Televisions have been entertaining families in America for many years, reflecting the social norms of different time periods. Since the 1960s, social rules and norms governing what is “right and wrong” in America have changed profoundly. As journalists, my group and I were interested in how changing social boundaries affected what shows were on television, resulting in this research question: How has television entertainment reflected the social movements over the last 50 years? I focused on how social movements and society’s acceptance of racial equality affected how African Americans were showed on television. Since the 1960s, there have been multiple social changes impacted African Americans. I was interested in how these changes reflected how the minority was casted on television. For many white Americans, television has been the only insight of African American people. Because of this, their judgments of African Americans can be affected by television as much as television is affected by social movements. If the American population is to continue growing towards racial equality, we must understand how television impacts our judgment. Anne Gray Perrin’s article “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: The Web of Racial, Class, and Gender Constructions in late 1960s,” examined how a popular movie in the late 60s reflected the social movements of the time period. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner came out in 1967, and was one of the first American movies to show an interracial couple. According to Perrin, it was released just months after Justice Earl Warren decided to legalize interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia. Other directors had tried to show interracial couples before, but theatres were prohibited to play them. Two years before ... ... middle of paper ... ...e occurred since the 1960s. I would then make a separate list of the popular movies and television shows representing African Americans during the same time periods. Lastly, I would analyze the connections between the two lists. While doing the research, I would expect to find more positive portrayals of African Americans in more recent television shows and movies. However, since racism still exists, stereotypes and negative characteristics are also to be expected. The scholarly articles I have researched came from credible sources and allowed me to draw connections between society, television, and African Americans. They brought attention to themes I may have otherwise ignored, such as stereotypes and television’s impact on society. However, only Perrin and Berry made a direct connection between social movements and the portrayal of African Americans on television.
How many people today watch family sitcoms to imitate or compare values with their own? Probably not as many as there were in the 1950s. In Stephanie Coontz's "What We Really Miss about the 1950s", she discusses why people feel more nostalgic towards growing up in the 1950s, and how she disagrees that 1950s wasn't the decade that we really should like or remember best. Apart from economic stability, family values played an important part then. Through television sitcoms, such as "Leave it to Beaver", "Father knows Best", families watched them to make sure they were living correctly. It was like guidance and somewhat reassurance. However, values of families have changed, and this is shown on sitcoms today. We watch sitcoms today for entertainment, and sometimes we can relate to them because the setting is realistic. In the modern sitcom, "Gilmore Girls" characters and plot are used to demonstrate family values such as gender roles, children roles, economic status, morals, ethics and general organization of a family that differ from the values shown in the 1950s sitcoms.
In today’s culturally diverse, politically correct society, it is hard to believe that at one time racism was not only accepted as the norm, but enjoyed for its entertainment value. Individuals of African descent in North America today take the large, diverse pool of opportunities offered by the film industry for granted. Much like Canadian theatre however, there was a time when a black man in any role, be it servant or slave, was virtually unheard of. It took the blaxpliotation films of the early nineteen seventies to change the stereotypical depiction of Black people in American Cinema, as it took The Farm Story, performed by a small troop of Canadian actors, to create a Canadian theatre industry. To be more specific, it took the release of Melvin Van Peebles, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, in 1971, to change the tradition view of Black people in American film.
Most of these images are always negative; in fact, when most of us turn on the television to watch a sitcom, we will often see African- Americans acting as if they have little or no sense at all. Frequently African-Americans would be depicted as being extremely melodramatic in all that they say or do, and it tends to send the wrong message to people in the United States; as well as, people all across the world. For example, on the television sitcom ‘Good Times’ viewers observed a black family living in a Chicago housing project in poverty. Sitcoms of African Americans who did not live in poverty were uncommon until the 80’s. The Huxtables introduced me and everyone else to a new image of living as an African American. ‘‘The Cosby Show’’ enlightened me to a new sense of self-confidence and pride. Throughout its broadcasting years, the Huxtable family candidly crushed the stereotypical images of the African-American family. The show displayed the African-American family in a way that was never before seen or grasped by the American public. In fact, during that era most of the mass media programs depicted African-American television families as hard working lower class poor citizens, many of which constantly used slang or terrible grammar. Likewise, the broadcasting community endorsed the idea that African-American people were connected to
The roles African Americans play on television are not satisfactory. Though the roles have changed during the development of television, the current relationship is not representative of true African American people or their lifestyles. The question is how do the past roles African Americans play in television sitcoms compare to the current roles? How does this affect society’s perception of the African American in American culture? Throughout the history of television the roles and the representation of African Americans has developed with the changing cultural conditions. However, the representation of African American’s has not fully simulated into today’s society. What the average citizen views on his or her television does not accurately portray the African American’s influence on America.
The history of African Americans in early Hollywood films originated with blacks representing preconceived stereotypes. D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, Birth of a Nation, stirred many controversial issues within the black community. The fact that Griffith used white actors in blackface to portray black people showed how little he knew about African Americans. Bosley Crowther’s article “The Birth of Birth of a Nation” emphasizes that the film was a “highly pro-South drama of the American Civil War and the Period of Reconstruction, and it glorified the role of the Ku Klux Klan” (76). While viewing this film, one would assert that the Ku Klux Klan members are heroic forces that rescue white women from sexually abusive black men. Griffith introduced “mulatto, faithful mammy, Uncle Tom, and brutal buck” character; some were disguised as villains and obnoxious individuals. Donald Bogle’s “Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks” describes the brutal black buck as “big, bad niggers, sexed and savage, violent and frenzied as they lust for white flesh” (13-14). Some of the film’s most objectionable scenes depict black men trying to rape white women and Negros destroying the south however, the Ku Klux Klan is riding to the rescue. Bogle also recorded some scenes in the film that presented blacks as a joke. For instance, Bogle reaffirms that “freed Negro legislators are depicted as lustful, arrogant, and idiotic: one bites on a chicken leg, another sneaks a drink from a liquor bottle, and another removes his shows during legislative meetings” (12).
Many people in America like to think that racial stereotyping and racism is a thing of the past, but racial stereotyping is still prominent in America. Although racial stereotyping and racism significantly slowed down, it still remains a major factor in American society. In “The End of Post-Identity Television,” Aymar Jean Christian argues the fact that race is not a major factor in casting characters in a television series or a movie, he reveals that race is not relevant anymore. In Michael Omi’s “In Living Color: Race and American Culture,” he argues how racial stereotyping and racism still exist in America. The Cosby Show seeked to change racial stereotyping in television by portraying an upper-middle class African American family. The Cosby Show attempted to break barriers for African Americans in television and did so by paving the way for other major African American based sitcoms. “The End of Post-Identity
of racial minorities on prime time television: A replication of the Mastro and Greenberg study a decade later. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://pcasacas.org/SiPC/32.2/Monk-Turner_Heiserman_Johnson_Cotton_Jackson.pdf.
How has the media portrayal of African Americans affected the way society perceives them as a whole? “…negative exposure to African American portrayals in the media significantly influences the evaluation of African American in general” (Punyanunt-Carter 242). My research question centers on the general public’s view of African Americans as individuals and as a minority. Mass media is a vital source of information that contributes to the public perceptions of African Americans and their roles and personality. According to several scholars and my own perspective, I believe that the depiction of the African American has been one-dimensional, negative and distorted; without a doubt, the stereotypical portrayal of African Americans has contributed to racial prejudice and assumptions. In my opinion, I feel as if the negative depictions outweigh the positive.
African Americans have been the subject of cruel, demeaning, and shameful stereotypes in the media for the longest and it is still going on today. Whether on stage, on the movie screen, or in music, or even right before your eyes on the television screen some people still can’t see the signs of African American stereotyping and it needs to be stopped.
Often racial injustice goes unnoticed. Television tries to influence the mind of their viewers that blacks and whites get along by putting them on the screen to act as if interracial relationships has been accepted or existent. “At the movies these days, questions about racial injustice have been amicably resolved (Harper,1995). Demott stresses that the entertainment industry put forth much effort to persuade their audience that African Americans and Caucasians are interacting and forming friendships with one another that is ideal enough for them to die for one another. In the text, Demott states “A moment later he charges the black with being a racist--with not liking whites as much as the white man likes blacks--and the two talk frankly about their racial prejudices. Near the end of the film, the men have grown so close that each volunteer to die for the other” (Harper,1995). Film after film exposes a deeper connection amongst different races. In the text, Demott states “Day after day the nation 's corporate ministries of culture churn out images of racial harmony” (Harper, 1995). Time and time again movies and television shows bring forth characters to prove to the world that racial injustice has passed on and justice is now received. Though on-screen moments are noticed by many people in the world it does not mean that a writer/ director has done their
The role of the television in the late 1950’s and 1960’s played a significant role in American households. In fact, never before had a media captivated audiences since the inception of the radio. While the earliest televisions were black and white, households that could afford this luxury were mostly, white, middle class. Towards the mid 1950’s the first color television broadcast aired by CBS. Moreover, the television dramatically influenced the social, political, and economical landscape of American households in this era.
The cast members of each of the shows were put into situations that were constantly enforcing racial stereotypes, done on purpose by the producers. In the essay, the author argues that media makes the viewers have a struggle in what they choose to believe. She also states that society participates
One of the greatest exports of American culture is American media. American media is one of the most widely distributed and consumed cultural forms from the United States. This means that not only do Americans consume large quantities of their own media, but many other countries in the world consume American media, too. People in other countries will not interpret or understand the media in precisely the same ways that Americans will and do, nonetheless, many aspects of American culture and American reality are communicated to numerous viewers as part of the content in the media. The media is an important tool in the discussion of race, class, and gender in America. It takes a savvy viewer to discriminate between and understand what media accurately represents reality, what media does not, or which aspects of experience are fictionalized, and which elements ...
Currently there is a long-standing debate dealing with the effects of media. Some believe that the media is just something to indulge or watch and that it has no significant affect on people while others say that has a powerful pull on society as a whole. Research indicates that bias in media articles leads to minorities and women being portrayed in a stereotypical or harsh manner (Hazell and Clarke 3). This leads to African Americans being seen as individuals fit for “lower status occupations,” (Hazel and Clark 7). Black men were also seen as hostile, intimidating figures mainly working as athletes or musicians while women were portrayed as domineering, overly expressive people (Hazel and Clark 9).
Seitz argues that M.Ns are happy to help their masters at any time. African-Americans are serving whites to succeed in their life and these mentors willingly serve whites. Seitz states, “Magical Negro”: a saintly African-American who acts as a mentor to a white hero… [their] relationship is that of a master and servant… one that truly lives to serve, has no life to speak beyond his service” (Seitz 357). Years after the end of slavery, blacks are still considered as servants of whites in America. Even though social reforms have ended slavery and the exclusion of blacks from society, whites still consider blacks as their slaves and this has been portrayed ambiguously in many movies. In pro-white popular culture, African-American actors and actresses have not received fair treatment to perform at the highest of their abilities. In today’s modern world, there are roots of racism; popular culture and mass media production are very important key factors in promoting the racial distinction in our society. In this modern world, media and television are a part of everyday life. People have easy access to movies and TV shows; viewers of these shows tend to believe what is being shown. Films and TV shows have played a significant role in reestablishing racism and discrimination in popular culture. Many of the mass media production industries have characterized racial stereotypes. Omi reveals racial stereotypes, “[in