The documentary film, Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, will change your life.  Have you ever thought about how much media you take in on a daily basis?  There’s online social media such as Facebook and Twitter, sitcom and reality TV, listening to music, watching movies, and we can’t forget the glossy magazine covers that stare back at you while you wait in line to pay for groceries.  According to the documentary, it all adds up to about 10 hours and 45 minutes of media consumption a day.

Newsom wrote and directed MR after learning that she was pregnant with her first child.  She feared for her future daughter’s emotional stability in a world where she herself admits to struggling with self esteem, eating disorders and body image issues despite being a successful student and athlete. In the documentary, we learn that 53% of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies and that the number increases to 78% by age 17, eating disorders plague 65% of the female population, and rates of depression among girls and women have doubled between 2000-2010.   Newsom wanted to understand why.  What was going on in our American culture that might possibly be contributing to the lack of healthy self esteems and confidence in the female population? She offers viewers an in depth look into the possible culprit- mass media.  The film contends that today’s media is shaping our society and conditioning young girls to measure their worth by their physical appearance rather than by their accomplishments.

It’s difficult to distinguish what’s “real” in the media when the so called ideal image of beauty has become more extreme and impossible to attain with the use of digital altering and air brushing.  Young men are also exposed to these unrealistic images which can lead them to have certain expectations of what girls should look like and judge them more harshly.  Ever notice how female bodies are in constant display everywhere you look?  There’s no shortage of women in bikinis, mini skirts, and low cut tops in the media, whether it be in the latest episode of teenage shows such as Gossip Girl, a new hip hop video, or even the daily news.  The film contends that this objectification makes it nearly impossible for females to be taken seriously in the workplace and in politics.  Even strong female leaders are disrespected on popular talk shows as well as on news coverage.  The focus is put on how they look rather than what they are saying.  By the same token, media coverage of powerful women in politics is minimal when compared to male politicians.  One of the examples shown in the documentary compared the media coverage of former U.S. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to current SOH, John Boehner.  In his first four weeks as SOH, he was featured on five magazine covers.  Ms. Pelosi appeared on zero.

Violence and oversexualized content in entertainment and advertising would make you think that something would be done to minimize it.  The question is why hasn’t anyone put a stop to this?  Who’s calling all the shots in media these days?  According to the documentary, men are.  Media today is overwhelmingly run by men.  All the big TV networks such as NBC, FOX, Time Warner and Disney have male CEOs with only a handful of females serving on their boards.  Also, according to the film, women own only 5.8% of all television stations and 6% of radio stations.  Women also make up only 3% of influential positions in media.  At the end of the day, lawmakers and media giants are largely male dominated.

As stated in the beginning of the film, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. -Alice Walker”.  If you take anything away from watching Miss Representation, it is this- we have the power to change this and it starts with you as an individual.  The director closes the documentary by calling on women to join forces and be mentors and role models to each other.  Some tips given are to monitor what you read and watch on television.  ”Turn off the TV,” says one mentor, “one hour can be fun, four hours can be destructive.”  Tabloids and sensational gossip headlines are the kind of reading that bring women down, so don’t buy them.  Be mindful of the things you purchase.  Ask yourself what the motivation behind your purchases are.  Did advertisers convince you that you are not good enough in any way, shape, or form so that you are now willing to spend your hard earned cash on something you were targeted to buy?  Have your own voice heard. Write a letter to the editor to let them know your thoughts on any negatives messages they send about women. Create your own pro-female media wih your own blog. Most importantly, champion other women instead of criticizing and competing with each other.  Because if women don’t stand by and up for each other, nobody else will.

Joseph Nieves is a working actor in Hollywood, a harder feat than one can imagine. He has popped up in film, television shows and commercials from Volkswagen to Verizon, Law and Order to Southland.  He is of Puerto Rican descent and a native New Yorker. He talked to Latinitas about getting and staying in one of the most competitive businesses, which is still casting mostly Whites and others for Latino parts.

Where are you from and how does that play into your acting abilities and style?

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC. Being from a big city like that is a huge plus for anyone in my field, because you are exposed to a lot of cultures and you are also exposed to a lot of life experiences (for better or worse). All of this gives you many things to draw upon and relate to when playing different characters. I think for this reason, I’ve always been drawn to actors from New York. Artists like John Turturro, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, John Leguizamo and Bobby Cannavale have been guys that I look up to.

Why were you interested in acting and what was the first thing you did to start building towards that goal?

As a young man I always wanted to be a professional athlete. Football player to be more specific. Once I was in college, playing division 3 ball for a team with a 2 and 7 record, I realized that that probably wasn’t going to happen. I remembered that when I was in High School I had done some of the school plays (To meet girls of course). And I recall getting this great rush when I was on stage, and how that feeling was the same feeling I got on the football field. So when I got out of school I decided to see where that could lead me. I began picking up copies of Backstage (A weekly paper dedicated to actors) and I started auditioning for student films and different projects like that. Eventually, when I knew this was something I could be serious about I moved to Los Angeles, began studying, got some head shots taken and started on my way.

What has been your favorite professional acting experience?

My favorite professional experience has to be my first real gig on Prime time network television. I did an episode of NYPD Blue. I happened to be a big fan of the show, so this was very exciting for me. My scenes were going to be with Dennis Franz and Rick Schroeder, two guys I grew up watching. The whole thing was very surreal. These two actors turned out to be incredibly supportive and welcoming to me. I will always remember their generosity as actors and human beings, for that matter. Having lead actors on a show that are such gentlemen is incredibly important, because their attitude carries on to the rest of the cast and crew and creates a great work environment.

What’s the most difficult part of the job?

The most difficult part of the job is the constant rejection when trying to get the jobs. Once you have a job, the rest is fun. But the auditioning process is the tough part. You really have to have some thick skin and learn not to take the ‘no’s’ personally.

How does community factor into being an actor?

As an actor, or any kind of artist, I think you either already have or develop a nurturing and caring spirit. Because of this, I think most artists really try to take care of other people. We have to immerse ourselves in our characters, and sometimes those characters are not necessarily people we would like or relate to. Once we do our research, we tend to be less judgmental of these folks and learn to sympathize and understand them better.

How does being Latino impact your career?

Being Latino is a huge part of my career. It has both helped and hindered me. It helps because Hollywood is making a concerted effort to involve more actors of color into projects, and also trying to create characters that can be better role models for the younger generation. So where I was probably playing more criminals 15 years ago, now I get the opportunity to play more professional characters. It hinders me because I think this industry still has a hard time seeing Latino’s for ‘not Latino specific’ roles. For example- a show about lawyers may have 5 lawyer roles open. The casting may call for 1 African American, 1 Latino, and three Caucasian lawyers. Instead of just looking for five not ethnic specific actors, they break it down like that.

What is your dream role?

As corny as it sounds, my dream role is whatever role I am doing at the moment. Right now I have been working on a show called Southland. I have been loving it. So right now Officer Fisher (Non Latino specific!) is my dream role. In classic theatre I would love to play Stanley Kowalski in “Streetcar Named Desire” or The Priest in “Doubt”.

What would you advise “Latinitas” – girls ages 8-18 to do to prepare themselves for a job in theater/acting/film?

I would recommend first- not wanting to act ‘to be famous’. You should want to do it because you love doing it. If in fact you do love doing it I would recommend going to a performing arts school. I didn’t get to do this and it’s something I think I would have enjoyed immensely as well as benefited greatly from. After that, just always take good care of your spirit. Take care of your mind and body as well. Being healthy is one of the most underrated things in the world. You would be surprised at how much more open to creativity your mind, body and spirit can be when properly taken care of.

What’s dream job #2?  (What would you be doing if you weren’t pursuing acting)

My dream job #2 would be some kind of engineer (I know that is very broad, but there are so many interesting jobs in engineering). I am presently going to school in my free time to study engineering. I think it’s very important to do things like this. I love challenging myself. It keeps things interesting. Who knows? In 10 years I may actually get my engineering degree!

Who is your favorite actor and actress and favorite thing to do in L.A.?

My favorite actor is Daniel Day Lewis. He is a master. I am also a huge fan of Meryl Streep. I think they are the two best around. I love food and exercise. So, I enjoy distance running in Los Angeles. There re a lot of cool places to run and see here. I also love going to interesting restaurants and trying different food. So me and my wife put on the calories and then run them off!

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Former best friends turned rivals in a common life passion, Josh Ayers and Omar Davila (along with Romeo Navarro) star in filmmaker’s Marcy Garriott’s 2007 Audience Award South by Southwest Film Festival winner, Inside The Circle.

The breakthrough documentary captures B-boy and girl culture, a blend of music, hip- hop, and “b-lives”. The film captures the passion and struggles that the dancers share, humanizing hip hop culture and its trend-setters.

Inside The Circle is a compilation of four years in which Garriott follows the story of Texas’ most talented b-boys. A former engineer and, essentially, an upper-middle class White girl, Garriott’s “roots [didn't] indicate her as the typical b-boy enthusiast, but she is ‘truly in the heart of it’,” said Beth Portello, of Cinema Libre Studio.

Garriott said that many people, including her, were not aware how big the underground b-scene was and how worldwide it is.

“Doing the movie was a revelation. I couldn’t believe how big b-culture was underground and I wanted to bring it to people’s attention,” said Garriott of her first experience watching B-boy dancers. “People (the dancers) threw me into it. The dancing is about things going on in their lives and that’s what people want to see.”

Garriott said that the actual dancing is directly tied in with the personal lives of the performers. “They bring life issues into dance-whether it’s joy, anger, frustration, or pride, it gets expressed in their dance. It’s fascinating to see that intertwined in their dance,” Garriott said. “The dancers take the audience on a real journey. Three years. You really see Ayers and Davila grow up beautifully and their passion for dance is obvious. It’s a moving experience for people to see.”

Garriott said the audiences were very diverse. The film screened at 30 festivals in nine countries and competed against Indie, Latino, Dance, Human Rights, and Hip-Hop films.

“The audience seemed grateful to have an insight (into the B-boy culture),” Garriott said. “One of the best parts was to get that diversity of audience everywhere we went. There were people who knew a little about it, some who knew quite a bit, and others who were hearing about it for the first time,” she said.

Keeping personal friendships apart from the rivalry that comes from being competing dance crews is not always easy, as Davila explained.

“Everyone has a different personality. When they dance it comes out – the emotions. It also depends on the day,” Davila said. “I just try to keep it separate in general. I’m not the type of person who opens up right away. I have to make sure it’s someone who’s there for me.”

Davila began breaking when he was twelve as a result of his friendship with older kids from his neighborhood who exposed him to B-boy culture.

“I didn’t know anything about hip-hop or the B-boy culture before,” Davila said. “It was a year or two into it, that I met a friend from Chicago who knew a lot more about it and that’s when I was exposed to it more-worldwide and learning about it.”

There are four basic elements that serve as a foundation for B-boy dancers. Toprock refers to upright dancing and shuffles done when entering a circle,hence the movie title, Inside The Circle. Downrock refers to floor dancing. Freeze are poses that add interest and flavor to a combination. The fourth element is Power.

There are a variety of components that make up B-boy styles. Power consists of full-body spins and rotations that give the illusion of defying gravity. Headspins and backspins are some power styles. Abstract is a broad term that can include freestyle movement to hot beats, threading footwork, house dancing, broken link styles and circus styles such as balance and tricks. Trick style combines many difficult trick combinations to outperform the rival B-boy. Flavor focuses more on footworks, upworks, and poses.

Omar said that Texas B-boy culture, especially his style dancing, is an “all-around style.”

“Texas B-boys are more known for innovative style,” Davila said. “It’s like drawing a painting, sketching it, outlining it, and then coming out with the details. It’s new school mixed with old school. It’s dynamic and explosive.”

Davila currently works for an entertainment company and is an independent contractor. He lives in Dallas, Texas, where his crew is based off. He is also a member of New York’s defending B-boy champions, the Mighty Zulo Kings, who have a free-style possession of their own.

An international B-boy sensation, Davila knows what it takes to make it inside the circle. “It takes time, discipline, and you have to be strong mentally. As far as being expose and compete, you have to be really prepared,” Davila said. “It’s a mental thing not a physical thing you have to overcome. ”

His message to aspiring B -boy and B-girls is to “just have fun with it.” But to “just be prepared for everything it brings.”

April 2011