Don’t Blame the Golden Globes for Lack of Latinos
Yesterday the Golden Globe Nominations were announced and to the surprise of no one, people of color and women were all snubbed a nomination. I want to start off by saying it is entirely the Golden Globes fault for not nominating the likes of Jordan Peele, Greta Gerwig, and Patty Jenkins. Their work this year was not only stunning aesthetically but, changed the way people view films and challenged the traditional norms that only a straight, white man can lead a film to box office success. So, to see them not get nominated shows a clear bias in gender and race that has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of their work. And that is a big problem that will be addressed in millions of op-eds over the next few days. But with that being said though, there were only three nominations for Latinos in this year’s Golden Globes. And that, unfortunately, isn’t entirely their fault.
Latinos weren’t nominated this year because there were so few options for the Hollywood Foreign Press to choose from. Latinos are almost invisible in the TV and film landscape and award shows illuminate that fact every year. Now, we can shower you with data like the fact that Latinos made up only 8 percent of characters on broadcast television in the 2016-’17 season or that less than 6 percent of film characters are Latino. But, I ask you dear reader, excluding Jane the Virgin and One Day at a Time (which in my honest opinion was, in fact, snubbed. Rita Moreno is a national treasure), can you think of a show that puts Latinos at the center in the way Atlanta or Insecure does with African Americans? The way that Master of None has done for South Asian Americans? What about films? Do Latinos have a Wonder Woman? A Get Out? A Lady Bird? Not any that I can think of. And therein lies the main issue. Latinos are never even given the chance in the first place. We are snubbed from the jump. How are we supposed to argue that we deserve recognition when we aren’t even invited to compete in the first place? Latinos have proven time and time again that we have the talent to win prestigious awards (Gina Rodriguez’s win at the Golden Globes and Rita Moreno one of the few people to have an EGOT) and captivate audiences. This is not and will never be, an issue of talent. This is an issue of opportunity. Until places like HBO, Netlfix, Showtime, FOX, CBS, Hulu, and every other big name network or studio starts to give Latinos a chance, we will never see a change.
And this isn’t just about red carpets, awards speeches, and trophies, this is about how the United States views Latinos. For instance, one out of two non-Latinos think the terms “welfare recipient” and “less educated” describe Latinos somewhat or very well, this according to a survey conducted by Latino Decisions and NHMC. And perhaps this disturbing viewpoint comes from the fact that 71% of these non-Latinos who were surveyed said that they see Latinos on TV as criminals or gang members very often or sometimes on TV. This correlation of data is hard to dispute. Being invisible on television hurts the perception of Latinos. We have lost control of our narrative and we will continue to lose it as long as we are not seen.
So, this year I ask that if there are any Latinos or Latino allies out there who are upset about the nominations this week, please don’t tweet at the Golden Globes, don’t tweet at other nominees you feel are less deserving, and don’t just tweet that none of this matters. Start asking networks and film studios why they aren’t giving us a chance in the first place. Start demanding that Latinos be given the same opportunities as everyone else to showcase their work. I can promise you one thing: Once Latinos are given the opportunity, we will not disappoint. And just a quick thing I’d like to point out to all studios and networks. Pixar was one of the few places willing to give a Latino story and a Latino creator a chance with “Coco” and they were nominated for two Golden Globes. So if what you are really craving is a nice trophy next year: try giving a Latino a call.
