Final Media Diary

Latinos in Media - Number of Entries: 10
 


   Based on my research during this fall semester about how Latinos are portrayed in American media, I have come to the conclusion that Latinos, to this day, are still underrepresented and treated with unfairness and discrimination.
  I say they are underrepresented because in films and television, Latinos are not portrayed fairly. Often Latinos are not given major roles, they are pushed to the side in favor of white people. If Latinos are given a speaking role, they are often the comedic sidekick, or just a fleeting, short role. Latinos have been proven to play more video games than white people but, in video games, white people are the chosen main characters. In this link I have shared previously, it explains that Latinos "typically appear as a non-playable character, obstacle to overcome, or simply part of the backdrop." https://medium.com/the-nerd-castle/d%C3%B3nde-est%C3%A1n-latino-characters-and-video-games-76b3441fe70
When the author says "obstacles to overcome" he means those Latino characters are criminals in the game, not a hero like a white character would be. Which brings me to my next point.

In media today, thanks to Trump and his supporters, Latinos face more discrimination now. With hashtags like #BuildtheWall on Twitter, more hate has been brewing up for Latinos. Latinos are being called "illegal, criminals, and rapists" by these people on television and social media. But with big problems like the riots in Honduras, it is not mentioned at all in American television like I wrote in a previous blog post titled "What's Happening in Honduras". Unless a Latino committed a crime in the United States, media news outlets like Fox News won't talk about it. I had to find out about the riots through family in Honduras.

In music charts, we have seen a Latino song charting in Billboard's Hot 100, Luis Fonsi's Despacito featuring Daddy Yankee, two Puerto Rican singers, but there's also the question of why just now? It's because most songs charting on Billboard are sung by white artists. Only white artists get more recognition than other minorities, like they have years past.

I was always are of racial injustice and Latino erasure, considering I'm Latina and I have noticed these things but this class has taught me that this issue has been going on for so long. Latinos have never been truly represented in any type of media, in favor of white people, but there has been some change. People have been calling out more diversity in films, tv, video games, and music. Perhaps in the next decade, things will be vastly different.

What's Happening in Honduras

  Right now my mother's home country, Honduras, is suffering. And I haven't seen any news about it in American media. If it weren't for my brother who lives there sending me videos about the destruction, I would have remained clueless. I hopped on Twitter and searched 'Honduras' and there were pictures, videos, and tweets coming from Hondurans begging for help from anyone willing to listen.
   What's happening is that the former president seems to have bought the election, and people want the truth, they want the real results. The election happened a week ago and no winner has been declared. The people want transparency and the former president doesn't want to give it them. The people have begun rioting as a result, looting businesses, putting churches and homes on fire. People have been dying. A 19 year old girl was shot dead while looking for her brother by the police who are loyal to the former president. There was a curfew in place that restricted people from being out from 6 am to 6 pm. Anyone who violated this would be shot dead. I saw a video that showed two military police dragging the body of a dead person across the road.
  13 people have been confirmed dead.
   And I've barely read anything from American media. The only news I have heard come from my family in Tegucigalpga and San Pedro Sula, the two places that were actively being destroyed from rioters and military police. Luckily my family remains safe as they stay indoors at home, but others have not been so lucky.
  Why isn't there more media coverage about this? Because it's just a small, third world country? America meddled in Honduran government before, but now, when my people need help, they stay silent. We only have Trump tweeting out his usual crap, and no help to these people who desperately need it.
 Racism is still alive and well; we all know that. But this is truly heartbreaking.