Television is one of the few forms of entertainment that allows us to see our favorite actors in action and doing what they do best. Some names that come to mind are Joan Rivers, comedian; Jennifer Lopez, movie actress, Ricky Martin, singer. While these superstars are great at what they do, many Latino actors are moving to their own cultural networks to get more representation. But why?
Diversity is all around us, there is no question about that. The problem lately with US networks is a lack of Latino representation in them. Naturally, there are more roles made for American actors, but that should not eliminate someone who is of a different ethnic background.
Has the television network gone backwards in recent years? In early television, only whites were allowed to be on television and very slowly other races were appearing in television and movies. It is interesting to see the evolving in so many shows and sequels, but not so much as the diversity. One would think that the two would go hand in hand and producers would welcomediversity and new shows at the same time. Since that is not the case, one of the two is somewhat forgotten and therefore, never has a chance to develop.
Similarly, we could look at the stereotypes that are labeled to Latinos. They play the roles of maid, thugs, Latin lovers and much more. It is sad to know that some of these roles play into today’s world and not just in the movies. However, what makes acting so good is that they can go into character so well; it is like they truly have two different lives.
The lack of Latinos in television is still very shocking and it is going to take some drastic change to see Latinos on American networks and in the film/television industry as well.
