Latinos have to me the most underrepresented group in American pop culture, right? They're 17% of the population but how often do you see Latinos in movies, tv shows and commercials? Sometimes I see a commercial with dark-ish white folk where none of the actors talk, and the copy delivered through voice-over, and think to myself "I wonder if they run this with Spanish voiceover on Telemudo", but that about it.

Asians, on the other hand, are over-represented. They make up something like 5-6% of the US population, but every movie or show, seems to have background Asian, and probably 40% of ads I see have an Asian in them.

>Latinos have to me the most underrepresented group in
>American pop culture, right? They're 17% of the population but
>how often do you see Latinos in movies, tv shows and
>commercials? Sometimes I see a commercial with dark-ish white
>folk where none of the actors talk, and the copy delivered
>through voice-over, and think to myself "I wonder if they run
>this with Spanish voiceover on Telemudo", but that about it.

i guess 'American pop culture' doesn't include the at least dozen of Spanish-language channels available w/my Comcast subscription.

i agree they're under-represented on English-language channels and in English-language movies and commercials.

>Asians, on the other hand, are over-represented. They make up
>something like 5-6% of the US population, but every movie or
>show, seems to have background Asian, and probably 40% of ads
>I see have an Asian in them.

40%?

LOL.

>i guess 'American pop culture' doesn't include the at least
>dozen of Spanish-language channels available w/my Comcast
>subscription.

when most people think of American pop culture
they aren't going to those dozens of channels to find it

https://books.google.com/books?id=hvG2v2gejSYC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=asians+overrepresented+advertising&source=bl&ots=IywXDWJaBT&sig=LhKBwCNspa4Mh8BBNwSFBZez5BU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5t-zVNmJMNb8oQSLuIGABw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=asians%20overrepresented%20advertising&f=false

If they're not doctors they're the villains' backup fighters/goon squad.

but they shole do put a lot in ads and shit. Asain male desexualization is a big problem.

Asians are overrepresented but mostly in background or minor roles, I think.

>but they shole do put a lot in ads and shit. Asain male
>desexualization is a big problem.

Diversity is acceptable if it happens on terms favorable to the white male

AKA having Lucy Liu as your 'Watson' (couldn't be an AZN man...noooo)

Not being smarter than Sherlock

I think there are probably a lot more "Martin and Charlie Sheens" out there than we know

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

*in either case, the networks are actually owned by conglomerates, but still...

That doesn't mean that Latinos should be as absent as they are from mainstream programming.

maybe Latinos are under-represented on English-language TV b/c so many Hispanic viewers (see what i did there?) prefer to consume Spanish-language entertainment. which would make sense.

*...i know, i know. it's not 'their' language either - it's the language of their oppressor. i have made it beyond 2nd yr of college, fam. chill w/that.

"THEY AREN'T 'OUR' NETWORKS THO. ''THE MAN' OWN 'EM."

They're both darker than me, but they claim to be white latinos (several family reunions dispute this but whatever) so they're white when there aren't any Anglos around to say something. I mean that seriously, they use the word Anglo a lot as way to e plain why they still face prejudice despite being "white". You see it's really Northern Europeans who are the racists.

Secondly they're brown when it's convenient to team up with us blacks.

Finally getting to Television, they watch Spanish news and talkshows but mostly English language scripted shows. They do watch a few Spanish dramas but the quality is just so goddamn bad.

So yeah Latinos are complex (read:fucked up). The internal racial divisions alone are terrible. Most of those Spanish shows feature Latinos who are bone white. Fuck showing Afro-Latinos. They barely show people who are noticeably mestizo.


"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard

called "mi tio y tia"

I don't think that they are 'secret' Latinos but ethnicity never really comes up because they look white.

.

Not importance of roles?

40% in ads is way too high and I don't watch enough tv outside of sports to notice Asians on TV shows.

But off the top of my head the top shows of 2014

Game of thrones- no Asians
Do any of these shows below have Asians in major recurring roles? I know walking dead does. Let's not even get into lead roles.


100% Jane the Virgin: Season 1
100% The Good Wife: Season 6
100% Hannibal: Season 2
100% Veep: Season 3
98% Fargo: Season 1
98% Transparent: Season One
97% Orphan Black: Season 2
97% The Americans: Season 2
97% The Walking Dead: Season 5
97% Orange is the New Black: Season 2

OITNB introduced two meaningful new characters, one of whom was Asian.
Walking Dead has an Asian co-lead
Orphan Black didn't have a major Asian presence.

Hardly any Asians on reality tv which may be a good thing.


But yea not a lot of Latinos in those shows I posted unless they're more undercover secret Latinos. But it's easier for Latinos to pass physically than it is for Asians so hard to get real numbers there

Isn't Jane the Virgin mostly Latino actors/roles? Speaking mostly English, too.

Of course, it probably won't last too long.

they watching univision, chilling


does it really matter?

for all my fans who keep my name in their mouth: http://i.imgur.com/v2xNOpS.jpg

on comcast. easy.

.

They only check for the most spaniard lookin ones, you can tell

you know the standard argument;

"WHY CANT WE HAVE A WHITE ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION???? RABBLERABBLERABBLERABBLERABBLERABBLERABBLERABBLE!!!"

as in 12/13% of pop, but 25% of caste in film and TV?

I THINK I read that somewhere, but maybe not

Since minorities are found in higher percentages in cities it stands to reason that you'd see them more often than their percentages in entire population.

No one is setting a sitcom in Maine. There a bunch of them in Chicago and New York though.


"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard

aint seen one on some recurring shit

since dr quinn medicine woman and shining time station


i be lookin cuz its some baddies


peace to phenomenality

I'd say they're fairly represented. I see more people from Bhutan than Native Americans.

that alien invasion series. I remember saying "wow is that a native american?" when i first saw it.

so than has to mean natives are the most under-represented. I mean there's 5 million or so according to wiki. I never see them on TV or movies.

>Asians, on the other hand, are over-represented. They make up
>something like 5-6% of the US population, but every movie or
>show, seems to have background Asian, and probably 40% of ads
>I see have an Asian in them.

sorry i can't take you seriously anymore.

asian males are underrepresented. asian women are usually some white guy's wife.

You want to argue for BETTER representation, go for it.

where minorities are represented in higher numbers.

A show set in NYC isn't over-representing black people, because black people make up over a quarter of that city's population. Same thing for Hispanics.


Take a look at other major cities and you'll see the same thing.

If most shows were set Montana you'd have a point, but no one is making shows that take place so far away from areas with lots of minorities.


"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard

you really didn't

Yes, Black people are only like 13% of the total US population, but TV shows are set in specific locations, usually locations where black people are a quarter or more of the population.

Thus it isn't really over-representation of black people, it's an under-representation of locations between the coasts and outside of major cities.

I'm not really sure what's not to get.

Point out some TV shows that are set in locations where black people don't reflect a higher percentage of the local population than our numbers in the national population.

Also, next time, why don't you try explaining what you mean instead of giving a short, cryptic answer. It makes you come across as confrontational for no reason.


"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard

>Yes, Black people are only like 13% of the total US
>population, but TV shows are set in specific locations,
>usually locations where black people are a quarter or more of
>the population.
>
>Thus it isn't really over-representation of black people, it's
>an under-representation of locations between the coasts and
>outside of major cities.
>
>
simple answer, urban centers are not monoliths. Many are still very segregated in terms of race (tied to the component of class). A show taking place in Los Angeles could look many different ways and be about many different things related to race, ethnicity, and culture. You can walk Santa Monica for two hours and count 20 Black people and then drive 20min Southeast on the 10/405 chill at Fox Hills and see nothing but Black and Brown bodies, etc

But I think another element of JF's post is the types of representations. So many Black shows are tied to realities that are outdated or dishonest. A middle class black family will more than likely NOT live, work, and socialize with only Black people, yet shows are obsessively tied to this idea. It literally colors America as Black or White, and some times Brown/Latino, maybe an Asian or two.

so even with your caveat it is an over representation

Blacks are still tied to super successful middle class tropes, hood narratives, or token face(s) of spiritual guidance or comedic/cool relief.

I mean you made a great point in the other post that a show based on your life should work, but it would get tweaked to fit the modes and numbers of representation

"we're" over represented in the most cliche of ways

>Also, next time, why don't you try explaining what you mean
>instead of giving a short, cryptic answer. It makes you come
>across as confrontational for no reason.
>
one, because i don't have to. it's that simple. if my reply seemed cryptic, maybe that was the point. confrontational, no. that is more about you than me

two, i rarely go into long explanations on OKP, so it's not out of character for me

>simple answer, urban centers are not monoliths. Many are still
>very segregated in terms of race (tied to the component of
>class). A show taking place in Los Angeles could look many
>different ways and be about many different things related to
>race, ethnicity, and culture. You can walk Santa Monica for
>two hours and count 20 Black people and then drive 20min
>Southeast on the 10/405 chill at Fox Hills and see nothing but
>Black and Brown bodies, etc

That doesn't contradict my point though.

I didn't say, all urban centers had an even distribution of ethnicities, or that ethnic enclaves don't exist.

I said that the over-representation statement doesn't hold water if you're going by population because national numbers don't reflect the demographics of people who live in the places where most TV shows take place.

It's Always Sunny is a good example of a show that accurately reflects how racial dynamics on TV can adhere close to real life. None of those characters would hang out with blacks or latinos on a regular basis. Philly is a pretty segregated city. However the show isn't devoid of minorities because no white person in Philly is going to live their life without encountering non-white people, and there's a better chance that they have a non-white friend than all the other white people in the country who almost certainly don't see black people on a regular basis because they live in rural areas.

That's why Friends and Girls caught flack. Not because these people wouldn't hang out with nothing but white people, but because it's set in a city where you're just going to see black and brown people by default. If Friends were set in Vermont, the optics wouldn't have been so bad.

Gilmore Girls is a good example. It wouldn't have made any sense for there to be black people on that show because it was set in a place where the percentage of black people actually is in the teens or lower.

>But I think another element of JF's post is the types of
>representations. So many Black shows are tied to realities
>that are outdated or dishonest. A middle class black family
>will more than likely NOT live, work, and socialize with only
>Black people, yet shows are obsessively tied to this idea. It
>literally colors America as Black or White, and some times
>Brown/Latino, maybe an Asian or two.

Are there a lot of black shows that don't have one or two white characters?

More importantly, it is entirely possible for black people to spend most of their time around black people, but still encounter white people. The same way it's possible for white people to do the same.

Your description of a middle class black family seems restrictive. It's like you're suggesting that black enclaves are some how different from other ethnic enclaves. We don't have our own neighborhoods? Churches? Business? Entertainment? I'm pretty sure every ethnic group has that somewhere, even if they still interact with people who don't belong to their group.

The only way it would be honest to have a show with white people who never work, socializw, or live near black people is to set it in a location that doesn't include a major city or metropolitan area. Otherwise, I feel like that charge you levied against black entertainment can be said of any ethnic group. Those same white people that I work with, but don't socialize with, also don't socialize with me. It's a two way street.

>so even with your caveat it is an over representation

I completely disagree, and I'll repeat on what grounds.

1) My initial suggesting that location in service of the narrative erases the 13% claim because the percentages are higher in those locations.

2) Location in service of narrative limits the extent to which you can claim that a given white person wouldn't interact with minorities. Like I said, unless that shit is set in Wyoming or New Hampshire it just isn't accurate. Hell, you'd be stretching that if you set a show in Connecticut and you didn't include 1 or 2 minorities. Even a show set in modern day Minneapolis should have a Somali cab driver or something.

>Blacks are still tied to super successful middle class tropes,
>hood narratives, or token face(s) of spiritual guidance or
>comedic/cool relief.

Right, that's a problem but I don't think that's a problem of over-representation, I think it's a matter of Hollywood being run by a pack of overly cautious leeches.

>I mean you made a great point in the other post that a show
>based on your life should work, but it would get tweaked to
>fit the modes and numbers of representation

I just meant that they wouldn't believe that there are black people who hang out with other black people, who don't do things that they'd consider traditionally "black". They'd have to shoehorn in a white guy to make it all make sense, even though all of my gamer, anime, movie, etc. friends are all black.

>"we're" over represented in the most cliche of ways

Yup.

>one, because i don't have to. it's that simple. if my reply
>seemed cryptic, maybe that was the point. confrontational, no.
>that is more about you than me

Thank you for explaining your motivations. If you didn't mean to be confrontational that's cool. That doesn't mean that's not how it came across. I wasn't replying to you, so you curt, cryptic message came off as confrontational.

I'm sure now that it wasn't so I'll pull back a bit from here on out. Sorry.

>two, i rarely go into long explanations on OKP, so it's not
>out of character for me


That's fair.

.

harold from harold & kumar

jackie chan

jet li

asian guy in hangover series

chad hugo from the neptunes (we all know he's overrepresented)

apl from black eyed peas

asian girl on the view that used to be a fly girl

olvia munn


who am i missing?

any commercial with 5 people who aren't supposed to be a family will have at least one Asian...unless it's a beer commercial.

https://books.google.com/books?id=hvG2v2gejSYC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=asians+overrepresented+in+ads&source=bl&ots=IywXEXF8JS&sig=262WsvOL92Yc5YJRvjJSzIOHTp8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fH21VLfLNpGdyQThkICoDA&ved=0CCcQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=asians%20overrepresented%20in%20ads&f=false

if asians are overrepresented in ads, it says something about asians' buying power in america...