Misrepresentation Of Identities In The Media

Our modern society surrounds itself today with the media. One may think the media only broadcasts through the television, but there are many sources such as the newspaper, social medias, apps, cell phones etc. Technology is the way of the world now, and how we as humans rely on getting our most up to date information. The media has a vast influence on the ways minorities are viewed by our culture. The media sets the tone for the morals, values, and images for society. Minority groups are defined as “a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than do the members of a dominant or majority group”(Schaefer, 2008, p. 7).

Mass media has experienced many major developments over the past hundred years. As the manner in which media is communicated to the world evolves a definite shift to American culture has occurred in the process. Mass media has undergone numerous changes in the way it is distributed to the general public, going from newspapers, to radio, to television, and now to the World Wide Web. American culture is so ingrained in technology, that distributing mass media in this format seems like a natural step in the evolutionary process of distribution.

The course provides an introduction to the most prominent forms of media that influence and impact social, business, political, and popular culture in contemporary America. It explores the unique aspects of each medium as well as interactions across various media that combine to create rich environments for information sharing, entertainment, business, and social interaction in the U.S. and around the world.

This research will only concentrate on the extent of Americanisation in Australia through the influence on television and the film industry as the aspect of Americanisation covers a wide range from fashion to language. To fully understand the topic of the hypothesis, proper exploration of the definitions of ‘identity’ and ‘culture’ are of relevance. ‘Identity’ and ‘culture’ play an integral role in what an Australian represents as well as how the world views Australians. The meaning of ‘identity’ can be summarized as; ‘The collective aspect of the set of

Harmeen Jones, a former Fox Technician, was fired after filing a complaint to Human Resources of the unfair treatment he was receiving by his colleagues at Fox for being African-American. Jones claims ‘he was subjected to a steady stream of "racist, sexist, and extremely offensive comments,’ against blacks, Muslims, Jews, women and Hispanics” (Shifrel). Unfortunately, not only does the network available to 87 million households make flippant remarks in it’s work environment, but it also promotes racist stereotypes on air. During an episode of The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly made an insulting remark when telling an African-American guest, “Say you 're a cocaine dealer—and you kind of look like one a little bit” (Hall). Stereotyping minority races has existed since the creation of the United States, and continues to be a problem. The privileged social group in society often oppresses minorities, and advertises false statements of the other races. Media, a big contributor to the spread of racial stereotyping that occurs in the United States, often provides viewers with stereotypes that continue to promote racism, and the discouragement of success in a minority group. The media portrays the dominant race in a positive way, while minority groups are depicted in ways that provide people with an invalid reason to feel hatred toward minority groups.

The misrepresentation of women in the media has been at its highest. Reality shows such as Love and Hip Hop, have degraded and exploited women where they are only seen as objects who compete over men. They are not able to have a identity that is positive. I wanted to create a platform where you can see the true side of women. Having them tell their stories and accomplishments. Where they are seen past their physical features and given a voice. The issues discussed through the interviews are also expressed through my poetry. As women they are taking their identities back and showing who they really are, regardless of how they are depicted through the media.

The definition of race is often based on physical characteristics such as skin color, hair texture and eye shape. Race is both a set of genetically defined biological characteristics and culturally defined characteristics. One influence on culture is the media and the media have a huge influence on the way different races are viewed by society. The media consists of communication devices and some media forms include television, newspapers, magazines, film and radio. Misrepresent can be defined as to give a false or misleading representation with an intent to deceive or be unfair.

Does the media affect the way you look at the people around you, with different ethnicity, a different race and or culture? The perfect opportunity to hinder the lense of individuals is given when African Americans get murdered by police officers and individuals upload the scenes online. In today’s times, individuals have probably watched a Disney movie, especially children. As a famous quote states, “You can not teach old dogs new tricks.” Children are the easiest to persuade mainly because their brain has not fully matured. Directors understand that children are easy targets, similarly to news reporter who know how to catch the attention of an audience, persuading the way you see other people.

For many years the media has been destroying our national identity by portraying us as bigots and lower class clowns without any knowledge.

This paper takes a look at five popular American television shows and breaks down how race and issues involving racism are portrayed in American media, specifically television, in today’s society. We will analyze the characters, symbols, messages, and interactions in each of the five programs and how they shape the public attitude on racial and ethnic groups. The shows used in this paper are Veronica Mars, Community, Whose Line is it Anyway, Psych, and Castle. Each of these programs offer similar portrayals of race; few characters fall into stereotypes while the majority of others are unique and well balanced.

As a person of color, I have a bias for people of color. As humans our recognition for race emerges in infancy; we are innately drawn to people who sound like us and look like us. Through my social identity I associated myself with certain racial groups. But my bias goes beyond social psychology.

What is identity? Identity is a socially and historically concept that the media uses to represent who we are as individuals in society. Identity is a form of oppression and a way of exercising power over people, preventing them from moving outside fixed boundaries (Foucault). My area is based around the Muslim Identity as it is a very fascinating global and current topic. It is a major area of debate due to how it has been torn and shut down by the media. There is a real sense of a threat towards the Muslim cultural identity; which comes down to the values, the secular and powerful western society impose upon in the media.

The freedom constrained in this paper will not be explicit, but instead implicit aided by the example provided by my own personal experience.

According to Jenkins ‘Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide’, It spectacles that the entertainment industry has taken the advantage of harnessing ‘New Media’ on traditional formats by focussing on the logistics and practices. This evidently helps to increase the popularity and the availability of audience participation through the use of updated technology. This is denoted through old technological formats via applying new interactive media to heighten the participation for numerous audiences. For instance, back in the day many industries i.e. entertainment had to depend on broadcasting and radio for the viewers to receive their audio or visual content. To do these industries had to send out signals globally through a large transmitter so that people can receive their content. Transmitting these signals

he United States has claimed for years to be a melting pot, where race or various preferences do not define our role in society. Most everyday people do not even realize or notice the amount of stereotyping that occurs in mass media. It is important to understand the different types of discrimination marginalized groups face. Stereotypes can affect everyone, whether it is based on their race, gender, or sexual preference. Media makers could easily find ways to not discriminate against people, but perhaps this would make that specific media outlet less popularly attended to.