hispanic representation in the media.

This is the script I wrote for a “podcast” I had to record for my communication class. The assignment was to talk about anything that relates to communication. And I decided to talk about Hispanic representation in tv shows. “... So to start, I, Grecia Amaya, am a human being that believes that everyone should be equal and deserves to be equal. And something that I am very passionate about is LGBTQ+ equality and representation and I recently watched the movie Love, Simon which deals with that subject and I thought about talking about the movie and LGBTQ+ representation in the media BUT I just finished binge watching a new Netlix show called On My Block which stars mostly people of color and latinos. So I thought it would be better to talk about something that is closer to home, being that I am a latina. I want to talk about Hispanic and Latin representation in the media, more specifically, how that representation has affected me personally. When I was young, I never noticed that most of the actors on English television were white. I guess that I didn’t think much of it because I would see Hispanics on Spanish television. But the thing with Spanish television is that they dont even represent their own kind well enough. They have the light eyed, light skin, light haired actors playing the rich starring roles in telenovelas and have the brown skin, dark haired playing poor people. Even in Hispanic programming, they discriminate. It’s so sad that within the Latin community, there isn’t moral support. We should all stick together and fight for representation for ALL of us. I didnt know how wrong misrepresentation was until recently. A couple of months ago, I binged watched Jane the Virgin and seeing Hispanics on a traditional English channel made me feel something. It made me feel represented. Representation was something that I didn’t know that I needed but when I got it, it felt great. I felt like I could relate to the characters. Hearing them speak Spanglish and seeing the culture on English television was one of the greatest things ever. Then I binged watched the reboot of One Day at a Time on Netflix which stars another Hispanic family. And it filled my heart with so much joy. Seeing the Hispanic cultura on an English tv show is great. My point is that representation matters. Representation of one’s own culture in the media matters. On a little side note, Gina Rodriguez who stars in Jane the Virgin has been “called out” for not being Latina enough because of her Spanish. I watched a couple of her interviews in Spanish on Youtube and heard her speak and it’s true, her grammar in Spanish is not the best but she still speaks it. She’s still Latina. She’s still brown. Just because her Spanish isn’t perfect does not mean that she is not Latina enough. My grammar in Spanish is decent but I can’t roll my r’s so I sound like a non-native speaker when I try to pronounce my r’s and it is embarrassing but I would feel terrible if someone said that I wasn’t latina enough. What does that even mean? But anyways…. When I try to think of a Hispanic character on any famous tv show. None come to mind. They’re all caucasians. According to World Population Review.com, 73% of the US are white people. What about the other 27%? The website wouldn’t tell me the Hispanic percentage because of the Census and how it doesn’t count us Hispanics but it did say that about 13% of the languages spoken in the US is Spanish. After a bit of googling, I found some Hispanics that star in traditional tv shows that I have heard of. Sofia Vergara is in Modern Family. I actually LOVE Modern Family because they kind of do represent a Modern Family since one couple is a gay couple and they have a Hispanic character. But they don’t always portray Sofia’s character well enough. They portray her as a Latina stereotype. She’s loud, has a thick accent, they sexualize her and talk about how she comes from a drug dealing family. Then we have Cierra Ramírez who stars in The Fosters. I watched a couple of episodes years ago and they don’t really show anything degrading to Hispanics. I did read that Cierra’s character had a quinceanera which is awesome. It’s great to show the beautiful traditions that Hispanics have and celebrate. Herizen Guardiola stars in Netflix’s Get Down. I barely watched bits of this show so I don’t know much but I read a Variety piece on it and it said that the show did a good job of telling black and hispanic narratives. And that's what I want. I want hispanic storytelling. I don’t want the same basic white story plot. I want to see Hispanic and Latinos on my television in mainstream media. And lastly, Aimee Carrero voices the character of Princess Elena in Elena of Avalon, an actual Latin princess on the Disney Channel!!!! Can you just imagine how much good it does for young Hispanic children to see themselves being represented on Disney? I wish I had a Hispanic princess when I was a little kid. At least I had Dora. But the thing that I am kind of realizing now is that, us Hispanics are not always represented in the best light. On My Block features Hispanics but they’re mostly all gang members. Orange is the New Black also features Hispanic characters but again, they’re criminals in prison. We don’t want to be represented as criminals. We are regular citizens as well. Yeah, it’s still cool to see my fellow Hispanics on English tv shows and getting those roles but that’s not all we are. Not all representation is good representation. Yes, I as a Latina want to be represented in the media but I want to be represented in a good light. Not as a criminal. To conclude this podcast, I want to say that I know that media is always changing and it seems like Hispanics have representation now more than ever but it is not enough. We need more representation that portrays us as human beings, as citizens of this country. Because of this political climate, it is scary what I have seen said and done to Hispanics just for being Hispanics. Hispanics are people too. No one has more right to anything just because of who they are. And I hope that since now we are able to share anything to anyone and how things trend in the media, that others will see that Hispanics are just like them. We’re trying to make it in this world just like everyone else. Thank you.”