Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

In an era where social and racial tensions are escalating by the day it is important to acknowledge the impact that the media has in the life of the everyday American. This influence can be either positive or negative when regarding the depiction of specific minority groups. Hispanics constituted 17.8 percent of the United States total population by 2016, yet there is still large issues that are seen as the misrepresentation of said minority group in the industries that primarily make up the mediascape. In this text it will be analyzed how Hispanic representation has evolved in in the last decade and whether or not the entertainment industry of the United States is making the effort to accurately represent the growing numbers of Latino men and women that live inside its borders. How does the use of stereotype and recurring tropes in the media affect the communities that are represented ? What percentages of latinos consume specific media, in comparison how many of them are rendered in the final products? These questions will be answered by coordinated researchAlso the collection of data regarding the visibility of Latinos in the media will be used in order to explain and support a the idea that a bigger conversation and production of Latino/a portrayals is needed in the popular media.