Transitioning to a Better State: Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

The television shows from 1950 to the present are connected in many ways. The characters showed in the 1950s television show called Leave It To Beaver all have white coloured skin and portrayed as a happy, perfect family. As the decades increased, the nuclear families turned into blended families, and the television shows started to have coloured characters. The families started to have problems and social situations. The viewer sees the conflicts inside the family begin as the years progress. For example, in the 2000's we examined a television show called Arrested Development. The show portrays the characters as if they are troubled and have problems. The children do not listen to their parents but instead have

However, the most typical type of portrayal that can be seen in modern television is the one that includes black actors to portray black characters without prejudices or ideas about their “otherness.” As suggested in the study by Parks and Kumar (2003), it is normal for the modern television to contain images of black bodies in the same contexts as the white ones (p. 423). Instead of pointing to his blackness, the authors of the Criminal Minds have included Derek Morgan as an ordinary character into the team of behavioral profilers who do the same job. The only distinction of Derek Morgan from other members of the team is his ethnicity. Therefore, this type of stereotyping should be discussed along with the other efforts of the TV series creators to include a black role model, a “good guy” into the

The 1987 film documentary Ethnic Notions directed by Marlon Riggs, identifies the evolution of African American cultural depictions through ethnic stereotypes and caricatures in American culture. I feel Ethnic Notions exposes the roots of false generalization from the beginning and presents a series of classifications for racial depictions that still are noticeable in today's society. These racial depictions identified with in this film begin in the mid 1800's and continue thought to the 1960's. I now after viewing Ethnic notions agree that there are generalizations and depictions that are exaggerated in American popular culture and entertainment.

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

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.

Transgender is a metaphorical umbrella term that covers a person whose self-identification, anatomy, appearance, manner, and/or expression is different from the sex assigned to them at birth and does not fit with societies interpretation for the norm of gender roles. Included in the transgender umbrella are transsexual people, non-binary gender identities, and cross-dressing (LGBT Youth, 2017). Transgender individuals are often the target of discrimination, injustice and social stigma that can lead to negative health outcomes.

Television is regarded as a significant source of information that plays an influential role in formulating an individuals social reality. As a tool that conveys the simulations of every day life it “may become a part of our social experience and serve as a basis for social judgements such as racial attitudes and ethnic stereotypes” (Fujoka, 52). Stereotypes are explained as widely held beliefs about a particular person or group. Research shows that “television images of minority groups might affect minority members’ self-concept and racial awareness” (Fujoka, 54). The portrayal of minorities on television were deemed by minority groups as a conception of socially existing beliefs toward their racial group. As such, television may have perhaps

“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.

During the process of producing a television series, the demand for the producers to introduce their characters with only their highlighted traits make it impossible for viewers to gain a deep understanding of the community that the characters represent. One of the stereotypic traits that is usually seen on movies and television shows is societal difference that each race is placed into. Michael Omi in his article In Living Color: Race and American Culture stated that “in contemporary television and film, there is a tendency to present and equate racial minority groups and individuals with specific social problems” (546). There are many films and television shows found today that ground racial minorities into a specific social problems that are related to the color of their skin. It can be inferred from the current popular culture that this stereotype still persists.

Since its start, the television industry has been criticized for perpetuating myths and stereotypes about African-Americans through characterizations, story lines, and plots. The situation comedy has been the area that has seemed to draw the most criticism, analysis, and disapproval for stereotyping. From Sanford and Son and The Jefferson’s in the 1970s to The Cosby Show (1984) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, sitcoms featuring black casts and characters have always been controversial. However, their significance upon our American culture cannot be disregarded. During the 1950s and 1960s, 97% of the families were Caucasian. In the first five years of the

Kidd and Witten define the term transgender vaguely, stating it “describe[s] people who transcend the conventional boundaries of gender, irrespective of physical status or sexual orientation” (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). This term is a reference for the ‘other gender’ that is not particularly male or female. Currently, within the American society, there is a growing awareness of individuals who are transgender. Much of this awareness comes from LGBT movements and

LGBT culture is a community made up of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. This community shares a common interest in social movements. Many people today have been able to come out and be who they truly are because of the LGBT community. Roughly, 6.7 percent of the U.S. world population is said to be a member of the LGBT community. However, many negative stereotypes do not support this community. People are very biased towards the LGBT community and it is unfair. The LGBT culture has always been frowned upon by many people, however, most of those people are uneducated and do not understand what the LGBT culture truly is. The LGBT community deserves a chance to be who they truly are without being judged and looked down upon by

The depiction of transgender women characters in mainstream television has been offensive, insulting and derogatory. An article from GLADD called “Victims or Villains: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television”, examines 102 episodes and storylines on mainstream television that contained transgender characters since 2002. Of these, more than half were characterized as containing negative representations of transgender. In 2007 only 1% of television series had a recurring transgender character, which has slowly increased to 4% in 2013.

Orange Is the New Black debuted in early 2013 and has since been a highly favoured television title on the online streaming service, Netflix. Orange Is the New Black features a mainly female cast, creating a female centred comedy drama, within the cast there is a large amount of diversity, causing many gender stereotypes and genre conventions to be broken. Orange Is the New Black has characters that represent many different spectrums of sexual orientations and identities, creating a change in gender expectations. This essay will focus on episode thirteen of season one, where characters Sophia Burset and Big Boo have a large influence over the audience. These characters are unique as they break the gender expectations for LGBT and African American women that have controlled similar characters for many years.

Heather Doan, in her research essay “Effects of Racial Stereotypes on Television,” argues that racial stereotypes of different ethnic groups such as African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Middle Easterners on television programs must come to an end because of their negative influences on the affected groups and viewers. First, stereotypes describe how individuals classify their beliefs about different social and ethnic groups. Television programs promote stereotypes of different groups by representing African-Americans as violent criminals instead of victims and Latinos as illegal immigrants instead of working citizens. At the same time the programs promote Asians as coward nerds and Middle Easterners as possible terrorists. The repeated