Media Images Of African Americans

Racism, plays a big part in the media. It is a hierarychial system that is organized to benefit white people because they are “superior” and anything other than that is seen as inferior. “black women are one of the most devalued female groups in american society and thus they have been the recipient of a male abuse and cruelty that has known no bounds or limits” (aint I am women bell hooks 108). Black women experience racism, but also go through other struggles people are not aware of. These struggles include things like: colorism and cultural appropriation.

When you look at the amount of African American stars on television, it is easy to tell that stereotypes of African Americans are being portrayed negatively. Since the 1960s, black television has thrived in many different ways. From “Different Matters” to “Insecure”, African Americans have tried to get rid of this stigma. African Americans are constantly shown as. However, with the increase of representation comes an increase in misrepresentation. The amount of discrimination has risen exponentially in the United States. This is due to the increased hatred and miscommunication of black struggle and black problems in the world, causing an inhumane belief and standard of regular African Americans in the world.

The perception of African Americans in America will stay the same. The perception of African Americans is that we always play the race card and we always act as the victim in any situation. In most situations the outcome or conclusion can be perceived in many ways, African Americans are never giving the benefit of the doubt. The Opportunity Agenda conducted three studies to gain knowledge on the perception of African Americans in society. One of the best-documented themes in the research is that the overall representation of African American men and boys in the media is a distortion of reality in a variety of ways. The perception is that we are all criminals, live in poverty and do not try to succeed in life besides playing sports or having musical career. The positive images and attributes with which African American males are associated tend to be

Media bias is displayed repeatedly in news coverage of black tragedies and in the persecution of black bodies. From protest following the non indictments of cop killing unarmed black men to the uninformed persecution of the BlackLivesMatter movement, mainstream media is constantly standing in opposition to anything that threatens the status quo. My five articles assessed said media bias, and if that bias whether negative or positive affected the African-American community.

Race in the media is a very sensitive issue now a days. When it comes to minorities we can still see that the media portrays us in a bad light. The image of blacks in the American media has changed over the past two decades with the civil rights movement, changes in attitudes towards minority groups, and increased sensitivity on the part of those who and project these images. An examination of the image of Blacks in the articles and advertisements to show attitudes subtly represented, and these attitudes can be linked to historical and social realities of the time.

In today’s society mass media has major influences on the beliefs/perceptions one may have on certain ethnicities or controversial topics. Media outlets have the power to shape certain situations and place people in an image that may not always be accurate. As stated in an article by Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, Communication research and theory suggest that the mass media is an important source of information about African Americans and media portrayals contribute to public perceptions of African Americans(2008). Further, it was mentioned that media outlets such as television may cause viewers to conceive, alter, or even reinforce their beliefs and opinions about African Americans ( Punyanunt- Carter, 2008). For Instance, in the Netflix documentary called “13th” Media outlets consistently used the word “Super predators” when describing the numerous African American men who were being arrested in the 80’s during the war on drugs era. The constant use of the word super predator can persuade viewers to believe that ALL African American men are super predators when that is not the case! Just because there are a few African Americans who are seen on Media outlets committing heinous crimes does not mean that all African Americans are criminals. As stated in a scholarly article by Tony Weaver, Media outlets create a narrative that portrays African Americans as lazy, violent individuals, who are prone to crime. The Misrepresentation of African Americans in media has

“I turn on the news each night and what do I see again and again? African Americans alleged to be killing, raping, mugging, stabbing, gangbanging, looting, rioting, selling drugs, pimping, ho-ing, having to many babies, dropping babies from tenement windows, fatherless, penniless, and Godless” (Moore 59). The media has devoted too much time and space perpetuating these negative views of African Americans and far too little time describing the background problems of African-American communities. “What is not a crisis is not usually reported and what is not or cannot be made visual is often not televised” (Racist America 154). The news media respond quickly and with keen interest to the conflicts and controversies of racial stories. For the most part, “they disregard the problems that seep beneath the surface until they erupt in the hot steam that is the live news story, ‘The suspect is a black male’ we’ve all seen it” (Racist America 154). The media has not studied important events in the African-American community today. Issues such as urbanization, education, and poverty, just to name a few that have and will continue to have a

The media perpetuates stereotyping and prejudice in America as they show viewers either from the television, newspaper or radio things in certain ways to make them thinks as a stereotyped or prejudice person. What I see a lot done down here in the South West is the media represents Black people the wrong way. They put in a lot in peoples head that Black males are criminals and drug dealers. That could be easily someone with a different ethnicity. People of color are often put out there as bad but we’re not. Just like in any race or ethnic background, there is always that bad one and that is how I see every race. Just like my Uncle Jeffery mentions from time to time, “there is always that one in the family that just seems to stand out”. Whether

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” Barack Obama. The question is always asked does the media reflect the reality of society, or does society try and imitate the reality shown by the media? There are a number of stereotypes associated with African Americans in our society such as African American men are athletes, rappers, criminals, deviant, streetwise, uneducated, and unemployed just to name a few. African Americans in the media have changed through the years. The history of African Americans on TV or minorities in general is hampered by the racial conflicts and segregation that are embedded in American society. Historically, black actors have been grouped stereotypically and assigned to comedy. This has often been traced to the genre of black minstrelsy that was popular in the early 20th century.

Racism and discrimination continue to be a prevalent problem in American society. Although minorities have made significant strides toward autonomy and equality, the images in media, specifically television, continue to misrepresent and manipulate the public opinion of blacks. It is no longer a blatant practice upheld by the law and celebrated with hangings and beatings, but instead it is a subtle practice that is perceived in the entertainment and media industries. Whether it’s appearing in disparaging roles or being negatively portrayed in newscasts, blacks continue to be the victims of an industry that relies on old ideas to appeal to the majority. The viscous cycle that is the unconscious racism of the media continues to not only be

The way entertainment in the media portrays us has greatly affected how others identify us. Movies and shows like; Madea’s family Reunion, Bringing down the House, Love and Hip Hop, and Basketball Wives all portray us in a degrading way. People sometimes find it comical of course, but the fact that it is comical does not justify it being debasing. This image of us has evolved from things in the media, and its’ power to shape people’s idea of us. We as a race must stop living up to our stereotypes. As soon as we take action in not succumbing to our own stereotype, people will not think we are “Ghetto” or any other undignified term they think of us; therefore in the media we won’t be perceived in that way. As Colin Powell once said, “Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission.” Although African American stereotyping is prevalent in the media now because of its’ entertaining quality; it perpetuates a cycle of harmful stereotypes. As long as this cycle continues, our culture will always be illustrated negatively.

“The sensitivity around stereotypes and distortions largely arises, then, form the powerlessness of historically marginalized groups to control their own representation.” Since Black people are the minority, they have no control over how they are represented in the media. As Shothat had mentioned in his article, “In the media there is a tendency to represent Black males as potential delinquents.” The misrepresentation of most Black males, affects them significantly; therefore, since they

In today’s society media has influence among the way people act and reflect on certain topics. Media including social media, news outlets, and television have always depicted African Americans in a negative light, therefore leaving those of others races to stereotype all African Americans into a category of criminals.

Mass media has played and will continue to play a crucial role in the way people perceive African Americans. Such as labeling all blacks in engaging in drug use, criminal activity, and welfare abuse. As a result of the overwhelming media focus on crime, drug use, gang violence, and other forms of anti-social behavior among African-Americans in society. The media has just promoted a malformed and harmful public perception of African-Americans. This causes people to be more cautious towards blacks and as result are more careful in what an individual says around them. Overall the media especially has crushed young African Americans’ prospects for future employment and advancement. People now have a certain outlook on African American’s and as more discrimination occurs in the world, another type occurs which is religious discrimination that guides a more negative social behaviors and

The media’s representation of blacks is a major source of the racism and discrimination in today’s society. As the internet and television continues to grow as a world-wide phenomenon, people tend to rely on the media to for daily information, and in turn, they rely on it so much that it shapes their perceptions of daily events. People come to view the depictions of characters in the media as a real representation of people, and they use these as examples of how to act in reality. While these images could provide positive role models, the media has influenced society’s behavior with the use of negative stereotypes of blacks. The media associates colored people with the general misconceptions of being “…stupid…disrespectful, violent…ignorant, menacing, untidy, rebellious…[and] uneducated…” (Punyanunt-Carter 2008). Laura Green, a student counselor at Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar with a masters