Ethnic and Racial Images in the Media

The Portrayal of African Americans in Television and the Media

1) Jewell, Sue K. "TV Still Presenting Black Women as Stereotypes." The New Pittsburgh Courier [Pittsburgh] 3 March 1993.
This was found on the Ethnic Newswatch database.
This article provides an analysis of several television programs based around African American families in the 1980s and early 1990s. The author argues that television shows such as Family Matters and Good Times reinforce certain stereotypical stock characters that portray African Americans in a negative way. Although this article is fairly old, it cannot be assumed that it is out of date as many of the characters they identify can still be found in the entertainment media today. This is a good site as the author acknowledges that although the Cosby Show portrayed Claire Huxtable as a smart and successful African American woman, such representations are rare. The author also discusses the stereotypical characters in detail, which immediately come to mind. This article stresses the importance of establishing racial equality in the entertainment industry since art represents life and vice versa.

2) Mayers, Marian. "African American Women and Violence: Gender, Race, and Class in the News." Critical Studies in Media Communication, 21.2 (2004): 95-118.
This was found on the Humanities Abstracts database.
This article discusses the portrayal of African American women in news stories. The author argues that they are shown to act indecently, which in turn provokes their assault. This stereotypical view perpetuates stereotypes as the African American women are meant to seem guilty when they are in fact the victimes of a violent crime. This is a useful article as it opens the eyes of the public to the falsehoods often present in the well crafted news stories that we hold in such high regard.

3) Henderson, Jennifer Jacobs, and Gerald J. Baldasty. "Race, Advertising, and Prime-Time Television." The Howard Journal of Communications, 14.2 (2003): 97-112.
This was found on Social Science Abstracts.
This article analyzes the amount of diversity on television commercials and the representation of racial minorities like African Americans. The study concludes that African Americans are perceived as low budget consumers and this representation comes through in commercials. This is a useful site because it discusses the way consumerism also holds a stereotypical image of African Americans in mind when creating commercials. This is a useful article because it's important to look at all aspects of the media and how racial minorities are represented.

posted by Anna @ 3:30 PM