African American Stereotypes

Negative things are said about African Americans on a daily basis. From the beginning we have had stereotypes built up against us tearing down our image in society. Over the years it would seem that African Americans would want to fix this image of them but instead they have continued to build to this negativity. One of the main reasons why this image is present until this day is reality television. Although it may not be real, portraying these images on television gives both sexes of the African American race a bad name. Even though some of these shows are funny what needs to be realized is that the people watching these shows are not laughing with African Americans, but instead at them.

Most media mainly focus their attention on violence, drug use, and crime. They only show what they feel will give them the most ratings by the end of the episode. Producers and directors do not really care about what they are making the African American community look like they only care about the money. It seems as if every reality show has to have a crazy black person, a black woman with an attitude or a thug like male role. Shaunie O’Neal, producer of hit reality show Basketball Wives, as well as an African American herself, continuously says the drama is too much and she wants a successful show, but by having people who do not really have much going for themselves or having people drama seekers on her show, what she says means nothing. She can fire whoever she would like to make her show how she would like it, but she keeps the cast the same for the ratings and the money. Shows that even African Americans do not care about how they are shown on television.

The African American men in reality tv can be described as “…violent, crass, lazy, dea...

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...a terrible neighborhoods and that they can be judges or have another high waging job. The portrayal of African Americans has changed so much over the years on television shows. At one point blacks were maids, then high class individuals, now they are shown as ignorant, violent, belligerent individuals in reality TV.

Kids are very impressionable human beings, they see one thing and they begin to imitate this thing. Reality TV enables kids to think for themselves. Going back to the show Maury, it is mostly African American teenagers seen yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs making a spectacle of themselves. Teenagers watch reality television more than anything else. One statistic states, “On average, a teen will watch 28 hours of television per week, adding up to almost 15,000 hours a year” (reportherald.com). Shows such as Love & Hip Hop, exposes teens to