Lack of Diversity and the incorporation of stereotypes/gender roles in the Media

Diversity lacks greatly in the media. Although New York is one of the most diverse states in the U.S. TV shows like Friends, Sex in the city, and  How I met your mother do not portray any main black characters. This is also seen in movies. Disney films often portray their princes as highly masculine and more often than not, white (with the exception of Aladdin, prince Naveen, and Li Shang).

According to a study by researchers at the University of Southern California, "of the top 100 films of 2014 nearly three-quarters of all characters were white. Only 17 of the top movies that year featured non-white lead or co-lead actors." We often see whites playing roles of other races and ethnicity as well; whether it is in films, TV shows, or even in photo-shoots. One of the most recent forms of cultural appropriation is Scarlett Johansson playing a Japanese anime character in the new movie, Ghost in the Shell. And also, why is a movie all about jazz have two, white, lead actors?

I am sure by now we have established that there is a lack of representation of minority groups in the media, however, when we do see these groups represented we often do so through stereotypes and gender roles. It is rare to see a film portray a Hispanic woman in a main role or in any other role other than the "spicy/ sassy Latina," "the maid," "the immigrant," etc. Similarly, Hispanic men are portrayed as gang members, "Cholos," "property keepers (e.g. landscapers, gardeners, maintenance workers, etc.,)" When black men and women are portrayed in media it is also through stereotypes and as supporting roles (unless its a black film like ATL, Boyz in the Hood, etc.,) Black men are depicted as "thugs", "poor", "hood", and "savage like." The women are given the stereotype of "the maid," " the mammy," "the Jezebel," and "Welfare Queen,"etc.

 It has not been until recently that films like: Fences, Hidden Figures, Get Out, and Moonlight, depict African Americans in a different light. Yet we still lack the representation of Latina/os  in the media. One movie that I like depicts Eugenio Derbez, a Mexican director/actor,  as Valentino, a ladies man who was forced to change his ways because a former fling appears at his doorstep with what appears to be his daughter. Instructions not included, although does not fail to include the stereotype of "the immigrant," paints a Mexican man as a compassionate and wealthy man who  fights for his daughter. In a sense it reverses the role, as the media is more likely to portray a Mexican, Hispanic or Latino man as a maintenance worker, a cholo, etc. This film portrays a Mexican man for what they are most commonly like, including the values attributed to them. The article, Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar, looks at the ways films have began to portray males in movies, in a way defying gender roles. The article focuses on Lightning McQueen a main character in the movie Cars, who through relationships turns away from extreme masculinity and develops the values of caring, sharing, nurturing, and community, similar to the portrayal of Valentino who deterred from a self-centered ladies man to a nurturing father. Both characters, in different ways encompass their "femininity."

Gloria Anzaldua states," ¡Animate! Raza, a celebrar el dia de la chicana." Anzaldua encourages men to try it the woman way. This can be seen in many forms, it is known for mexican men to  be extremely macho. However, Anzaldua encourages men to encompass women and a sense to learn from them. "We can no longer blame you, nor disown the white parts, the male parts, the pathological parts, the queer parts, the vulnerable parts. Here we are weaponless with open arms, with only our magic. Let's try it our way, the Mestiza way, the Chicana way, the women way."