Despite Real-Life Population Growth, Latinos Remain Silent or Invisible in Film

Latinos are the second-largest racial/ethnic group (after non-Hispanic white people) in the United States, accounting for about half of the country’s population growth over the past two decades. Nineteen percent of Americans (62.1 million) are Latino – not that you would notice that from watching American films.

According to the latest research from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, only 5.5% of speaking characters on the big screen are Hispanic or Latino—a percentage that has not changed significantly in the past sixteen years, even as the U.S. Hispanic population grew -Americans by 23% in the last sixteen years. the past decade. Even fewer – 4.4% – were leads or co-leads (less than 1%, or a total of eight actors, were Afro-Latino), and 2.6% were born in the United States. Only four US-born Latinos have appeared in more than one film since 2007 (none of them were men); the actor with the most leading roles was Cameron Diaz, a white Latina who retired about a decade ago.

Sponsored by McDonald’s, AI2’s study is the third deep dive into Latin American and Latino representation in film, examining the top 100 grossing films each year from 2007 to 2022. Looking at distribution, the researchers found that there was no single year in which all six major studios, plus Lionsgate, released at least one Latino-led film, while Warner Bros. released a total of only three in 16 years. “This is heartbreaking for this community as Latinos represent 49% of Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world,” the researchers wrote.

The study further examined Hollywood’s business decisions when it comes to Latinos and compared the production and marketing expenditures and distribution volume of films starring Latinos versus non-Latinos. Of the 126 films with solo leads from the past two years, researchers found that the former received less financial support than the latter, especially when it came to production budgets, where the average cost for Latino-led films was $10 million, compared to $ 25, million spent on films that do not star a Latino actor. They found no significant difference between the two groups of films in box office performance, but the Latino-led films in the two-year sample had a higher median Metacritic score (71 vs. 58.5).

“These findings make it clear that Hispanic/Latino stories are being supported with fewer resources. This means that not only are the films themselves under-resourced, but the Hispanic/Latino actors starring in these films are likely to receive lower compensation,” AI2 founder Stacy L. Smith said in a statement. “This reality makes matters worse – not only are there few opportunities for Latin American/Latino actors, the roles that do exist are also less lucrative.”

The extensive research also examined on-screen representation intersectionally and qualitatively, unsurprisingly finding very few Latino characters who were LGBTQ+ or with disabilities, and a prevalence of characters who fit a stereotype or trope, with more than half of the Latino protagonists (57.8%) in last year’s films were depicted as criminals.

“In our previous reports, we have captured on film the continued stereotyping of the Hispanic/Latino community,” lead author Ariana Case said in a statement. “This report is no different and reflects a stubborn view of the Hispanic/Latino experience that is rooted in outdated and incorrect beliefs. As Hollywood spreads these stories, audiences – both those who are Hispanic/Latino and those who are not – have little ability to push back and advocate for more authentic stories.

Behind the camera, only 4.6% of directors in the sixteen-year sample were Hispanic or Latino—and only 30.5% of that share were US-born and less than 1% were women (only five Latinas directed at all at least one of the 1,600 films analyzed in the study).

As usual, AI2 concludes its report with recommended solutions for moving forward (although, in recognition of the continued bleak findings, the researchers wrote: “Of course the companies won’t listen to these recommendations, because past behavior is still the best predictor of future developments.” action”). Their suggested action items for each stakeholder include: