Television Sci Fi Drama The 100

Shameless is a Golden-Globe nominated show with a white dominated cast. One of the siblings on the show is black, but is identified as a White male contrary to the character’s skin tone. “When it comes to representations of Blacks on television, the 1980s can be seen as a decade of elevated inclusion both in terms of the quantity and quality of roles -- which remains the norm today. (Tukachinsky, Mastro, & Yarchi, 2015). Over the years, we will see more shows gearing their audiences to the black community. Producers add in a few social issues to reel viewers in, but the fact remains the same that a prime time heavy hitting shows, will most likely have less than 20% of their cast of African descent. In consonance with researchers, blacks currently constitute between 14-17 percent of the prime-time population. (Tukachinsky, Mastro, & Yarchi, 2015). The lack of representation in the media can lead to some interpreting that the Caucasian race is the superior race, and in retrospect, can influence the attitudes and beliefs of viewers. Prior research has shown that exposure to counter stereotypic exemplars in the media can have a positive effect on inter-group relations. (Scharrer, & Ramasubramanian, 2015) In order to reduce the misrepresentation from taking over the media, we must depict a positive image on the lives of minorities and portray them as successful, thriving human beings. By

Over the years television has been known to be one of the major educating and socializing institution in America. Television in today’s society is able to play a powerful key through which individuals can be informed, hold forums, and voice their opinion‘s. Television is also important because it offers us glimpses into minority life and minority figures. When sociologists examine minorities in television they document how minorities are portrayed and how those portrayals have changed over the years. Through time, minorities in television have been able to make moderate gains whether they are in front of or behind cameras. However, they continue to remain significantly underrepresented as leading actors in films, as writers, and as TV show creators. Even though minorities are significantly underrepresented in today’s society the TV industry has been pushing to give an opportunity to many minority groups in succeeding in the media. Several TV shows and commercials have succeeded in the TV industry to try and change how minorities are underrepresented, however, there are also shows that reinforce stereotypes and are prejudice towards minorities.

Science plays a major role in the story line of NBC’s police-procedural drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; more specifically, forensic science. From beginning to end, the characters depend on the use and their understanding of forensic science to uncover the mysteries of each examined case. The advancements in technology along with the psychological approach used by detectives to solve each case make the serious and critical role that science plays more than evident to the audience.

Television and film is a huge part of American culture. As the “face” of America changes, it is expected for our media to reflect it. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Since the beginning of film, minorities have been misrepresented and underrepresented. While there has been a significant increase in minority actors since the beginning of film, there is still a huge underrepresentation present in American television and film. Our media needs to reflect out diverse country. This topic is always important and relevant because race, gender, and sexuality, in general, have been issues throughout the growth of television and film. Even today, minorities are subject to

African American women have not had the opportunity to land career changing roles in many years. Most roles that are offered are small roles where they are seen and not really heard. There has been a shift in the past few years where African American women have increased in their appearance in television shows. Minorities have been underrepresented in television shows in the years, however in recent years there has been a trend of more minorities entering to the realm of broadcasted television shows. The Hollywood DIversity Report states,“ Minority talent claimed 16.8 percent of lead roles on cable reality and other shows during the 2012-13 season, up 3.6 percentage points from the 13.2 percent share the group claimed in 2011-12” (pg. 17). African American women roles in television have developed into two categories: the hypersexualization theme and the angry black woman theme.

Over the years, racial depiction and television have not changed as substantially as one would hope. Although there are several sitcoms on the air currently utilizing race as a large portion of the plot, this is done is a less than desirable way, most often exaggerating stereotypes of a specific race/ culture. Discussion of race and these stereotypes placed on race continue to be a topic of discussion within the media. While researching racial depictions in pop culture, I reviewed an interesting article, The Most Racially Stereotyped Characters on TV Right Now. This article written by Victoria McNally in 2012 identifies several shows currently being aired and the character to which she identifies as being racially profiled. McNally reports that in 2012, there continues to be a large number of television programs that continue to bring forth ongoing racial stereotypes, which therefore accentuates the bias’ of society.

The television show Gilmore Girls was a very successful “dramedy” created by Amy Sherman-Palladino that starred Laure Graham and Alexis Bledel. It is centered around a young mother named Lorelai (Graham) and the daughter that she had at sixteen named Rory (Bledel) who live in a very small town, the fictional Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Lorelai’s parents, Richard and Emily Gilmore, live in Hartford, Connecticut and are rich and proper and have very specific ideas of what a life should look like. Lorelai never felt like she belonged in that world, which is why she moved to Stars Hollow when she was seventeen, just a year after she had Rory. Lorelai began her life in Stars Hollow by living in a potting shed behind The Independence Inn, where she got

Television still doesn’t completely represent the diversity in America. Roughly three-quarters of film actors were white in 2014. There was only 12.5% African American, 5.3% Asian, and 4.9% Hispanic actors while there was 73.1% white actors. Studies also show the majority of actors are male. According to the annual 100 top grossing films 2007-2014 only 30.2% of speaking or named characters were women, while 73.1% were male whites.

The more television changes, the more it stays the same for the genre of African American sitcoms. Some critics believe that African Americans will never accept the images they see of themselves on network television. Like whites, African Americans on television sitcoms should be portrayed “in the full array of cultures that exist in our society.”

Ever since the integration of television and movies there has been a problem with the whitewashing of American entertainment. From cartoons to live action features, producers and casting staff seem to have trouble creating a feature that is diverse and culturally appropriate enough to accurately portray America. The diversity of film and television is not important just because it gives all actors equal worth, but because it also shows the world how we view Americans who are people of color. Diversity on television is important for breaking stereotypes and typecasting, great representation of America and viewers want to see television that they can relate to. America is one of the most diverse countries in the world yet, its citizens still struggle with stereotypes.

American television appears to be more racially inclusive than ever, with shows like: ABC’s Blackish, which feature an African American family, and ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, which represents an Asian American family. However, the white status quo still remains very much relevant in today’s television. Minority actors still receive less screen, and when they do, they act in unbelievable ways. Television has had a profound effect on society’s beliefs and attitudes based on what it portrays and how it does so, including how watchers view not only themselves but others as well. Representation of various racial communities- African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latino Americans- more frequently and in a better light can provide

Therein lies the first criterion in why modern television lacks diversity. In the New York Times article, “Why Diverse TV Matters,” there are examples of TV shows that are given that have a scarce amount of white actors, such as ‘Friends” or “The Big Bang Theory’. In these shows, it is apparent

Over the past decade, ABC has successfully reinvented itself as an inclusive home of unrepresented voices with its signature shows from Shonda Rhimes and its diverse family comedies. Two dramas from Shonda Rhimes, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, have black female leads and numerous minorities in supporting roles. Additionally, ABC’s two signature comedies, Modern Family and Black-ish, highlight diversity and emphasize inclusivity. The former features a gay couple and an interracial couple, and the latter centers on an African-American family. Beyond these flagship series, ABC also defines its brand through two family comedies we watched in class, Fresh Off the Boat and The Middle. In this essay, I will use ABC’s primetime schedule

With the exception of Jessa, most member of the cast inhabits the persona of a varied assortment of characters. For the audience to recognize, each member of the cast adorns themselves with different pieces of clothing, changes their vocal cadence and accent, and even their physicality to aid the audience in being able to distinguish their different characters. But scenes changed very quick so there is no time I can recognize. Other than that, everything was good. The story is solid and the subtleties of their actions made me

I am currently reading The 100 by Kass Morgan, which is a book about one hundred criminals who have confined inside of a space station where the human race has taken refuge. The people aboard the station have decided that Earth is finally ready to be inhabited so the space colony sends one hundred criminals to Earth. These criminals are supposed to test whether or not it is safe to colonize Earth again.