Gina Rodriguez has once again opened a discussion on Hollywood’s shortcomings in the classiest way possible. As a response to the backlash directed at the Oscars for not recognizing minorities, Gina launched #MovementMondays to celebrate Latino talent and bring the community together.
“With all this Oscar Talk and lack of diversity, I decided to start a movement and speak from the perspective of a Latina American who desires to see more Latinos on screen,” she wrote on Instagram along with an image of Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina.
Gina said that Latinos – who have the power to make movies blow up at the box office – need to rally together and support movies with Latinos in them, because otherwise Hollywood executives will continue to stick them in the background or ignore them all together. What we need, Gina said, is to be united.
“The industry sees money, the excuse can’t just be racism. We can make a difference in a very powerful way if we unite our support as one Latino community,” she added.
Gina then went on to praise Oscar Isaac, saying that she believed he churned out an Oscar-worthy performance in Ex Machina. Every Monday, Gina will write about a Latino artist to support, and she encouraged others to participate by using the #MovementMondays hashtag.
Because Gina tried to focus on the positive, she was accused of ignoring racism. So Gina once again took to social media to explain why she had chosen to merely highlight Latinos. “Clearly, we live in a racist society,” she said.” Movement Mondays is to highlight those that are in my Latino Community that are doing wonderful work and our support can only make it that much better.”
