In her review of Clara E. Rodriguez' book, Latin Looks: Images of Latinas and Latinos in the U.S. Media, Milanes comments that there is a dearth of critical and sustained attention to the representation and lack of Latinos in the U.S. media (1998, 19). She lauds the appearance of the book as a necessary event, as Latinos make up ten percent of the population of the United States, approximately 26 million Americans of Latin descent, making the U.S. the fifth largest Latin American country in the world (Milanes, 1998, 19). It is the purpose of this paper to examine the influence of Latin America on the American media, especially music, television and film.
According to Milanes, writer Gloria Anzaldua contributed greatly in her work Borderlands/Fronteras, which was a comprehensive reference point. Many other writers reference her work, but quickly move on to other topics. It seems that once a writer mention's Anzaldua, the appropriate dues are paid, and no further attention is given to the way Latinos live, work, write, or speak in the world (Milanes, 1998, 19).
Rodriguez examines the specifics of Latino representation in the media with a focus on the five following major points: 1. Hispanics are either underrepresented or misrepresented in the media; 2. Latino images in Hollywood creations have become more negative over time; 3. the similarities in the portrayals of Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, have outweighed the differences, making all Latinos seem the same; 4. the quality of Hollywood's presentation of Latinos has changed with the larger economic and political relationship that the U.S. has with Latin America; and 5. fighting the mainstream currents, trying to overcome media images of Latinos and make new images that are more representative of the actual Latino community (Milanes, 1998, 20).
An example in the book is the 1991-1992 riots in Los Angeles and the exclusion of the Latino community as perpetrators, victims and ...