January 2, 2014

In early December, MPAC joined its partner organization, the Media Image Coalition, to host "Latinos Beyond Reel: Challenging a Media Stereotype," a documentary screening and panel discussion with industry insiders. 

Held at the Writer's Guide of America (WGA), West, the evening began with the screening of the documentary "Latinos Beyond Reel," which filmmakers Miguel Picker and Chyng Sun examine how U.S. news and entertainment media portray -- and do not portray -- Latinos.

One in six adults and one in four children in the U.S. are Latinos, but their reality is rarely depicted in the mainstream media. The 75 minute documentary interviews scholars, actors, filmmakers and a group of Latino children to reveal a striking pattern: in both news and entertainment, Latinos appear overwhelmingly as gangsters, drug dealers, prostitutes, maids, sexy Latinas and welfare-leeching "illegals." Even children's games depict the killing of Mexicans as a way of scoring points, further emphasizing a national hate of an ethnicity. The film shows how a narrow range of misrepresentation, combined with hate speech against undocumented immigrants and Latinos, had devastating consequences for this nation as a whole.

Following the screening, panelists Lorena Manriquez, co-producer of "Latinos Beyond Reel"; Cesar Arredondo, Los Angeles Chapter President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists; Alex Nogales, President and CEO of National Hispanic Media Coalition; Frank Gonzalez, Board Chairperson of National Association of Latino Independent Producers; and Maria Escobedo, Chairperson of Latino Writers Committee at WGA, West; came together for a riveting and touching discussion about the realities they have faced and what can be done to change the situation. 

With panelists discussing their experience in Hollywood and the news industry, the audience was given a large overview of the difficulties many have faced from being told to change their looks because they were too "Latin" to finding avenues to incorporate Latino characters or sources into their products. 

The main conclusion of the evening is that every individual needs to make their voice heard and tell their own stories.