Sofia Vergara Official Site
The NPR – National Public Radio – recently reported in a three-part series that the major networks are trying to appeal to Latino audiences. Although the NPR article focuses specifically on news outlets trying to appeal to both Latinos who prefer their news in Spanish and those who prefer it in English, the networks are also struggling to figure out Latino’s TV viewing preferences in regular programming, such as sitcoms and dramas. Everyone wants a piece of the Latino 1-trillion-purchasing-power pie. According to a study by Nielsen Media, published earlier this year, the purchasing power of Latinos is greater than any other ethnic group.
Some believe that networks haven’t been able to appeal to Latino audiences with their English-language programming because of the heavy use of stereotypes. The New York Times reported that characters like Sofia Vergara’s Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC’s Modern Family are too stereotypical and turn Latino viewers away. I actually love Modern Family and Vergara’s character. I recall an episode where the family went to Disneyland and Gloria insisted on wearing heels, against her husband’s advice. I thought it was hysterical. Why? Because I’ve seen that with my own two eyes! I live near Disney World and have been there – a lot. I’ve seen it at the mall too! I think that sitcoms, in particular, rely on stereotypes to get laughs. Modern Family, for example, also pokes fun at gay stereotypes, A-type personalities, and family dynamics. That’s what makes it funny. Take a show like Friends. They had Ross the nerd, Monica the obsessive-compulsive neat freak, Joey the dumb actor, and Phoebe the ditz. And remember Christina Applegate’s character Kelly Bundy on Married with Children? That was dumb blonde stereotyping to the max.
I usually don’t get offended by the use of stereotypes in comedies, especially if they ring true. But it does bother me a bit when Hollywood uses certain stereotypes over and over that aren’t even very accurate. It kills me every time I watch a show or movie set in a Latin-American country and there’s always a festival going on, like we wear costumes and dance in the streets all day. ¡Por favor! And of course, there’s the idea that most Latinos are maids, landscapers or drug dealers. Very rarely do you see a Latino portrayed as an executive in corporate America. Aside from the stereotypes, there’s also the issue about language preference.
Many Latinos prefer to watch the news and other programming in Spanish, period. I can’t relate to that, because I fall into the group that prefers English media. To me, Latino TV relies too heavily on sensationalism in news broadcasts and sexual innuendos in comedy shows. I’ll take a stereotypical joke over a fresh one any day. And I guess that’s exactly what the networks are trying to figure out: who prefers what, in what language and in which format. I’m sure they will keep trying until they get it right, because they know that pleasing the Latino audience is crucial to their bottom line.
Taina Haiman, Guest Contributor
About Being Latino Contributors
Yes I do see people in high heels at the mall and at Disneyland but not ALL latinos do that. Usually that girl in high heels is in the arms of some guy with “LA” tatooed somewhere on his body. Oh wait did I just stereotype? I guess I did. The whole point is that we are not going to get away from stereotyping. It is what you create from the inside out that counts. Being Latino I do not speak Spanish but I feel it. I am more Latino than some of my friends who do speak Spanish. As a former actor I used to go out for roles from Latino producers and writers and they would say I am not dark enough. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Breaking into the Latino Audience is a selfish business and no one wants to help or share. I guess when it does get offensive is when a “Anglo” acts out the stereotyping like that school in Orange County where seniors dressed up as gang members and pregnant cholas for “Senoritos” Day. Will it change? Maybe. Will other Latinos help each other out to change it? I doubt it.
I couldn’t agree more! I think Latinos are more than what Hollywood/ English television thinks we are. They have focus in one group/country/ethnicity thinking EVERY Latino is the same. I don’t mind like you said stereotypes as long as they are true and when they are use in a comedy contest <- at the end that’s what comedy is all about, but when they try to make us look ridicules that’s when they cross the line. In my case must of the jokes done representing Latinos don’t appeals to me, because like I said they are making fun of a specific culture or country so they are not humorous to me. I am part of those Latinos who don’t watch Spanish television in my case I don’t see anything that interest to me (because it’s saturated with Novelas with the same old story! from the beginning to the end of the day) and the little programs that they may have; let me put it this way… They just HURT MY INTELLIGENCE! I hope not only Hollywood/English television changes their ways to see all of us Latinos and portrait us in a more REAL ways but also the Spanish television do their part too. They should be the ones making a sample of WHO we really are, what we in fact like and how diverse our culture is! Time will tell…. Btw: great article!
Want to dumb down Latinos like regular TV.
Esta perfecta la pagina, pero diganlo en espanol que aqui hay gente de otros paises que no entiende ingles, y si uds se sienten orgullosos de la lengua latina pues hablen y escriban en espanol, sino para que?
They’ve been saying that crap for years but make no effort to hire Latino writers and directors. Their lip service is BORRRRING!
Why they need to have exclusive Latino geared and themed board -cacting is beyond me when instead of being factionalized and
fractionalized we need to be ONE as a nation.
This is just another ploy to make money off Latinos from the very same media people that bring us and the rest of the United States all the Latino stereotypes that piss you off in the dirt place!
Also when are Latinos gonna realize that the movers and
shakers in Hollywood that stereotype are not white conservative Republican males, but the actual urban progressives that cry you a river on how they have contributed to the civil rights struggle. Sometimes BL is a Latino stereotype and I don’t think they are aware of it.
Mario, I think there’s Latino-specific channels because many Latinos are Spanish dominant and prefer Spanish programming and media in general and, therefore, there’s a demand for it. I don’t think it’s about fractionalizing, it’s about the reality that Latinos are watching Univisión, Telemundo, etc. So mainstream networks are definitely trying to cash in on it, to appeal to this audience, because there’s money to be made and they are in the business of making money. And about stereotypes, I think every ethnic group gets stereotyped in Hollywood, not just Latinos. Like I said in the article, I pesonally prefer English-language media in general, I never watch the Spanish-language channels because that is my preference; I’m sure many other Latinos feel the same way I do. So it’s mostly a matter of preference; but the bottom line is that if the public demands Latino themed bradcasting, watches it and advertisers are making money off it, then it’s a good business investment for them.
Taina, thank you for your great reply!