That said, to be quite frank, the entertainment is a tough racket for actors of any color. And I thank the Lord that being considered "ethnically ambiguous" in this business is actually a good thing, especially in advertising. Since I began my acting career, I've auditioned for numerous national commercials in the Hispanic and general market for all kinds of major fast-food chains, tech devices, banks, insurance companies, cars, beer etc. and a vast majority of these auditions specifically seek out actors with a ethnically ambiguous look. Obviously, the corporate world is hip to the fact that if they want to increase their profits, they need to appeal everyone. Personally, I don't think I've ever bought a product because of what the person in the ad looked like, but then again, I might just be oblivious at this point due to the constant bombardment of subliminal messaging that I am surrounded by every day.
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| Meet the Panel... (clockwise from top) Jorge Diaz (actor & star of the hit Hulu series East Los High and Paranormal Activity: the Marked Ones) Wade Allain-Marcus (actor) Santana Dempsey (actress) Kenneth Castillo (filmmaker) Gloria Garayua (actress & star of web series Fixing Paco) |
During a panel discussion on the topic (Gab It Up, Ep. 1: listen to full interview here: http://livesircuit.com/gabitup/), Jorge Diaz mentioned that he has witnessed a change in the media's ability to authentically reflect diversity within the commercial Spanish-language market:
"If you watch Spanish-language commercials, you can see the change in that...you have artsy lookin' kids, nerdy lookin' guys and they're all Hispanic and they hardly represent what we normally see in movies like the gardeners, the immigrant guy...Those things are beautiful when they're beautifully written, but a lot of times they're not beautifully written."Could this nuanced portrayal of Hispanics in commercial advertising be a small beacon of hope that the media's portrayal of this particular group is changing or at least evolving to a degree? Maybe. But as Jorge suggested, it's not the stereotypes themselves that are the problem because stereotypes exist within all cultures. I think what's more important is whether the individual character's story is being told in a way that paints a complex and dynamic picture of who they are as a human being. A good actor will play the stereotype, a great actor will tell the story and an even better actor will change our opinion about the stereotype until it no longer exists. Of course, this is a lot easier with great writers, a great director and a multi-million dollar budget, but, as Kenneth Castillo mentioned, even movies that are rife with stereotypes such as A Better Life - the Oscar-nominated film about an immigrant father from Mexico who works as a gardener to contribute to a better future for his young son - can center around characters with enormous emotional depth and complexity.
Once again, it comes back to us, the minorities, the underrepresented, the mutts, the ones who don't fit into a particular "box," as Santana Dempsey described it. Sure, we have a long way to go, but we can be damn sure it will be even longer if we don't start creating the changes we want to see within our own communities right now.
Maybe we can learn something from Carlos Gutierrez, who, after having both his legs cut off by extortionists in Mexico and fleeing the country with his family, continues to advocate for fellow asylum-seekers fleeing corruption in Mexico through an organization called Pedaling for Justice http://pedalingforjustice.org/ which he is able to participate in through the use of prosthetic legs. His strength and resilience are enough to make you believe that anything is possible, and that the human spirit is one of the strongest forces that exists in this world.
Now there's an inspirational screenplay--I mean story--for you. Well, I mean...if it were to be, say, beautifully written, that is.
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