Stereotypes have been around in the entertainment industry since time immemorial and while things have definitely gotten better recently, there’s still a long way to go. Rising star Jenna Ortega certainly agrees with this point. Despite having already been in several projects, Jenna Ortega shot to an insane amount of fame with Netflix’s Wednesday.
Since the young actress is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, she feels incredibly proud of playing a Latino Wednesday Addams. And as someone who is not afraid to call things out, Jenna Ortega has been very vocal about the Latino representation in Hollywood. She is happy that she was able to help Wednesday, a Latin character, achieve the reach that it did as she believes most roles given to Latinos are very stereotypical.
Jenna Ortega Talks about Latino Stereotypes
Also Read: Jenna Ortega Demands More Horror, Less Love Triangle Romance Drama in Wednesday Season 2
During the Netflix FYSEE 2023, Jenna Ortega talked about Wednesday Addams’ Latin heritage. The actress spoke with pride about how Wednesday helped boost the representation of Latinos. She also addressed how stereotypes are still prevalent in the entertainment industry.
“It’s pretty cool that we are Boricuas. I can’t think of any other Latin character that has the reach that Wednesday has…Most Latin roles are stereotypical, the daughter of the cartel and the housekeeper.”
Well, she sure does have a point. Elsewhere, Ortega once stated that while Hollywood is slowly emerging out of typecasting, there are still some checkboxes people of color have to tick before they get a certain role. She hopes that one day, Latinos will be cast in all kinds of roles, including the main characters.
“I feel like right now we’re in a place, I mean, yes Hollywood definitely has opened up a bit but I feel like a lot of it is very calculated diversity in terms of where, you know, they hire people to check off the box or if it fits a certain standard and I do hope to see, and I think that it will happen very, very soon, that we start to see Latinos being cast as everyone, including lead characters and not just the side character where their heritage is their entire personality.”
She sure is right about the need to switch things up in the entertainment industry, which is happening slowly but surely. Hopefully, it’s only going to get better for people of color from now on!
Jenna Ortega on her Heritage
During an interview with Deadline, Ortega stated that growing up as a Latina was something she’s really proud of. She added that that since she grew up in a loving community of Hispanics, she was taught to love and embrace her culture, wholly.
“Being Latina has always been really, really lovely for me. It’s something that I’m very proud of. I grew up in a community [Coachella Valley, California] surrounded by all kinds of Hispanics, which was really wonderful because I never grew up with any sort of shame or any sort of fear of my culture.”
She went on to talk about how representation in the entertainment industry is extremely important for the Latin community.
“I always got really excited when I got those jobs that were open ethnicity or maybe initially meant for a Caucasian actor… I do want to open the doors for as many Latin people as possible, just because we’re a beautiful community and we should be celebrated.”
Ortega also stated that Latinos only make up 3% of the representation in media and that TV and films should strive to show what the real world actually looks like, that is, full of diversity.
You can stream Wednesday on Netflix.
Source: Discussing Film
