Research
& Quotes
Online Research
To what extent does Narcos
reflect the representation of Latinos/Hispanics in American media?
Narcos (Primary Text)
Hollywood
fails to represent US ethnic diversity, says study
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/05/hollywood-fails-to-represent-ethnic-diversity-study-usc
‘’New USC report finds
that Latinos are most under-represented in films, despite buying 25% of all
movie tickets’’
·
This showcases that Narcos perhaps as an
original Netflix series challenges this statement that Latinos are
‘under-represented’.
‘’Latinos, who
comprise 16.3% of the US population and are regular filmgoers – they buy 25% of
all movie tickets – only made up 4.9% of characters.’’
Hispanics
and Latinos become the largest minority in America's cities
‘’US census data shows
that Latinos and Hispanics have overtaken African Americans as the largest
urban minority.’’
·
African Americans in the United States of
America are portrayed as victims of injustice in some cases. This article
indicates that perhaps Hispanics and Latinos are replacing them.
‘’From now on, local,
state and national politicians will need to pay attention to Hispanics rather
than treating blacks as the major minority," William H Frey
Hispanics in Hollywood still
struggle to overcome stereotypes in casting and to land quality roles that showcase their
talents. Yet, there are signs of progress. Hollywood, for example, took a
chance on creating the biopic “Cesar Chavez.”
Cesar
Chavez Film
·
American
biopic film produced and directed by Diego Luna
·
The life of
American labour leader César Chávez,
·
Who cofounded
the United Farm Workers
·
Film stars Michael
Peña as Chávez (Mexican)
Latinos may be the largest minority
group in the United States, but there’s no shortage of stereotypes about the
Hispanic community. In Hollywood particularly, Latinos are all too often
portrayed as gang members, sexy vixens, Latin lovers, domestic workers and
recent immigrants to the U.S.
Why are
Latinos viewers the most important for networks?
‘’As traditional
audiences move to on-demand services, networks are attempting to appeal to one
of America’s last audience of loyal, committed TV watchers: Latinos.’’
· Nielsen Company found that Hispanics in the US
have over $1 trillion in purchasing power and represent more than half of US
population growth between 2000-2010.
·
Latino viewers are not just critical for cable
news, but for scripted programming as well. ABC’s overt attempt to target a
Latino viewership with the sitcom Cristela has seen a major ratings win for the
network.
‘’Univision, launched in
1962, currently has the largest audience of any Hispanic-oriented TV news
network in the U.S. While 2015 was not as bad as 2014, when all of its news
programs saw audience declines, the year showed more losses than gains.’’
US
television wakes up to growing Latino audience with new options
‘’Channels such as
newly launched El Rey are targeting a young demographic that wants to see its
bilingual and multicultural world reflected on screen’’
Could Latino
new data shows one in nine potential US voters is Hispanic, meaning they could
Change America’s political map – but what would it take for
them to do so? Voters decide the next American president?
Representation
of Latino Women In US TV
Showcases the negative representation of Latinos
particular the women as they are represented in a sexual and promiscuous for
example in Narcos the journalist is uses her sexual appeal to get what she
wants. Also,
‘’Once upon
time, African Americans were the racial group most likely to portray domestic workers. Black
housekeepers played key roles in television sitcoms such as 1950’s “Beulah” and
films such as 1939’s “Gone With The Wind.” By the 1980s, however, Latinos
increasingly replaced blacks as Hollywood’s domestics.’’
‘’The late actress Lupe Ontiveros
estimated that she played a maid as many as 150 times on screen. In 2009,
Ontoveros told National Public Radio, “I long to play a
judge. I long to play a lesbian woman. I long to play a councilman, someone
with some chutzpah.”
‘’While Hispanic men are often
reduced to Latin Lovers in television and film, Hispanic women are commonly
typecast as sexpots. Rita Hayworth, Raquel Welch and Carmen
Miranda are some of the Latinas in early Hollywood who
capitalized on their sexy image. More recently, Eva Longoriaplayed a
conniving Latina homemaker who used her looks to advance her agenda in “Desperate Housewives,” and Sofia Vergara
continues to play the role of Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on “Modern Family,”
which many prominent Latinas argue not only fuels the stereotype that Hispanic
women are sexy but also loud, crazy and spicy. “The problem here is that this
idea of the curvy, sexy and sultry Latina denies many Latinas their cultural
identification based on their physical appearances and sexual attractiveness,
alone,” explained Tanisha Ramirez in the Huffington
Post’’
Representation of Latino Men in US TV
‘’Television programs such as “The
George Lopez Show,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Ugly Betty” were unique in that
they portrayed Latinos as Americans rather than as recent immigrants to the United States. Not only have many Hispanics lived in
the United States for several generations but some Hispanics also descend from
families that predate the establishment of the present day U.S.-Mexico border.
For far too long Hollywood has featured Hispanics speaking heavily accented
English in television and in cinema.’’
-
In Narcos most characters dream about making a
better life for themselves for example one of the hit men ‘La Quica’ dreams of
the ‘American dream’
There has been no shortage of
Latinos playing thugs, drug dealers and gangbangers in U.S. films and
television shows, especially police dramas. Popular films such as 1992’s
“American Me” and 1993’s “Mi Vida Loca” chronicled the lives of fictional Hispanic
drug kingpins and gangsters. Even the 1961 classic “West Side Story” centered on the rivalry
between a Caucasian gang and a Puerto Rican one. The gangster stereotype aimed
at Latinos is particularly harmful, as it gives the public the idea that Hispanics
aren’t law-abiding citizens but cholos. Accordingly, they should be feared,
shunned and certainly not treated as equals. While some Latinos, just as some
whites, find themselves entangled in the criminal justice system, the majority
of Hispanics aren’t criminals. They work as lawyers, teachers, pastors, police
officers and in a host of other arenas.
Latino
Portrayals in the Media
‘’When Latinos are actually present in different forms of
media a very consistent type of Latino is portrayed. Usually it is a person who
has darker features, tanner skin, and an accent. The quest for a heterogeneous
type of Latino completely overlooks the diversity that is included under the
umbrella term. The lack of range in how Latinos are presented phenotypic
ally also helps to polarize the community by showing usually either rich
Latinos or poor Latinos. ‘’
‘’Until recently, Latino portrayals in the media has had
negative affects for the Latino community. Historically Latinos have not
only been portrayed negatively through stereotypes but they have also been
largely ignored and excluded from most American Media. Support for this
assumption has been provided by The Annenberg School of Cultural Communicators
Project which found that between the years of 1969 to 1978 only 2.5% of
primetime television characters were Hispanic. The significance of this is
that this figure is still significantly behind other minorities such as the
African American population who comprised 8.5% of primetime television
characters.’’
‘’Another study
conducted by The Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington DC has shown
that Latinos have been in the 2% range of representation in Media for the past
30 years. This percentage is also following a downward trend which is
especially noticeable in the Prime Time Television shows.’’
It's 2016 and
Latino Representation on TV Is Finally Starting to Reflect Reality
According to Jessica Gonzalez, executive vice president of the
National Hispanic Media Coalition, representation of Latinos in particular is
lagging. "We're way behind," Gonzalez said in a phone interview.
"We're totally underrepresented, and it's a missed opportunity."
‘’But there are
encouraging signs that television has begun to seize that opportunity. The
CW's Jane the Virgin, a show featuring a mostly Latino cast, won a Golden Globe and has been renewed for a third season. NBC's new 2016
primetime line-up includes three shows with Latinas leading as both actresses
and producers: Jennifer Lopez's Shades
of Blue, America Ferreira’s Superstore and Eva Longoria's Telenovela.’’
The path to production and primetime
for shows like Jane the Virgin and Superstore was paved by hits like Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), Ugly Betty (2006-2010) and Modern Family (2009-present) that featured Latinas in leading roles. These shows
painted nuanced portrayals of real Latinas, not offensive or overwrought
stereotypes. While Modern
Family's Gloria does embody the stereotypically sexy and sassy Latina, her
character is multilayered, compassionate and strong in her own way, making her
relatable to audiences of all backgrounds. –
Latino Women
Narcos and
American Representation
But as Colombians, no matter the accolades the drama
receives, we believe we are better than drug trafficking and violence, and
there are better and more uplifting stories to tell about the country. “People
who lived during those times don’t like watching shows like Narcos,” says
Alejandra Moncaliano, senior MCC major at Steinhart. “We don’t like this kind
of violence associated with our country, there are other better things to
portray.”
This showcases that some
Columbians themselves believe that even though the plot line is quite accurate the
representation of Columbians isn’t for example the accents.
Moreover, as Sociology senior Catalina Munera points
out, Narcos is “a very white-washed American version of the story”. It doesn’t
capture its effects on the Colombian people, the true victims of the war on
drugs.
But what truly enrages Colombians is the dual
portrayal of Americans and Colombians. “I hate that Americans are represented
as the heroes” says Natalia Martinez, a Metropolitan Studies sophomore at CAS,
pointing to how Americans are shown as the uncorrupted good guys while our
people are the criminals, dysfunctional and violent.
The show doesn’t really focus on the other side of the
story, one in which American cocaine consumers fueled hatred, violence and
instability in my country. After all it was US dollars that paid for the bombs,
guns and ammunitions, but it was our people who paid the price for the cocaine
consumed in America and elsewhere. We put up with the deaths, suffered the
violence and stigmatization.
Narcos is a hit for Netflix but iffy accents grate on Colombian
ears
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/narcos-netflix-colombian-accents
But the reception has been much cooler in Colombia, where
audiences have been bemused by the stars’ ropey accents, irritated by its
portrayal of the country’s recent history, and – in some cases – simply bored
by yet another narco-drama. Much of the show’s dialogue is in Spanish, but the cast has been drawn from across North and South America, and the actors’ attempts to adopt a Colombian accent have not always been successful.
Colombian audiences have been irritated and amused by the show’s hodgepodge of accents. A character based on Escobar’s wife is played by Paulina Gaitán (Mexican) , his partner Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha by Luís Guzmán (Puerto Rican), while his rival Jorge Ochoa is played by André Mattos (Brazilian).
Does
Netflix's 'Narcos' Misrepresent Colombia?
The glamorization of drug lords is
something preoccupying commentators in Latin America. It is creating a narco
culture, where cliched drug lord behavior is seen as “cool shit.” Every town in
Colombia has a “traqueto,” or small drug baron, who will throw his weight
around, drive a Hummer and act like a mini-Godfather. There have been four
extremely successful telenovelas about the life and loves of Escobar. Some even
portray him as a Robin Hood character, building a few homes for poor
people in order to launder his money.
At its peak, the
Medellín cartel employed more people than FedEx, Domino's, and Google
Arguably, though, that's an easy connection: the U.S. likes controlling
drugs because the U.S. likes money because money means power. In one of the
released clips, two people are speaking in a U.S. government office. One says,
“Their party took money from Pablo Escobar,” to which the other replies,
“Everyone took money … by the way it's all American.” Netflix calls these pithy
facts, where correlation certainly does not equal causation, Cokenomics.
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