New research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative — in partnership with the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Wise Entertainment — has found that, the Latinx community is being erased on both sides of the camera in popular film. “Latinos in Film” examines Latinx representation on-screen and behind-the-scenes on the 1,200 top-grossing films from 2007-2018, and concludes that Latinos are “vastly underrepresented” on every front. The situation is particularly dire for Latinx women.
Latinos comprised just 4.5 percent of the 47,268 speaking characters in the most popular films from 2007-2018. They were completely left out of 568 of those 1,200 films. Latina characters were erased from 828 of the movies. Meanwhile, 70 of last year’s top 100 films featured zero Latina characters.
Across the past decade’s top 100 films, only three percent of the leads/co-leads were Latinx. “While roughly half of the Latino leads or co-leads were women, five of the 17 leading ladies were played by Cameron Diaz, and none placed her within a Latino community,” according to the study’s press release. “The lack of leading characters whose Latino identity is part of the narrative fabric of top films means that audiences rarely see the cultural diversity of Latinos represented in storytelling.”
Along with Diaz, Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Alba were the most-hired Latina performers. Lopez was the only Latina 45 or older who appeared on-screen.
When they were included as characters, Latinos were often portrayed as stereotypes. 35.5 percent of Latina characters were sexualized — i.e. they were presented in sexually revealing clothing or in any degree of nudity. In fact, Latinas were more likely to be sexualized on-screen than white women (31 percent), black women (29 percent), and Asian women (21 percent).
Of the 1,335 directors to helm top films from 2007-2018, just one was a Latinx woman: Patricia Riggen (“Miracles from Heaven”). Just 19 of the 3,616 “produced by” credits were held by Latinas, as opposed to the 78 held by Latinos.
The report also considered Sundance Film Festival submissions in 2017 and 2018. Seven percent of the directors submitting U.S. dramatic films identified as Latino. Eighty-eight percent of those filmmakers were men, 11 percent were women, and one percent were gender nonconforming. Thirteen percent of directors submitting international features were Latino. Eighty-one percent were men, 19 percent were women, and less than one percent were gender nonconforming.
“The Latino community has not been prioritized, and it is imperative that we shed light on the glaring reality of Latino representation in film,” said Benjamin Lopez, Executive Director of NALIP. “Dr. Smith’s research must guide decision-makers to the conclusion that there is immense value in collaborating with and investing in the Latino community.”
Check out the entire “Latinos in Film” report here.
