The Hispanic Media Gap

In the early 1960s, Marshall McLuhan, one of the leaders in media and communication theory, conceived the concept of a “global village.” It is defined as “the phenomenon of the world's culture shrinking and expanding at the same time due to pervasive technological advances that allow for instantaneous sharing of culture.”¹ A quick scan of the world’s largest cities from London to Lagos, Rio to Tokyo, produces a common thread of McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Nike. At first glance, this might be seen as evidence of a global village coming to fruition. However, in reality this is merely a proof of a lopsided Western village that has taken over the Global South (referring broadly to the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania).

In the last fifteen years, the world has witnessed a rise in prominence of often ignored cultures. A rise in popularity in K-Pop, Spanish music and Dancehall taking over mass media has resulted in more globally representative media. Rewind twenty years ago, any Hispanic representation in Hollywood would be stereotypical and often politically motivated and influenced. Hispanic roles in film were limited to maids and construction workers. Thus, a cycle of female Hispanic sexualization and submissiveness and male criminalization and aggressiveness seeped into Hollywood (and Western) consciousness and perceptions of Hispanics in particular and immigrants in general were altered. What was produced was not a reflection of Hispanic culture, but merely a perception of Hispanics by the Hollywood elite.

With the rise of social media, creators of culture and narrative moved from Beverly Hills to bedrooms of the general public. Thus, Hispanic media representation was decentralized and deinstitutionalized by the internet, leading to a more accurate and efficient representation. This is evidenced by 9 of the top 50 subscribed single-focus YouTubers being US-based Hispanic creators. In the last five years, the world has witnessed the rise of the Netflix Spanish thriller “Money Heist” (La Casa de Papel), and artists such as Cardi B and Bad Bunny. Ten years ago the non-Hispanic world would not have had regular access to a Spanish show like “Money Heist.” However, the work of Hispanic creators has led to an increase in desire by the general public to fully enjoy the depths of Hispanic entertainment. While it is good to see more diverse Hispanic roles in media, there is still work to be done, especially in political media and an overall normalization of Hispanic representation. Representation that does not require caricatures of Hispanic culture but characters of the Hispanic community.

The global decentralization and dismissal of Hollywood stereotypes in favor of genuine storytelling and perspectives has led to a reconstructing of Hispanic (and global) rhetoric. While this means that we will never see a singular global movement, it does mean we will hear songs we have not heard before, taste food that we have not eaten before, dance to songs we have not heard before, and perhaps, live like we never have before.

1. McLuhan, M. (1992). The Global Village. Oxford University Press, USA.