TV is still black and white when it comes to portraying minorities. There are a few roles for Latinos, but the roles have not evolved since the days of Frito bandito. “I’m tired of reading for drug dealer parts,” say Tony Plana, who also plays a lot of Latin American dictators. The pictures even worse on Saturday mornings when a child will watch an average of 123 characters, but only see a Hispanic maybe once …showed first 75 words of 276 total…

…showed last 75 words of 276 total…whether these shows ultimately attack or reinforce stereotypes and prejudices. “It’s time to change the formula with a dose of reality,” says Farquhar. And yet, when Farquhar tried to do just that last year with a black drama called South Central, he was told the show “wasn’t funny enough. But life isn’t always funny. And TV’s picture of the world may be affecting children in ways Neilson ratings can’t measure.