Research Guides: Latinx and Chicanx Film and Television: Television

Reference Entry

Television and its Impact on Latinx Communities
Reference entry in The Oxford Handbook of Latino Studies, 2020.

Television

Latinas and Latinos on TV: Colorblind Comedy in the Post-racial Network Era by Isabel Molina-Guzmán
ISBN: 9780816537242
Date: 2018-03-27
Since ABC's George Lopez Show left the airwaves in 2007 as the only network television show to feature a Latino lead, the representational landscape of Latina and Latino actors has shifted from media invisibility toward an era of increasing inclusion. Understanding the complex ways that audiences interpret these programs, Molina-Guzmán situates her analysis within the Obama era, a period when ethnicity and race became increasingly grounded in "hipster racism," and argues that despite increased inclusion, the feel-good imperative of TV comedies still inevitably leaves racism, sexism, and homophobia uncontested.
Latino TV: A History by Mary Beltrán
ISBN: 9781479868650
Date: 2022-01-25
The first-ever account of Latino/a participation and representation in US English-language television, Latino TV: A History offers a sweeping study of key moments of Chicano/a and Latino/a representation and authorship since the 1950s. Drawing on archival research, interviews with dozens of media professionals who worked on or performed in these series, textual analysis of episodes and promotional materials, and analysis of news media coverage, Mary Beltrán examines Latina/o representation in everything from children's television Westerns of the 1950s, Chicana/o and Puerto Rican activist-led public affairs series of the 1970s, and sitcoms that spanned half a century, to Latina and Latino-led series in the 2000s and 2010s on broadcast.
Latinx TV in the Twenty-First Century by Frederick Luis Aldama (Editor)
ISBN: 9780816545018
Date: 2022-04-19
Latinx TV in the Twenty-First Century offers an expansive and critical look at contemporary television by and about U.S. Latinx communities. This volume is comprehensive in its coverage while diving into detailed and specific examples as it navigates the complex and ever-changing world of Latinx representation and creation in television.
LatinX Voices: Hispanics in Media in the U.S by Katie Coronado (Editor); Erica Kight (Editor)
ISBN: 9781138240308
Date: 2018-07-16
Based on the authors' professional and research experience, and teaching broadcast media courses in the classroom, this text covers the evolving industry and offers perspective on topics related to Latin-American areas of interest. With professional testimonials from those who have left their mark in print, radio, television, film and new media, this collection of chapters brings together expert voices in Hispanic/LatinX media from across the U.S., and explains the impact of this population on the media industry today.
Shot in America: Television, the State, and the Rise of Chicano Cinema by Chon A. Noriega
ISBN: 9780816629305
Date: 2000-03-01
Shot in America tackles seemingly intractable dilemmas involving the political and market functions of film and TV to provide a definitive response to the debates over cultural and racial identity that have embroiled media and cultural studies over the past two decades. Noriega offers a compelling and detailed description of an enormous body of work by Chicano media makers against the backdrop of Chicano social movements, politics, and activism over a forty-year period -- an extraordinary exposition of the civil rights movement, media reform activities, and public affairs programming that constitutes the prehistory of independent and minority cinemas.
Talking #browntv by Frederick Luis Aldama; William Anthony Nericcio
ISBN: 9780814255599
Date: 2019-12-13
One part conversation, one part critique, one part visual cultural studies, and one part rant against the culture industry profiting off warped caricatures of Latina/o subjectivities, Aldama and Nericcio analyze the ways in which Latinx performers have been mediated--with varying degrees of complexity--on the American screen. A comprehensive review of the history of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Hispanics, Chicana/os, Latina/os, and Latinx performers in television and film.
Univision, Telemundo, and the Rise of Spanish-Language Television in the United States by Craig Allen
ISBN: 9781683401643
Date: 2020-12-01
In the most comprehensive history of Spanish-language television in the United States to date, Craig Allen traces the development of two prominent yet little-studied powerhouses, Univision and Telemundo. Using archival sources and original interviews to reconstruct power struggles and behind-the-scenes intrigue, Allen uses this exciting narrative to question monolingual and Anglo-centered versions of U.S. television history. He demonstrates the endurance, innovation, and popularity of Spanish-language television, arguing that its story is essential to understanding the Latinx history of contemporary America.

Do You See What I See?: Latino Adolescents' Perceptions of the Images on Television
In McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution 2006, Vol. 21(4), p. 393-414
Invisible and Undocumented: The Latina Maid on Network Television
In Aztlán, 1999, Vol. 24(1), p. 107-128
Is Ugly the New Sexy?: The Complexities of Latina Sexuality on "Ugly Betty"
In Chicana/Latina Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Spring 2010), pp. 28-61 (34 pages)
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ABC's Emmy and Golden Globe winning television show Ugly Betty stars America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, an intelligent Mexican American executive assistant who lives in Queens, New York, but works at Mode in Manhattan. An adaptation from the Colombian telenovela, Yo soy, Betty la fea, this television show works on a fairy tale premise: the ugly protagonist with a heart of gold will eventually obtain happiness by virtue of her goodness. However, Ugly Betty offers a protagonist with multiple love interests, constantly involving her in a variety of love triangles, begging the question, "Is ugly the new sexy?" The following analysis of Betty as a sexual subject demonstrates that Ugly Betty, within the limits of Hollywood representation, offers complex subjects instead of one-dimensional types. The show's use of a Latino camp aesthetic continually introduces elements, like Betty's sexuality, that push the limits of how we perceive Latinas/os on television and in everyday life. As a result Ugly Betty surprisingly illustrates Chicana/o and Latina/o feminist theories about identity.
Latino Representation of Primetime Television
In Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 2005, Vol. 82(1), p. 110-130
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This study analyzes the frequency and quality of depictions of Latinos during the 2002 primetime television season. Research on cultivation theory and social identity theory provides insight into the potential implications of exposure to these images. Findings suggest that while advances have been made in terms of the quality of depictions of Latinos, many of these images remain tied to a few, longstanding media stereotypes. In addition, the rate at which Latinos are portrayed on television remains dramatically below that of the real-world population.
The Portrayal of Racial Minorities on Prime Time Television: A Replication of the Mastro and Greenberg Study a Decade Later
Studies in Popular Culture, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Spring 2010), pp. 101-114 (14 pages)
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Exploring how racial minorities are portrayed on television is valuable for two primary reasons (Mastro & Greenberg 2000). First, it is so important to document how minorities are depicted on television as how such portrayals have changed over time. Second, as a cultural artifact television reaches a wide audience. Many maintain that the way minorities are represented contributes to stereotypical images, whether positive or negative, that viewers develop.