Gina Rodriguez did not outright call for a boycott of Hollywood blockbusters this summer but she suggested that Hispanics could exert their influence if they stayed home rather than head out to watch superhero flicks that tend to cast white, non-Latino actors.
“We should be SuperHeroes and Marvel Comic leads, we should be James Bond and Charlie's Angels (you get my point!) We need more writers, directors and studio heads, which will all be highlighted in the next coming weeks! My question of the week: what if we didn't watch these big marvel movies until they put us in them? What if we used our power to withhold until we are the leads in them?...”
In her second #MovementMondays post, the Golden Globe winner highlighted Cuban-American actress Rosa Salazar, who appeared in the “Divergent” and “Maze Runner” films last year.
“This past year she has skyrocketed and represented the Latino community with grace and honor,” Rodriguez wrote in an Instagram post.
The “Jane the Virgin” actress launched #MovementMondays last week in an effort to both address the lack of diversity plaguing the upcoming Oscars and to highlight the entertainers working hard to put Latino on screens around the country.
She kicked off the campaign with Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac.
“Latinos make up 4% of speaking roles in films ONLY 4% (we are 17% of the population!) Latinos watch 9.5 movies a year making us the highest majority of movie watchers!!!!” Rodriguez wrote on Monday. “We watch the most movies than any other ethnic group, can you even fathom the power we have?!?! It's amazing!!”
Yet, independent Latino films like “Cesar Chavez” with actors Michael Peña and America Ferrera, are not getting the box office numbers they should be getting if Latino viewers make up “25 percent of the box office,” she said.
“We could get that number up! And when we do they invest more in us!” she wrote in an impassioned caption. “We must show the studios that if they cast Latinos then we will go watch the movies that include us, the whole of US, not just the Mexican movies or Puerto Rican ones, ALL OF THEM! We are stronger as a unit.”
Rodriguez’s movement received the attention of other celebs, who praised the 31-year-old actress.
“Right on, Gina. Right on,” tweeted “Grey’s Anatomy” actress Sara Ramirez, while sharing her Isaac post, while Roselyn Sanchez wrote on Instagram: “Word. Preach @hereisgina. Bien Dicho (well said).”
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