Latinos' characters in Hollywood films are designed contrary to the realities of Latinos and their lives off-screen. While there have been a few exceptions to the rule, for the most part, films continue to embrace stereotypes regarding sexuality, demeanor, aggressiveness, and occupations. Latinos frequently appear as housemaids, gardeners, nannies and a convoy of other domestics, and that's when they aren't playing drug dealers, drug mules and gangsters. Whether based on reality or not, films infrequently make the effort to show Latinos performing jobs that earn higher wages or contributing to society on a larger scale. Latinos are rarely seen as politicians, doctors, or CEOs.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic constructed a report entitled Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2012; that report describes the earning patterns and labor force characteristics for Hispanics, blacks, Asians and whites. Dynamics surrounding occupations and industry were examined, such as urban and rural settings, educational attainment, areas with concentrated Latino populations, and the degree of discrimination "encountered in the workplace."

The Hispanic labor force is predominately made of Mexicans (62 percent). The remainder consists of Central and South Americans (20 percent), Puerto Ricans (nine percent), Cubans (five percent), and other Hispanics or Latinos (five percent). And, the labor participation for Hispanics is 66.4 percent; which is higher than whites (64.0 percent), Asians (63.9 percent) and blacks (61.5 percent); yet, many Latinos continue to make a fraction of what individuals of other major ethnic and racial groups earn. Though, a contributing factor to low income may be low numbers when it comes to education attainment, which generally increases wages. The high school graduation rate for Hispanics in the labor force is comparable to the graduation rates of other major racial and ethnic groups. However, 30 percent of the Hispanic population has less than a high school diploma; 23 percent has some college or an associate degree, and a mere 17 percent has a Bachelor's degree or higher.

Nonetheless, a breakdown of Latinos' actual occupations and career fields prove that, while many have not earned a Bachelor's degree or higher, most aren't resigned to being domestics. Twenty-one percent of Latinos work in management, professional and related fields; 26 percent work in the service industry; 21 percent work in sales and office administration; 15 percent work in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; and 17 percent work in production, transportation and material moving.

So, while roughly a quarter (26.3 percent) of Hispanics work in the service industry (which isn't limited to being a maid, but includes occupations in healthcare support, protective service, food preparation and serving related, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, and personal care and service), a bulk of films feature domestic positions as the prominent occupation of Latinos in the States. Meanwhile, many are working in financial operations (8.9 percent), education, training and library operations (3.8 percent), office and administrative support (11.7 percent), construction and extraction operations (9.3 percent), sales and related occupations (9.6 percent) and production occupations (8.4 percent).