Latino Image Makers In Hollywood

Latinos have been part of the Hollywood film industry for more than 100 years, yet beyond the remarkable success of a few, their visibility and clout have generally not reflected their significance in American society. Worse, the Latino image has suffered from widespread stereotyping in film, and performers face unjustified constraints in the kinds of roles available to them. Decade by decade from 1960 onward, this book analyzes important films made by or about Latinos, details the careers of Latino performers and filmmakers of the time, and analyzes how film portrayals of Latino characters and subjects connect with political and social trends of each decade. It discusses the role of gender, social class, and ethnicity in film portrayals and provides an overview of the diverse and dynamic Latino community in the United States, while celebrating a substantial and enduring contribution to Hollywood film history.

 Images from movies and film have had a powerful influence in how Native Americans are seen. In many cases, they have been represented as violent, uncivilized, and an impediment to progress and civilization. This book analyzes the representation of Native Americans in cinematic images from the 1890s to the present day, deconstructing key films in each decade. This book also addresses efforts by Native Americans to improve and have a part in their filmic representations, including mini-biographies of important indigenous filmmakers and performers.

The bandido, the harlot, the male buffoon, the female clown, the Latin lover, and the dark lady—these have been the defining, and demeaning, images of Latinos in U.S. cinema for more than a century. In this book, Charles Ramírez Berg develops an innovative theory of stereotyping that accounts for the persistence of such images in U.S. popular culture. He also explores how Latino actors and filmmakers have actively subverted and resisted such stereotyping. In the first part of the book, Berg sets forth his theory of stereotyping, defines the classic stereotypes, and investigates how actors such as Raúl Julia, Rosie Pérez, José Ferrer, Lupe Vélez, and Gilbert Roland have subverted stereotypical roles. In the second part, he analyzes Hollywood's portrayal of Latinos in three genres: social problem films, John Ford westerns, and science fiction films. In the concluding section, Berg looks at Latino self-representation and anti-stereotyping in Mexican American border documentaries and in the feature films of Robert Rodríguez. He also presents an exclusive interview in which Rodríguez talks about his entire career, from Bedhead to Spy Kids, and comments on the role of a Latino filmmaker in Hollywood and how he tries to subvert the system.

This book brings together a selection of the most analytically sophisticated writing on how Latinos have been portrayed in movies, television, and other U.S. media since the early years of the twentieth century and how images have changed over time in response to social and political change.

Photographs of Hollywood's most popular idols reveal the skills of the industry's portrait photographers as well as changing trends in glamour

A penetrating analysis of the construction of Latina/o stardom in U.S. film, television, and celebrity culture since the 1920s

Between 1936 and 1955, Hollywood significantly changed its portrayal of Hispanics in motion pictures. This change resulted from the demands of the Production Code Administration, which required film makers to eliminate the more offensive stereotypical Hispanic images. This filmography chronicles all of the Hispanic-related films released during this period. The volume includes entries for nearly four thousand films. The entries are arranged in chapters, with each chapter devoted to a single year. Within the chapters, the entries are listed alphabetically by film title. Each entry includes production information, an annotation detailing the film's Hispanic significance, and references to additional materials. The volume concludes with an alphabetical index of film titles, an index of actors and actresses, an index of place names, a general subject index, and an index of songs. Film historians and scholars of Hispanic culture will find this work to be an indispensable reference tool.

In Almost White, award-winning writer, actor, director, comedian, playwright, and producer Rick Najera explores what it means to be a Latino against the ever-changing backdrop of his life as a Hollywood creative. A bona fide chameleon, this L.A.-based everyman is "Mexican hyphen American" or, as he wryly puts it, "almost white." Recognized twice as one of the "100 Most Influential Hispanics" by Hispanic Business Magazine, Najera has worked with and mentored some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, including Cheech Marin, Jimmy Smits, Mario Lopez, Sofia Vergara, and many more. His funny, sad, and sometimes dark memoir tells his story of breaking into mainstream Hollywood, what it takes to struggle against typecasting, and how to challenge the pessimistic narrative that Latinos can only be disenfranchised victims in America. Driven by a satirical stream of consciousness, Najera's journey exposes universal lessons, from confronting the limits we place on our imaginations, to the need to take ownership of our stories instead of being mere performers in another's distorted vision, and the necessity of rising every day to press forward-no matter what. "In the end," says Najera, "perhaps it will be the power of the people and art, not politicians and politics, that will redefine the Latino American dream."

"Collection of essays provides a sustained critique of stereotypical images and representations of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in US film, television, and printed media. Authors of individual chapters are experts in media and/or performance studies. Contributes to a better understanding of Latino cultural experiences in US society"-- Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.