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Latina women flock to the movies

My family attended the first morning screening of “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” which won last weekend’s box office with a $73 million debut.

According to Lucas Shaw’s recent article “Hispanic Women Are This Summer’s Most Avid Moviegoers” on the entertainment news site TheWrap, we are propping up the movie industry.

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My family attended the first morning screening of “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” which won last weekend’s box office with a $73 million debut.

According to Lucas Shaw’s recent article “Hispanic Women Are This Summer’s Most Avid Moviegoers” on the entertainment news site TheWrap, we are propping up the movie industry.

Shaw’s analysis of entertainment consumption -- “Hispanic women over the age of 25 are the most frequent moviegoers of all,” over Hispanic men, and non-Hispanic men and women -- lists attendance rates for movies representing a wide range of tastes. “22 Jump Street” made the list of top popular films with Hispanic women as did “A Million Ways to Die in the West” -- both eyebrow-raisers since they’re targeted toward young men.

Even though it’s true that I’m the driving force behind our family’s intense moviegoing -- and summer blockbuster attendance, in particular -- I’ve mostly stayed home this summer and packed the boys and their dad off with extra money for popcorn. I simply didn’t want to spend my time on yet another rebooted comic book “franchise.” Apparently, I was an exception.

According to the market research firm C4, which polled more than 1,500 moviegoers who go to six or more movies every year, Hispanic women over 25 flocked to see “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in higher percentages than Hispanic men and both non-Hispanic men and women.

I was a little surprised by these numbers, but not much -- people of all kinds watch the most highly hyped films.

In his quest to understand why Hispanic women turned out for the superhero movies, for “Godzilla” and even for the raunchy “Neighbors,” Shaw interviewed Kate Perkins, an analyst for brand consultancy TruthCo, who theorized that Hispanics identify as both American and Hispanic, just as most superheroes identify as both human and as a superhero.

“That bicultural identity is the basis for the cultural resonance of superheroes,” Perkins said. She recently wrote a report on the changing face of the American family, with a special emphasis on Hispanics in which she argued that they see a parallel in superheroes because of “the foregrounding and backgrounding of two identities that are equally important.”

That seemed far-fetched to me -- and just more noise that seeks to portray Hispanics as different rather than acknowledging the obvious: Superhero myths are universal and therefore cheer those who feel less powerful than others.

Take Diego Luna’s “Cesar Chavez” movie -- starring Latina stars America Ferrera and Rosario Dawson in leading roles -- which flopped badly at the box office this spring.

Some observers suggested its poor performance was the fault of “clueless” movie critics who called the film dull, boring and quiet. Others posited that not enough Hispanics really care about Chavez because he’s so specific to a particular niche -- California farm workers in the 1960s -- and not really a part of the Chicano movement that followed the civil rights movement, as most assume.

I stayed away because it just didn’t look particularly great, even with Michael Pena, a favorite of mine, in the lead. The trailer seemed to focus less on Chavez’s achievements as a leader than on the aspect of friction between Mexican-Americans and terrible white men -- not really how most people of any ethnicity would describe “entertainment,” and isn’t that, really, what it all comes down to?

Perkins may be spot on about Hispanics being attracted to fictionalized identity duality. I’d never even considered such a thing -- though anyone who knows me would immediately point out that I love envisioning myself as a superhero, perhaps even more than the average Joe -- but something about it rings at least a little true.

Still, I’d bet that the mystery of the moviegoing Hispanic’s love for big budget, action-driven movies can be solved by understanding that the more people are stressed out by their real lives -- in the case of Hispanic women, their larger share of economic, social and health pressures -- the more escapism they seek in their entertainment choices.

By the way, I loved “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.” What’s more fantastical than a war-painted ape galloping over fire on a black stallion while shooting two fully automatic weapons? In any culture, “That’s Entertainment!”

Esther Cepeda’s email address is [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter, @estherjcepeda.

© 2014, Washington Post Writers Group

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