[Photo from L.A. TIMES]
Peruvian Amerindian from his mother’s side, Benjamin Bratt, of television fame (including stints on Law and Order) and various big screen projects, is currently starring in the movie, “La Mission” — about the Mission District of San Francisco, California — he and his brother Peter grew up in that part of “Frisco” and collaborated in bringing the project to life (apologies to anyone who dislikes the use of the term Frisco)...
Brings to mind that Black American casts can star in movies representing Black culture and communities, and draw a large percentage of the Black movie audience, as well as a sizeable number of White Americans, but it seems movies with Hispanic/Latino American actors centered in their community are not supported as well by the Hispanic/Latino movie goer, nor by significant percentages of White Americans…
Why might it be that Hispanics/Latinos do not support hispanic/Latino movie projects as well as Black Americans support theirs? And why does White America seem to support “Black projects” to a larger extent than they do Hispanic/Latino ones?
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-bratt10-2010apr10,0,6831975.story
Filed under: Local, national and world affairs | Tagged: culture, entertainment, politics |
Pan American World 
This seems like it would be an informative and entertaining movie. Also, I have enjoyed Bratt on the tv shows and movies I have seen with him in it. Since the movie is based in his home city and neighborhood, it will be interesting to see how realistic it comes out.
Having relatives who spent part of their lives in the Mission District of San Francisco, I wonder if they will recognize how the neighborhood and time period will be portrayed in the movie… I too would like to see the movie since I have a limited familiarity with the area…
What about George Lopez, I believe he is well supported by all three cultures: latino, black and anglo americans. Hispanics are white, so their opinions would “possible mirror anglo’s opinions???
George Lopez is/was definitely “big” on T.V., and it would be interesting to see how well he would do consistently in big screen movies…
The concern that has been expressed through the years by some hispanic/latino actors is that when they create a movie based on their cultural experiences, with predominantly actors from their culture, hispanic/latinos (according to “demographic studies”), do not flock to their movies…
They compare that example to movies in which Black Americans predominate casts in certain movies ,and present the “Black Experience”, and Black Americans do flock to their movies… Given that there are so many hispanics/latinos in the USA, why don’t such movies about their own particular culture do better, some actors ask? And why aren’t there more hispanic/latino super stars in the USA movie scene, they ask — again noting the large numbers in the certain “demographic”…
Your point about hispanics/latinos being “white” and possibly “that” having a bearing on the scenario is one quite reasonable explanation, seems to me… But there are surely others that could be explored…
What some actors additionally have said through the years is that more “whites” seem to attend “Black Movies” than they do English language “hispanic/Latino movies”… Don’t know how accurate that assumption might be…