The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in Hollywood Cinema is a documentary that examines and scrutinizes how Hollywood has portrayed Latinos in the 19th and 20th century. A problem in the portrayal of Latinos in Hollywood films is the prominent use of stereotypes. The archived collection includes film production materials used in the making of the documentary. This included 50 linear feet of materials, which then are: film, video, audiotape, and manuscripts and other documents that may also include interviews or research and photographs. With all of this material, one would be able to gain insight into the experiences that many Latino actors and filmmaking participants have had in the entertainment industry throughout the past century.
The kinds of historical narratives that you might be able to tell with the materials in the collection are how the portrayal of Latinos has changed in the past century in Hollywood. It takes into account many people’s perspectives, with a variety of actors, writers, producers, and other entertainment executives having a say in how they think Hollywood has influenced public perception of Latinos. The material can also give insight into the different stereotypes that have been showcased in films throughout the years, ultimately creating singular roles and portrayals for different films. I think that the material also gives an insight on how Latinos behind the scenes of Hollywood productions have paved a way for other Latinos to have opportunities to have careers in Hollywood, while also helping represent and portray Latinos in a more positive light. The material might also include narratives and pieces of information that were not included in the documentary, so one could tie that in with the film and gain more insight into the subject matter.
What would be missing from that narrative if I based it entirely on the records found in the collection is maybe the perspective of non-Latino actors and or producers. Also, opinions of Hollywood executives who made the decisions on who to cast in a film or how to portray a character should also be included. Thus, as learned in class, their might be a silence that ignores and excludes the non-Latino perspective. In addition, modern takes on this issue should also be included, because I find that minorities still struggle in being portrayed with stereotypes on the big screen today. The information from the documentary was last updated in 1998, leaving out almost 2 decades of progress or lack thereof. In order to address those gaps, I would need to look into experiences of Latino actors now, or actors who portray Latinos on the big screen, and see what their experiences are like. I would see if recent interviews with filmmakers and producers have been conducted on the portrayal of Latinos in Hollywood and what audiences, Latino and non-Latino, think about their portrayal.
Hello,
I really like this blogpost – it shows how you noticed the opinion of the collection. I’d like to highlight your tone in this blogpost. It sounds like you are invested in the overall movement towards eliminating the stereotypes of Latino actors, and yet you still managed to be objective and intellectual about it. Great job!
I really liked what you said about how the collection is dated, something I did not immediately notice. I agree that by expanding it and adding newer material we would get a sense of what type of progress, or as you said, lack thereof, latinos have made in Hollywood. There has been a big push lately to include more diverse characters in bigger roles and I believe Latinos are making big strides towards a more inclusive film industry.
The information in this collection is definitely slightly outdated (with the most recent content being from 2001). I am curious why they have not updated the collection since then. I agree that this collection provides a diverse set of material including tapes, interviews, and manuscripts. Also, I think it is difficult to tell what kind of information about the Latino film industry is presented in this collection and what is lacking. There are several interviews which I assume will contain a vast and diverse amount of information on the Latino film industry including problems that have arised, prejudices, etc, but you can not necessarily tell the specifics of this material presented in the collection.
I really enjoyed your blog post and the extensive amount of analysis you put into it. I’m pleased to hear that such a “niche” topic has such a huge amount of documentation and good data sets to work with. Good work!