CNN's 'Latino in America' Leaves Much to Be Desired
Immigrant Experience, Negative Stereotypes Dominate Soledad O'Brien's Latest Doc
When I learned that Soledad O'Brien was working on "Latino in America," a two-part documentary series that aired last week on CNN, I was absolutely thrilled about the perspective that a second-generation Latina could bring to the media's depiction of Latino life in the U.S. The feature stories released on the series' companion website prior to the broadcast were thoughtful, taking on subjects like Latino identity and Latino impact on U.S. culture. I was eager to see the growing influence of Latinos in the U.S. through the stories of the "Garcias" -- the title of the first installment, and now the sixth most common last name in the U.S. In short, I expected the series to be a thorough, nuanced and provocative narrative about being Latino in America.
I am compelled to acknowledge some of the merits of the work in the hopes of encouraging a sequel. A brief spotlight on Lorena Garcia, the Venezuelan-born celebrity chef with a weekly segment on Univision's morning show, "Despierta America," demonstrated the entrepreneurial spirit of Latinos in the U.S. During the profile, O'Brien reveals that "Despierta America" has more viewers than all the other major network morning shows combined. Later in the program, Ms. O'Brien's profiles a Dominican-Puerto Rican family living in Charlotte, N.C., and many Central Americans, helping to demonstrate the diversity of the U.S. Latino population. I was pleased to see Ms. O'Brien reaching out to Latino social and public service representatives as well, emphasizing Latinos' involvement in their communities.
Despite these small merits, my overall grade for this documentary is incomplete and unsatisfactory. In fact, most of the recent endeavors by major networks on the subject of Latinos in America have failed. "Latino in America" is incomplete because it ignores major Latino socio-demographic dynamics. It's unsatisfactory because it perpetuates a negative stereotypical depiction of Latinos in the U.S. While our (Latino) community is indeed troubled by many of the challenges Ms. O'Brien explores, it is unacceptable to paint that as the exclusive image of Latinos. Frankly, I expected better from Ms. O'Brien.
CNN's documentary also falls short on the cultural front. Being Latino in the U.S. means juggling your heritage while participating in broader American traditions. It means a U.S. education and a Latino upbringing, loving soccer but embracing American football, taking pride in your heritage but aspiring to "Made in the USA."
Although the immigrant experience is a major aspect of Latino life in the U.S., many other socio-demographic nuances drive our evolution. By the year 2020, U.S.-born Latinos will outnumber foreign-born Latinos. Nearly two-thirds of the Latino population is bilingual. Latino-owned small businesses have more than quintupled since the '80s; today, more than 3 million are generating nearly $400 billion in revenue. Ms. O'Brien explores none of these statistics.
While the Lou Dobbs of the world love to focus on how undocumented immigrants apparently abuse the system, the presence of many foreigners in the U.S. actually has forged whole new industries and economic ecosystems. Today in the U.S. you can find products such as Malbec or Guitig imported from many Latin American countries. The distribution and sale of these items in the U.S. creates jobs, new businesses and investments. Who's telling that story? Lou Dobbs won't, but I dare to dream that Soledad O'Brien might.
In closing, I ask Soledad O'Brien to finish what she started. I truly would like to see CNN greenlight a "Latino in America 2," as they did following viewer response to "Black in America," which first aired in 2008. I hope Ms. O'Brien will cover all the important, untapped topics that can help this country fully understand the U.S. Latino experience and to embrace it as a genuine American experience that will help mold the future of this nation.
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Victor Paredes is VP-Associate Director of Account Management at The Vidal Partnership. |
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Focusing on the immigrant experience and its corresponding challenges is nothing we haven't seen before. This piece would have been much more effective had it showed how these immigrants are adapting to America, i.e. culturally, at the workplace, in the community, religiously, etc.
The Latino community has a lot to offer America, we just need to focus on the positive contributions they make. I understand the legal needs to keep immigrants from flooding our country, but I don't think that was the point of the piece.
I definitely agree with Mr. Paredes on this matter. The struggle that Latinos face every day in our country is one that not many could endure. Bringing light to the everyday hardships that these individuals go through would have made this piece much more relevant. This is especially surprising considering the immense media coverage of how the influx of Latinos in America has changed the way that marketers do business due to Latino spending power.
Ryan Cormier
twitter.com/ryanjcormier
Personally the saddest thing about this was how the "conversation" on the show's website was treated on both nights. I tried to post six comments. Five of those were articulate and respectful critique. One was an enthusiastic complement and was the only one that CNN posted. My Father left Cuba in 1959 so that I would never be censored. Soledad's origins are also Cuban.
- Latino success stories
- How they are adapting into American society
- How the role of women has changed in these households
- Marketing for Latinos in the US, where do they buy?
- Second and third generation Latinos and how they have managed not to let go of their culture
And so on and so forth. Here's hoping for a sequel.
Dorys Morales
linkedin.com/pub/dorys-morales/0/298/983
Here is the schedule: http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&FOCUS_ID=705669
RR
Soledad would do well to get Cavazos on one of her early follow-up shows.
I am afraid too many important stories get forced into some sort of "muckraking" format even when the content really isn't muck.
In this case especially there is one question the many answers to which would have made a much more powerful story: Why do so many sacrifice so much just to come to America? And how does America fulfill her promise to them?
Soledad's frame for her story may be another instance of news media losing touch with America.(Another example being the patience that opinion polls indicate the public has with President Obama taking time to get things done in contrast to all the reporters who keep clamoring for more drama, more action, more conflict all the time whether or not the actual content takes that shape.)
It is unfortunate that Soledad let current TV journalistic conventions shape her coverage instead of noticing the power of the story as shaped by millions of Latinas and Latinos themselves - as noted in earlier comments. I respect her demonstrable intelligence and suggest she look to the late Tim Russert for inspiration in how she approaches future stories - few journalists today match his thorough knowledge adn preparation and his sophisticated insight into the issues of our time - but Soledad is capable of doing so.
I DVR'd the special, thinking I was going to share it with friends and family members. Instead, I deleted it and will not be buying the advertised DVD.
Why did they choose the "easy and expected" stories? Why not recognize that this demographic is complex and multi-layered, and rather than regurgitating the same stories, use the valuable time to shed light on other aspects of this community. There are way too many stories that need to be told as this demo continues to out pace every other demo in this country and continues to shape the new America. For example, more than ever Latinos are marrying into other cultures. Even when there is a cross-Latino marriage (i.e. the couple is Latino but are from two different Latin countries), there is a manifestation of interesting family dynamics that present domestic and global business opportunities. With Soledad O'Brien being bi-cultural herself, I would have expected more on this topic.
If you're going to embark on something like this, please do it right --- or don't do it at all.
(Interestingly enough, I though the vignettes that aired throughout the show were well done, insightful, and entertaining. I particularly liked the woman who said she still has to keep the door to her room open when she goes back home [with a male friend] to visit her parents. A great cultural nuance.)
We also need to recognize our challenges as a community and create plans to address and resolve them, whether it's education and increasing rates of graduation, teen pregnancy and suicide, health care - never mind a uniform immigration policy for all groups, Latino and non-Latino alike. These are not just OUR challenges, folks! They are America's challenges.
I commend Soledad O'Brien, Rose Arce and CNN for trying to take on the enormous task of telling our stories. But it is simply impossible to cover all in two installments. Our communities are way too diverse and, as reflected in the comments here, the American Latino sees life through a very different colored glass than the recent immigrant. I would like to suggest two things to cover in what we hope will be many other "Latino in America" sequels:
- More stories of our successes as American Latinos, especially in the context of our contributions to not just the Latino community but to all the communities we belong to.
- More direction for our audience with sources that can provide assistance and/or counsel. This applies to new immigrants as well as multi-generational households.
A few years ago I founded the company that is now MyLatinoVoice.com, a website that celebrates exactly the American Latino success stories all mention here, and for exactly the same reason: it is the great untold story of our generation. I welcome all to visit, contribute stories and commentary, engage in dialog, become a champion for the challenges and take pride in our achievements, as Americans and as American Latinos. www.mylatinovoice.com.
Soledad, Rose and CNN, thank you for giving this project a national profile and one not limited to Hispanic media and audiences, as is often the case. We all look forward to LIA 2 (and 3, 4, 5...) and more tales of what is the quintessential American story of struggle and success. We have much to learn from both.
We need to have a cathartic debate about the issues that perpetuate the stereotyping of Latinos and move on. With a purchasing power that will soon reach a trillion dollars and a voting block that can swing elections we have arrived. Where do we go from here? We use our influence, talent and resources to tell our story in the general market to put to rest the "Yo quiero Taco Bell" image. I write about the whole spectrum of issues facing Latinos, the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly.
Victor Escalante
http://insidefromtheinside.com/
Everyone living in the United States has essentially the same goals and dreams. A better life for themselves and their families. Understanding and education is a necessary tool open the doors to all the United States has to offer.
Building a bridge between all Hispanics and helping them integrate and add to the American Experience is one of the primary goals of www.proudtoliveinamerica.com
Our differences are truely our strengths.
If commissioned to develop a "Caucasian in America," I wonder if CNN would focus solely on poverty stricken cities such as New Orleans and Detroit, the rampant drug and violence issues we have in places like Newark and a portrait of trailer park families trying to make ends meet. Surely this would be the collage of images Caucasians would feel proud to project onto a world platform as being the exemplary Caucasian experience in America.
Alberto Padron
Director, Integrated Marketing
Zubi Advertising - www.zubiad.com
http://www.mylatinovoice.com/featured-voices/27-features/1312-exclusive-interview-with-cnns-soledad-obrien-part-one.html
http://www.mylatinovoice.com/featured-voices/27-features/1313-latino-in-america-soledad-obrien-interview-part-two.html
http://www.mylatinovoice.com/featured-voices/27-features/1298-rose-arce.html
Rosa Alonso
Founder & CEO
MyLatinoVoice.com
WikiLatino.com
Black in America part II, in my opinion, seemed to present black success as the exception to the rule rather than a diverse group motivated individuals who have a high value standard of living. There was more focus on surrogate groups and programs to lift blacks out of "the norm," or separate blacks from "the norm," rather than recognizing an upwardly mobile group of individuals as "the norm."
With Latino in America, I was certainly looking for more success stories, more emphasis on the beauty of Latino culture, exploration of the diversity and complexities that comprise the latino community. I also wanted the piece to touch "briefly" on the dark side (only fair) of Latino life in America but not pregnancy, high school graduation rates, and undocumented immigrants. I wanted it to delve into some of the cross-latino tensions concerning country-of-origin alliances (Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba, Colombia, etc...) and, being an Afro-Cuban, I wanted to Soledad to comment on the color caste system that exists in Latin culture. I have always found that part very saddening yet interesting.
This documentary left much to be desired. You can most certainly be assured there will be a part II. How that will be presented and received is worth looking forward to. As one person alluded to in one of the comments above, the landscape of latino culture is so vast and diverse, how could it be sufficiently covered in any 24-hour documentary. So you have to wonder why CNN and Soledad chose to support old-story stereotypes with the four hours they had instead of focusing more on the many contributions from the Latino culture to what makes this melting pot called America so great today.
Black in America part II, in my opinion, seemed to present black success as the exception to the rule rather than a diverse group motivated individuals who have a high value standard of living. There was more focus on surrogate groups and programs to lift blacks out of "the norm," or separate blacks from "the norm," rather than recognizing an upwardly mobile group of individuals as "the norm."
With Latino in America, I was certainly looking for more success stories, more emphasis on the beauty of Latino culture, exploration of the diversity and complexities that comprise the latino community. I also wanted the piece to touch "briefly" on the dark side (only fair) of Latino life in America but not pregnancy, high school graduation rates, and undocumented immigrants. I wanted it to delve into some of the cross-latino tensions concerning country-of-origin alliances (Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba, Colombia, etc...) and, being an Afro-Cuban, I wanted to Soledad to comment on the color caste system that exists in Latin culture. I have always found that part very saddening yet interesting.
This documentary left much to be desired. You can most certainly be assured there will be a part II. How that will be presented and received is worth looking forward to. As one person alluded to in one of the comments above, the landscape of latino culture is so vast and diverse, how could it be sufficiently covered in any 24-hour documentary. So you have to wonder why CNN and Soledad chose to support old-story stereotypes with the four hours they had instead of focusing more on the many contributions from the Latino culture to what makes this melting pot called America so great today.
~Victor Escalante
CNN on twitter claims that the criticism comes from not having seen the full documentary series. Many of us who are so upset by the documentary saw the full thing not once but twice. If you look at the comments generated on their facebook page, videos posted on you tube or conversations on twitter you will find ample examples of latinos who viewed the entire piece and are very dissapointed.
I truly hope that CNN and Soledad work on part 2 to complete what they started.