BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN: George Lopez and the American Dream

(Los Angeles, CA) — BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN: George Lopez and the American Dream, a new documentary from Phillip Rodriguez, airs Wednesday, September 12, 2007, 8 to 9pm ET on PBS (check local listings). 

This fresh, provocative film examines how corporate efforts to profit from the “Latino market” are shaping America’s perception of Latinos. The program features the extraordinary insight and observations of Latino icon and advocate George Lopez through rare behind-the-scenes access to the actor/comedian’s remarkable life and career. Numbering 44 million, Latinos are not only this nation’s largest and fastest-growing ethnic group, they are also big business. According to The Selig Center for Economic Growth, Latino buying power will grow to $1.2 trillion by 2011. 

“Impressive numbers notwithstanding, Americans are in a collective state of confusion about Latinos,” says Rodriguez. “This isn’t surprising given that the Latino image is stage-managed by marketers and media companies. Latinos are caught in a netherworld,” Rodriguez adds. “Mainstream media have largely ignored them, while Spanish-language networks and Hispanic ad companies have served up an exoticized image that has no basis in contemporary American reality.” 

As Bill Cosby did for African Americans decades ago, George Lopez normalizes the image of Latinos through entertainment. Lopez, whose ABC sitcom is the longest-running show with a Latino lead in the history of television, strives to represent Latinos in a manner true to their realities and aspirations. In BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN, we see actor/comedian George Lopez walk a tightrope between ethnic authenticity and primetime appeal. In his TV sitcom, he plays the Guy Next Door who happens to be Latino. In sold-out theatrical performances, he adopts an edgier, more Chicano-specific persona to send up the idiosyncratic details of Chicano life. In writers meetings, he delicately maneuvers to maintain a Latino sensibility amidst a staff and industry dominated by non-Latinos. And in behind-the-scenes conversations, he speaks candidly of his childhood longing to fit in, as well as the costs and rewards of working within the system. “I’ve been in meetings with Warner Bros. when I wasn’t particularly happy with what I was hearing. And the Chicano in me would say ‘I’m leaving,’” Lopez recalls. “But when you leave, you’re out. So I made myself stay. Probably a lot of people would say that’s selling out. But it’s not selling out. It’s the way the business is set up.” 

While Lopez advocates Latinos’ move into the media mainstream, Hispanic marketers have a different agenda; to present Latinos as a separate America. Whether their target audience is elderly immigrants or predominantly English-speaking youth, these Hispanic marketers are pursuing Latino dollars via the myth of cultural Otherness. BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN reveals clips of their programming – from “folkloric” commercials to cheesy Latin American soap operas to butt-shakin’ bicultural videos. BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN features interviews with a variety of influential Latinos, who weigh in, often with conflicting opinions, on the role of marketing and media in shaping Latino identity. Interviewees include Advertising Executive Hector Orcí, actor Bill Dana (“Jose Jimenez”), author Arlene Dávila, media activist Alex Nogales, and the George Lopez show producer Bruce Helford (who also produced Roseanne and The Drew Carey Show). The film also features conversations with members of the much coveted Latino youth market, whose tastes and interests are far more eclectic than one might think. 

Phillip Rodriguez’s documentaries include Los Angeles Now (2004), Mixed Feelings: San Diego/Tijuana (2002), Manuel Ocampo: God is My Copilot (1999), and Pancho Villa & Other Stories (1998). A Senior Fellow at Institute of Justice and Journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communications, he recently received the first annual United States Artist’s Broad Fellow Award. 

BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN: George Lopez and the American Dream is a co-production of 213 Projects, LLC and the Independent Television Service (ITVS). BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN was made possible by PBS, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Latino Public Broadcasting, the Independent Television Service, USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism and is presented by KQED San Francisco. Travel provided by Southwest Airlines. 

BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN Credits

• Producer/Director: Phillip Rodriguez
• Cinematographer: Claudio Rocha
• Editor: Rafael Del Toro
• Associate Producer: Jennifer Craig-Kobzik
• Executive Producer for ITVS: Sally Jo Fifer

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial television stations and reaches more than 75 million people each week through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is a leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers and offers a broad array of other educational services. PBS’ premier kids’ TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (www.pbskids.org), continue to be parents’ and teachers’ most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet. Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,000 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related on-line services. 

Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) supports the development, production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural television that is representative of Latino people, or address issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. LPB creates a structure and process that allows Latino artists, the public broadcasting resources, community, government and the private sector to bring their resources and creativity to the services of the public. LPB can be found at www.lpbp.org. 

The Independent Television Service (ITVS) funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web and the Emmy Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at 10pm on PBS. ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since its inception in 1991, ITVS programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing TV audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. More information about ITVS can be obtained by visiting itvs.org. 

Presented by KQED. KQED (www.kqed.org) is a service of Northern California Public Broadcasting, Inc. (NCPB), with over 780,000 weekly radio listeners and more than 1,000,000 monthly viewing households. KQED Public Television 9, one of the nation's most-watched public television stations during primetime, is the producer of local and national series such as Quest; Check, Please! Bay Area; Jacques Pepin: Fast Food My Way; and Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. KQED's digital television channels include KQED HD, KQED Encore, KQED World, KQED Life and KQED Kids, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Public Radio, home of Forum with Michael Krasny, Pacific Time, and The California Report, is the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service (88.5 FM in San Francisco and 89.3 FM in Sacramento). KQED Education Network brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and the general public through workshops, community screenings and multimedia resources. KQED Interactive offers video and audio podcasts and live radio stream at www.kqed.org, featuring unique content on one of the most-visited station sites in public broadcasting. 

Travel provided by Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines is one of the most honored airlines in the world. Southwest’s recent honors include being named to Business Week’s first ever list of “Customer Service Champs,” which ranks the best providers of Customer Service. For eight years in a row, Southwest Airlines was named to Business Ethics magazine’s list as one of America’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens” for excelling at serving a variety of stakeholders and for leadership roles in corporate citizenship. For an impressive eleven consecutive years, FORTUNE magazine recognized Southwest Airlines as number five among America’s Top Ten most admired corporations. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), the nation's largest carrier in terms of domestic passengers enplaned, currently serves 63 cities in 32 states (the airline will add San Francisco to its system in fall 2007). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 33,000 Employees nationwide. 

CONTACT: 
Stephanie Goodell, (626) 403-9322, stephgoodell@sbcglobal.net
Yoonhyung Lee, (415) 553-3338, ylee@kqed.org