The Savage and the Sweetheart: Analysis of Latino Narratives in Recent Primetime Television

GC140, Modesto A. Maidique Campus, Florida International University

Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States and are quickly gaining acknowledgment for their abilities to increase businesses' capital. Nonetheless, Latinos are being portrayed infrequently and haphazardly in media outlets. This presentation examines recent gendered trends in media representation of Latinos in American primetime television. The TV shows Brooklyn Nine-nine and Jane the Virgin display how increases in the representation of Latina women in Television has allowed for complications in the overarching “tropicalism”- inspired narrative about Latina women. Conversely, the show Empire and Mr. Robot display the trend of declining amounts of male Latino roles. This deepening gap in male Latino representation has further homogenized the characteristics of Latino men and has brought a revitalization of the brown savage trope. This presentation explores the relationship between fiction and non-fiction narratives of Latinidad to demonstrate how popular media and politics are interconnected.