Gil-Gomez, E. M. (2004). Olmos Productions: Balancing Activism and Commodification.

            In G. T. Meiss & A. Tait (Eds.) Ethnic media in America: Vol. 2. Taking control  (pp. 151-163) Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt.

        Dr. Gil-Gomez is a native of the Los Angeles area. As a Literary Studies major at the University of California-Santa Barbara, Dr. Gil-Gomez said that she had the opportunity to learn literature from a much broader focus. She began to specialize in Women of Color Studies; however, as she continued her studies, she decided to broaden the focus to gender, comparative and literary studies.

        In her article about Edward James Olmos and Hollywood production companies, Gil-Gomez discusses some of the hardships faced by filmmakers, most notably independent filmmakers with ethnically-centered films. Sometimes, actors try their hand with starting up their own production companies. When successful actors and actresses create their own companies, they do so with the hope and intention that the products they create and their star power will help generate enough revenue to make the company financially successful and able to continue. With a personally-created production company, an actor/actress can focus on generating the type of content and entertainment that he or she may be interested in on a personal level.

     The article's focus is on prominent Latino actor Edward James Olmos and how he created Olmos Productions in order to produce and finance the type of projects about which he was personally passionate. Striving to eliminate the "Hollywood Hispanic" stereotype that has permeated Hollywood films, Olmos has worked diligently to locate and create projects that entertain and educate audiences with culturally relevant, nuanced portrayals of Latino/ a lives. The author goes on to chronicle Olmos' life and career in the movie business, tracing the path he has taken from his early roles to those he took on later in life, after already accumulating critical acclaim and audience appreciation. Olmos emerged in 1979, when he played the role of the narrator "Pachuco" in Luis Valdez's play Zoot Suit. The play was turned into a 1980 film, with Olmos reprising his role. Even this early on in his career, viewing Olmos' performance makes it abundantly clear that he cares deeply about Latino issues and wishes to portray only the most accurate and meaningful characters to the audience. Gil-Gomez discusses in the article how Olmos visited prisons, boys clubs, and schools in his 'Pachuco' character in order to "draw audiences to projects close to his heart", by stressing the issues surrounding Pachuco culture. Such devotion to this cause further shows Olmos to be a man of extremely strong integrity and passion. Later in the decade, Olmos was watched by millions of viewers with his portrayal of Lt. Martin Castillo on the hit television series Miami Vice. In 1988, Olmos was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for his depiction of Bolivian immigrant teacher Jaime Escalante in the hugely successful film Stand and Deliver. Gil-Gomez goes on to discuss Olmos' film The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez and how the film served as a 'watershed' moment for Olmos, which led him to eventually start up Olmos Productions. By taking on the title role in the film, Olmos committed himself to the material, which he felt was extremely important and could help strengthen the Latino community if it reached a large enough audience. Such thinking helped spark the flame that eventually led to the creation of his production company. Olmos led the charge for the Ballad of Gregorio Cortez's promotional circuit, making appearances as a speaker to help Latino communities. Because of that, Gomez notes, he turned down many lucrative big-budget movie roles. The fact that he was so willing to turn down dollar signs further demonstrates Olmos' sincerity and deep sense of integrity for Latino culture and community. 

    Olmos Productions has created many projects since its inception, but with differing degrees of success. For example, Olmos' television series American Family was dropped by FOX and CBS in 2002, but later found a home on PBS for a few more years, until 2004. The article contains a few soundbytes from members of  Olmos Productions, which help give more insight into the reasons behind the company and its overall message that Olmos is using it to convey. Edward James Olmos' production company exists to release films and programs with distinctly authentic Latino/Hispanic cultural values, in an effort to help eradicate the "Hollywood Hispanic" stereotype that has been so prevalent over the years in American cinema. Granted, Olmos had to take on some more typical roles early on in his career in order to accumulate the assets necessary for funding a production company, but that was a step he was forced to take. Once he had the stability to do so, he created Olmos Productions to help strengthen the Latino community. Gil-Gomez notes that even in his earlier roles, Olmos made sure to "stress directors' patience" by demanding that his characters be more accurate depictions of Hispanic or Latino individuals. This is a particularly interesting aspect of the article, as it demonstrates that Olmos has continually led the charge for accuracy in the roles he has played throughout his illustrious career. Olmos has always been a man of tremendous conviction and pride, and this article by Ellen M. Gil-Gomez helps contextualize the entire process, and the end result is an article rife with discussions on important aspects of Latino culture and identity and one actor's quest to be the best and most accurate he can be in that regard.  

(Created by Edward Zahnle)

(Edited by Adrian Garro)