Week 6 Blog: Media Representations

(Pictures: bell hooks, Edward Said, The Cosby show cast)

I am choosing to focus on the media representation of racial and ethnic groups. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately…as a result of my (limited as it may be) television viewing. Is it me, or are there a greater number of people of color—blacks in particular—in advertisements as of late? I have always been aware of the presence of people of color, primarily because I am a person of color. Even if I weren’t, I would like to think that I would pay particular attention to this issue. Anyhow, I am wondering if the increased presence (if there truly is one) is related to B.O.’s win. Is it now “alright”—read profitable, socially acceptable-- for different companies to portray more people of color in their ads? Unless I conduct a study, I’ll probably never know. According to Beach, and studies included in the reading, racial and ethnic groups are often portrayed in ways that are negative and promote stereotypes (Beach, 50). Additionally, 40% (I never realized the number was so high!) of children ages 19 and under are people of color (Children Now, Fall Colors Prime Time Diversity Report 2003-2004). This is certainly not reflected in what I have seen in television programming.

Latinos appear in 1% network stories (Subervi, 2005 as cited in Beach, 50), usually revolving around the topics of illegal immigration and crime. As far as primetime television, Latinos are represented 3% of the time. This is at a time when Latinos made up 13% of the U. S. population Subervi, 2005, as cited in Beach, 50).

Blacks, too, are portrayed by local news programs as being involved in criminal activity, and in general programming as either extremely talented, or dangerous (Beach, 50). I find it interesting that there are numerous primetime programs that represent “everyday” White families (of course I realize that t.v. is t.v. and that the shows aren’t actual depictions of what it is like to “live white”), but that every day, non-exotic, non-fear raising shows featuring people of color are few and far between.

According to Women’s e-News, prime-time television is one dominated by 30-year-old single, white men who are good-looking, intelligent and desirable. During this time-frame, men appear 2/3 of the time, while women appear 1/3 of the time. People of color are often in positions of maids, drivers, secretaries, and assistants (Schultz, 2001). And shouldn’t they be thankful???? (Yeah, right.)

One theory about why this continues to happen can be situated in the context of Gramsci’s theory of hegemony (Mistry, 1999). Basically, the dominant culture appears to act in a way that is positive for the dominated group (people of color portrayed in television and movies, for example). In truth the actions taken do nothing to change the hegemony of the dominators (people of color typically appear in lowly positions)(Mistry, 1999).

Wow! Talk about the ability of media to influence our thoughts/actions/attitudes. Check out this clip on Orientalism. It starts out with biased reporting on the Oklahoma City and proceeds to explore the theory that the way the west views people from the Middle East results from a planned agenda stemming from political and economic interests.

http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=403

In this clip, bell hooks-- on Cultural Criticism and Transformation-- speaks on popular culture and the importance of thinking critically. Please check it out. Good points are made on the role of teachers in engaging students.

http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=402

I decided to check out Ebony (http://www.ebony.com/assembled/home.html ), Hispanic (http://hispanic.com/Default.aspx ), and Native Peoples Magazine http://www.nativepeoples.com/ to explore what issues are brought to the table with reference to different ethnic groups from an inside perspective. I wasn’t surprised—AT ALL—by what I found. Articles on the recession, politics, community events, achievements and accomplishments of community members, history, culture, and news, among many other topics, as they relate to traditionally underrepresented groups. It is a shame—in my humble opinion—that so many of these important issues are rarely brought into mainstream media. It seems as though the issues are invisible if they don’t affect the dominant population—even though, they do in many ways.

As far as classroom application, I think Risa Cohen’s “ Interrogating Gender Stereotypes” lesson would be great to use to interrogate race/ethnic stereotypes. This promotes an understanding of how media defines people in our society (Risa Cohen, as cited in Beach, 49), and prompts students to think about their own values and how they have been influenced by the media.