DEAR Hollywood: Advancing Latinx Representation

DEAR Hollywood (Demanding Equal Access and Representation in Hollywood) is a new initiative co-produced by Harness and Untitled Latinx Project (ULP) to advance Latinx equity and inclusion in Hollywood.

It is time for all of us to turn our good intentions into real action and build true solutions that empower and resource Latinx storytellers.

America Ferrara

Actor, Writer, Director, & Activist

Still of Mishel Prada, Eddy Martínez, and Melissa Barrera on Vida

DEAR Hollywood will make Latinx inclusion an industry standard by securing commitments from leaders in television, broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms to the five pillars outlined below.

(via iwillharness.org)

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The Five Pillars

1. No stories about us without us
2. Greenlight our projects
3. Represent all aspects of our lives and culture
4. Put a limit on repeating levels
5. Hire us for non-Latinx projects

While announcements of diversity, inclusion and equity programs abound, without intentionality and clearly defined action steps, they have little value.

Gloria Calderon Kellett & Tanya Saracho

Showrunners, Co-founders of DEAR Hollywood

At a recent event held at UTA, Tanya Saracho presented on the third pillar, Represent All Aspects of Our Lives and Culture. Said Saracho: “Audiences, Latine and otherwise, are tired of watching us in the same cliched roles and writers are tired of being commissioned to write them,” she said. “But it’s not just that. Many studies mention the consequences of omission or toxic representation in the form of stereotypes. Representation, as we’ve heard, affects perception. The cultivation theory claims that over time, media shapes how audiences perceive the world around them. And this is what we want to be considered when executives are weighing what kind of Latine stories to develop.”

DEAR Hollywood is co-produced by Harness with Untitled Latinx Project (ULP). ULP is a community of leading Latinx creatives who aim to increase Latinx representation in television, broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms. The ULP leaders and trailblazing showrunners—Tanya Saracho (Vida), Gloria Calderón Kellett (One Day at A Time) and Sierra Teller Ornelas (Rutherford Falls)—approached Harness for help with identifying partners and securing commitments from Hollywood power brokers.