Issues of discrimination and exclusion in Hollywood are often driven by unfounded beliefs about marginalized communities, and even efforts to increase diversity sometimes get stuck in the “listening stage” without prioritizing action. That’s why Harness (and the organization founded by America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, and Ryan Piers Williams) and the Untitled Latinx Project (ULP) co-produced DEAR Hollywood (Demanding Equal Access and Representation in Hollywood). The initiative focuses on specific data-driven strategies for change.
“Latin storytellers and Latin storytellers have lived in the shadows since the advent of Hollywood. Tania Saracho, creator of “Vida” and ULP member said during the opening of the DEAR Hollywood and Latine Heritage Month event at UTA. “We are allowed to peek into the light here and there, but we always come back. in the shade. We’ve never stayed in the light long enough to make much progress.”
Saracho continued, “They canceled our show ‘Gordita Chronicles,'” referring to the comedic executive adulthood produced by Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldana that HBO Max recently canceled after one season. Audiences complained in mourning.
“Why is it? Well, there are a lot of systemic reasons.” Saracho said before introducing the rest of the show, but this erasure has become a deep wound that we must heal.
Valderrama, who took to the stage to discuss his work with Harness, said, “Studios, platforms and broadcast networks don’t ultimately assume they have all the answers. They now realize that creative collaborations [with marginalized artists] It is the way you not only reach the audience, but create authentic and valuable representation. Things can spread across multiple generations from now. If we don’t define who we are now, who will our children be? How will they carry their roots? How will they talk about their heritage to their children? We have to undo a lot. We have to retell our history in some way so that it does not go unnoticed again.”
Next, Gloria Calderon-Kellett, author of One Day at a Time and With Love, led a conversation with Dr. Anna Cristina Ramon, director of research and civic engagement in the UCLA Department of Social Sciences. Together, they discussed various statistics that demonstrate both the power that Latinos have as consumers of media and the ways in which Hollywood is using underserved Latino audiences and creators.
“There’s a lot of misinformation about who Latinos are, and what we’re watching. How many of you have heard, ‘They don’t turn up?'” Kellett said. So we need to talk about this and tell the algorithm.”
One example Ramon gave is that Latinos make up 18% of the US population, but attend movie theaters at an even higher rate.
“Hispanic moviegoers outperform the catalogs in terms of the number of tickets they buy and the number of times they go to the movies. We are about 24% of moviegoers frequently, which means we go once or more a month.” We buy the most tickets per person. We generally buy most tickets. We are excited to go to the movies, we don’t go alone to see movies. We go with the whole family! ”
The night concluded with Team Saracho and four other Latino showrunners: Dylan Rodriguez (“Lincoln’s Advocate”), Sierra Teller Ornelas (“Rutherford Falls”), Linda Yvette Chavez (“Gentived”) and Lea Benavides Rodriguez (“Thirst”). ‘, a five-point devised by Diar Hollywood in order to increase Latino representation in entertainment.
About the first column, Ornellas said, “There are no stories about us without us. Every year we see projects centered around Latin talent and Latin characters being developed and green lighted with no Latino representation in leadership. They appear like “Magnum PI” on CBS, and ‘Narcos’ is on Netflix, the list goes on and on. We need to be responsible for telling our stories.”
“Number two is the green light for our projects,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not enough just to put something into development. You have to go to the finish line. One of the big things that we think will help get more Latino CEOs to actually buy and follow these projects, because they understand our community.”
Saracho introduced the third pillar, and it represents all aspects of our lives and culture. She said, “The audience, Latino and others, are tired of watching us in the same vulgar roles and writers are tired of being asked to write them.” “But not only that. Many studies point to the consequences of deletions or toxic representation in the form of stereotypes. Representation, as we’ve heard, affects cognition. Cultivation theory claims that over time, media shapes how the public perceives the world around them. And that’s what We want to keep it in mind when executives weigh what kind of Latin stories need to be developed.”
The fourth pillar is the repetition of levels that hold us back. “Many Diversity and Inclusion programs offer payment to Latino staff writers, which is great, isn’t it? These well-intentioned initiatives often create malicious loopholes,” said Benavides Rodriguez. 90% of ULP members have had to redo [e.g. not being bumped from staff writer to story editor]. We are not rising as fast as our peers.”
About the last column, Hire Us for Non-Latinx Projects, Chavez said, “When Latin writers are given the reins in a series that isn’t traditionally Latin, we give the power to diversify the bodies and stories you see in front and behind the camera. We bring our experiences to the table. We advocate for people from We hire different backgrounds who can do the same. By default, the composition of the series and the stories it tells are deeply enriched. It flows organically.”
[ad_2]
