This series trailer is for East Los High, a teen drama that premiered in 2013 about a group of Latino American youth growing up in East Los Angeles, CA. The show is available for streaming exclusively on Hulu, an American online television and media streaming company, and is the first Hulu show to feature an all Latino cast. The trailer gives a sense of what themes the series will address, including the dramas of high school relationships, family, love, sex, betrayal, revenge, work, violence, dancing, teen pregnancy, and the role of digital culture in teen life, all from the perspective of Latino American teenagers in LA.

discussion

Does the series trailer and show perpetuate stereotypes? How are race, class, gender, and sexuality represented? What familiar high school stereotypes are referenced in the promo?

What role does the setting play in this show? How are Los Angeles, the school, and their neighborhood portrayed?

How does this series trailer and show compare to other representations of Latinos and Latinas you’ve seen on television or mainstream media?

Digital and social media are an integral part of the culture in the show. For example, one scene shows a girl and guy having sex in the back of a car and being unknowingly recorded on a phone, and another clip features another girl holding up her phone saying, “this is not gossip, this is journalism.” When you hear something through your friends or family, or see something online or through social media, how do you judge its credibility? How do you choose what to share and what not to share or engage with?