Will 'Glee' Have The Courage To Drop Latino Stereotypes?

By Daniela Capistrano

Like all fans, I am excitedly anticipating "Glee"'s return to Fox tonight (April 13), directly after "American Idol" (9:28 -10:30 PM ET/PT). A slew of A-list guest stars are in the works for upcoming seasons, among them Jennifer Lopez — who's being asked to play a lunch lady. If you read the title of this post, you can take a stab at guessing how I feel about that.

Despite winning a diversity award last year, "Glee" execs apparently still feel comfortable with the same tired casting practices that for decades have relegated talented Latino actors to portraying "the help." One could argue "historical accuracy," but consider this question:

If we believe that McKinley High students and faculty can break into song, why can't we believe that their service workers could be anything other than Hispanic?

In 2009, Pop Matters dared to ask, "Is 'Glee' a little bit racist?" At the time (being an unapologetic Gleekster) I dismissed it as white guilt, but now — I'm not so sure. Something stinks, and it sure isn't Mercedes' High C.

"Glee" can't be all things to all people, but it certainly tries to be. Yes, one of the members is Latina — the practically dialogue-less cheerleader Santana Lopez. That's fine, she's not the only supporting character who barely speaks on camera. The show clearly has favorites, and if you're a fan, you put up with it.

Or at least I did, until last March — "Glee" announced a casting call for a Filipina or Hispanic actress to play the recurring role of Amelda, Sue’s maid. I guess they only have brown service workers in the fictional Lima, Ohio — a real metro area that is 88.3% percent Non-Hispanic White.

Do you still think I'm overreacting? Let's run through some of the confirmed guest stars in Season 2:

Neil Patrick Harris will play Mr. Schuester’s rival, Olivia Newton-John gets to perform a duet of "Let's Get Physical" with Jane Lynch, Madonna gets her own themed episode and (if "Glee" execs have their way) Jennifer Lopez will serve everyone lunch.

Granted, it would be hilarious to watch J.Lo pretending to be part of the working class again and yes, sitcoms have a history of placing big stars in unusual situations.

"Glee" — even with a flamboyantly gay character and an overweight African-American teen — isn't obligated to be the next Rainbow Coalition. It's just a TV show, right?

Or maybe (just maybe) popular culture is important. Beyond telling us what to wear or who to listen to, maybe it's also a reflection of our values. After all, doesn't popular culture inspire us to love previously unchartered realities?

Before "Glee," did you ever imagine that you would envy a boy in a wheelchair or stay home to mouth show tunes with your mom?

If this cultural zeitgeist of a show has the power to make a differently-abled kid cool and rebrand the social abyss that is chorus (saving countless real life teens from swirlies), what's stopping "Glee" from dropping Latino stereotypes?

After spending the first season challenging the status quo, why the step back?

Here is an excerpt from NALIP's 2010 open letter to the Federal Communications Commission:

An important area that all networks need to look at is casting. During our meetings this year it became apparent that there is a lack of diversity in the casting teams of each of the networks. Predictably, a diverse casting team will be better at reaching people of color through their networks and relationships. We have identified this as an area that requires greater focus, and we look forward to working with the networks in bringing more diversity into their casting teams.

Latinos can play more than maids, lunch ladies, farm hands, prostitutes, drug dealers and gang members. I can love "Glee" and take issue with the fact that most of what's on TV continues to fail at representing the true diversity of the Hispanic experience.

You can too — just don't expect many people to agree with you. It's so much easier to be sheeple, right?

Despite naysayers, I have faith that "Glee" fans of all stripes will hold the show accountable. The casting process isn't over yet (you can even audition on MySpace) so perhaps there's still time for "Glee" execs to change their tune.

The views expressed in this post by Daniela Capistrano do not necessarily reflect the views of Viacom, MTV Tr3s, Blogamole, MTV Networks or any other subsidiaries.

Tags casting, glee, Jennifer Lopez, Latino, Madonna, stereotypes