years he played down his mother’s ethnicity.

A positive image of Latinos in Hollywood

But all isn’t lost. The Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors (HOLA) works with filmmakers and other media creators to create positive images of Latinos in film, radio, television and theater.  And the Hispanic Foundation for the Arts works to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries.

Given the positive, hard work of HOLA and the Hispanic Foundation for the Arts — founded by actor Jimmy Smits — entertainment fans should see an increase in Hispanic, positive role models in film and television. But we, the audience, should not forget that our ticket-buying power is not just about spending our money and giving it away to the movie industry.

It’s our voices through that ticket-buying power that will help to change the way Hollywood does business; i.e., selecting casting, choosing set locations and producing films that are meaningful to Hispanics and the rest of America.

The idea here is that all audiences will benefit from such films, not just Hispanic audiences. After all, much of what contributes to stereotyping certain ethnic groups are movies and television shows we’ve been accustomed to watching. The new direction Hollywood is taking will hopefully begin to offer a change in attitude in how Hispanics view themselves and how non-Hispanics respond to our fast growing community.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Over 3 decades, Grace Flores-Hughes has served in the administration of three presidents, including that of President George W. Bush who appointed her to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. In 2011 she published her memoir, A Tale of Survival.

Read more: http://www.voxxi.com/hollywood-woos-latinos/#ixzz2cAEQIDUT