By Cesar Arredondo
Actors Edward James Olmos, Julie Carmen and Pepe Serna will headline an online panel discussion about the lack of Latino representation in the entertainment industry this weekend in what is being called a “call to action” by event organizers.
“The State of Latinos in Hollywood—The Systemic Brown Out of Latinos by the Entertainment Industry” will take place live via Facebook and YouTube at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) on Oct. 17.
The panel will also feature Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Claudia Puig, president of the LA Film Critics Association.
The virtual event is presented by Latin Heat Media, owners of the entertainment trade website Latinheat.com, and palabra. a digital news site founded by Alberto B. Mendoza, executive director for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING, NEWS MEDIA ABSENCE
The event comes just a month after a congressional hearing on the representation of people of color that received almost no attention from major media, including Hispanic outlets, and corporate Hollywood. In fact, the panel is in direct response of the dismissing, of what diversity advocates described as an “historic” hearing in Washington, D.C. in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month by media outlets.
“The genesis of this live discussion came about due to the lack of coverage of the House Judiciary Committee hearing entitled ‘Diversity in America: The Representation of People of Color in the Media,’” says Bel Hernandez, Publisher and CEO of Latin Heat Media. “Hollywood’s disregard of the hearings and lack of media coverage, especially among Latino press, became the impetus for organizing such event.”
Hernandez adds, “I have to say that what I witnessed was quite historic. It had been almost 30 years since any type of judiciary hearing on diversity had been held. What I found incredibly disappointing was the lack of media coverage by film, television, and news outlets.”
Hernandez will moderate the Saturday virtual discussion. Latin Heat co-hosts the event along with palabra., an off-shoot of of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
PANEL TOPICS
The Oct. 17 panel will discuss issues affecting Latinos in entertainment including Hollywood’s disregard for Latino stories, Brown-facing, Latino diversity initiatives, access to the executive positions, systemic racism, representation in guilds, talent agencies and the trades.
Saturday’s goal is to “have a lively, honest and deep conversation on why the entertainment industry is so resistant in giving opportunities to Latinos to tell their stories or to have a meaningful participation in an industry that shapes the consciousness of America and the world,” says Hernandez. “We will address how race plays a key role in the exclusion of Latinos’ participation in this industry and we will offer concrete solutions.”
The challenges facing Latinos in Hollywood are indeed gargantuan.
DISMAL NUMBERS
A recent USC study of the 100 top grossing movies from 2007-2018 reports that only 3% of films featured leads or co-leads with Latino actors and only 4.5% of all speaking characters were Latino. Nationwide, Latinos make up more than 18 percent of the American population, according to the U.S. Census.
Those meager representation figures of Latinos in Hollywood might be even more shocking considering the geographic location of the so-called “world’s movie mecca.” “Despite all of the talk about diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and the popular press, these findings represent no change in depictions of the largest ethnic group in America, who also comprise 39% of the population of the state of California, and 49% of Los Angeles’ population,” states the 2019 USC Inclusion Initiative Study “Latinos in Film: Erasure on Screen and Behind The Camera.”
And inclusivity may not the only problem for the largest American minority. “Erasure, not inclusion, is the norm for Latinos on screen,” reads a key finding in that USC study. “Forty-seven percent of the 1,200 movies in the sample completely erased Latino speaking characters.”
ACTOR, FILMMAKER, ACTIVIST
Among the most vocal advocates for better Latino representation in Hollywood is Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor Edward James Olmos, one of the Oct. 17 panelists. With more than 40 films under his belt, including Stand and Deliver, two Blade Runner movies, and Selena and iconic performances in television series like Battlestar Galactica, Olmos is one the most successful Latino actors. With those filmmaking credentials earned over five decades of work, his opinion is sought-after.
I can tell you for the fact that those same actors are not testifying before you today because they are afraid. They are afraid of being blacklisted and punished for speaking truth to power.
I am not afraid. I have the truth on my side.” — Edward James Olmos
“Just because there are several successful Latino actors does not mean that Latinos are making it in Hollywood,” said Olmos in a statement submitted to the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing ‘Diversity in America” last month. “I can tell you for the fact that those same actors are not testifying before you today because they are afraid. They are afraid of being blacklisted and punished for speaking truth to power.” He adds, “I am not afraid. I have the truth on my side.”
AN URGENT APPEAL
For his part, veteran actor Pepe Serna has issued a “call to action to address and resolve the lack of inclusiveness and diversity in the entertainment industry.” At the same Congressional committee hearing, the Scarface and Car Wash actor said, “I challenge each and every one of you (to) become more familiar (with) and aware of the struggles and challenges that we as Latino Hollywood actors, producers, directors, technicians, and others supporting our trade face in our day-to-day activities.” Serna has been in the filmmaking business for about 50 years, working with with Oscar-winning producers, writers, directors, and actors in approximately 100 films and 300 television shows.
Panelist actor Julie Carmen has a career spanning over four decades. She rose to prominence after a high profile role in director John Cassavetes’ Gloria. Her credits include films like The Milagro Beanfield War, Mouth of Madness, and Fright Night Part two. She played Angelina Jolie’s mom in the Hallmark miniseries True Women and also starred in the TNT television film Gore Vidal’s Billy the Kid, opposite Val Kilmer.
Claudia Puig of the LA Film Critics Association brings an insightful journalistic perspective to media coverage within the industry, while Thomas A. Saenz of MALDEF looks at the issue of Latino representation in the movies through the legal and policy lens.
Says Saenz, “The routine practice of excluding Latinos in entertainment has created an ominous gap in comparison to population, and this pattern continues at our entire nation’s peril.” And he adds, “It’s not a stretch to conclude that this pattern contributed to the rise of an obscure presidential candidate who has built his political career around demonizing the Latino community.”
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