Race And Ethnicity

Race by definition is simply a means of establishing people into a category purely on the basis of physical physiognomies, such as the colour of their skin, the texture of their hair, and facial features. Race can be strongly identified to be a “social construct’” due to the fact that there is no precise source for this categorization. Haynes (2007) says “ethnicity and race remain among the most powerful sources of social stratification…and continue to be used to legitimize invasion, colonization, slavery and genocide.”

On the other hand Ethnicity is defined as the belonging to a group that holds common national or cultural backgrounds. “The ambiguity of the concept of ethnicity lends itself to misinterpretation… in the media there is evidence

The media displays its audiences the social world from within and yonder personal experiences. The media can be interpreted in multiple ways, and in some cases not always the preferred reading, this is called the ‘hypodermic” or “media-effects model of reception.” (Haynes. A.,2007)

Race and ethnicity “limits people’s social worlds in a way that has powerful implication for the information they receive, the attitudes they form, and the interactions they experience…Race and ethnicity creates the strongest divides in our personal environments.” (McPherson et al.,2001:415)

In account for Race and ethnicity’s representations in the media, in ‘Analysing race and ethnicity in the mass media” Haynes states that “the significance of ‘race’ and ethnicity is not confined to any particular aspects” and in this particular section of the reading she talks about the ‘under-representation’ and race and ethnicity within media

It is clearly stated that for the White race, cultural invisibility is a scarce issue and that westernised media is more “globally relevant”, like for instance, the number of white Hollywood actors in cinema releases as opposed to ‘Native Americans’ or ‘Latinos’ is a noticeable scarcity, whereas the black community “have gained ground in terms of their presence…” (Mastro and Robinson 2000.) Cultural invisibility in its simplest form means the exclusion of “seeing ones ethnic group or identity, or the culture lifestyle, experiences and needs associated with that identity.” It can be said that the “invisibility” of minority groups can aggravate other “linked forms of exclusion.” It can also be thought that the exclusion from conventional media may have an effect on the minorities, causing them to withdraw from “this forum for inter-group dialogue, restricting their media consumption.”

Although the number of minorities represented in the media has increased and has become more visible in mass media organisations, minority groups are still massively under-represented amongst the production world, particularly in “decision-making roles” (Heider