Latinos in the Media

For my Multicultural Education class, we were assigned to research how another ethnicity is portrayed in the media. I choose to look at Latinos and it was pretty interesting. Here's a part of my paper:

The media tends to perpetuate racial stereotypes. For example, in popular movies and TV shows Latin males are often depicted as lazy, domineering, gangsters, drug lords, or criminals. In some films, they are portrayed as mysterious, romantic and astonishingly good at salsa dancing. Latinas are either submissive or feisty, but usually seductive and scantily clad. Unless of course they are older in which case they are cantankerous and stubborn. Sometimes Latinos are used in sidekick roles or as comic relief. Rarely are they the hero unless the majority of the cast is also Latino.
News articles about Latinos seem to focus on a few main topics. Several years ago, there was a lot of controversy about Mexicans crossing the United States border illegally. It’s possible that the news coverage on this occurrence may cause other students to view their Latino classmates as inferior because they may not be official U.S. citizens. Students may also integrate this with the criminal stereotype in films and lead majority students to be distrusting or suspicious. This prejudice may spread to any student of Latin descent regardless of their background and personal history.
The news also highlights the high dropout and pregnancy rates among Latin teens. In doing so other students may perceive their Latino peers as lazy, dumb or promiscuous. Latino students themselves may be discouraged by these findings which could perpetuate a type of self-fulfilling prophecy in the way they view their potential. Rather than have an attitude of meritocracy which encourages all students of their ability to be successful, these articles suggest the deficit theory which implies that those from a minority culture are lacking compared to those in the dominant culture. Fortunately, there are some Latinos who have risen above this notion and proved that, despite race, one can achieve great success. These people help counter negative stereotypes that Latin Americans may face.