Representation of African Americans in Media

 Representation of African Americans in Media

Such media representation is not always seen in a positive light and propagates controversial and misconstrued images of what African Americans represent. "Research on the portrayal of African Americans in prime-time television from 1955 to 1986 found that only 6 percent of the characters were African-Americans, while 89 percent of the TV population was white."This under-representation has reversed, however, according to a 2018 report from the Department of Social Sciences at UCLA, which states that, despite making up less than 13% of the US population, "Blacks were overrepresented among actors in broadcast scripted shows in 2015-16, claiming 17 percent of the roles."

Since local news media is a primary source of information for many people, it plays a vital role in policy debates regarding civil rights, the public's general knowledge of minority communities, as well as a broader and more comprehensive worldview. The debate of ownership diversity affecting content diversity also contributes to the idea that in order for African Americans to be well represented in the media, there needs to be African-American ownership in the media.

Negative portrayals of black men on TV, the internet, newspaper articles, and video games can be linked, in part, to lower life expectancies. This was found in a study done in 2011 done by the Opportunity Agenda. Another study done shows just how many under representations of black men there actually are. It relates African Americans to drug related crimes which was very exaggerated.

The portrayals of African Americans in movies and television shows in America reinforce negative stereotypes.  African Americans on these programs were generally depicted in service or blue-collar occupations, such as a house cleaner or a postal worker". This is in contrast to their white counter-parts who are business executives and business owners. "

She also found that "the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1977) found that African American television portrayals typically depicted the following stereotypic personality characteristics: inferior, stupid, comical, immoral, and dishonest". Seeing negative images on television, and film of African Americans can be seen as a covert propaganda that transitively affects the subconscious mind, and negatively shapes the psychology of the observer.  

African-American actresses and actors are more common on the big screen, but they are still scarce in bigger blockbuster movies, "with the stakes high, many studio executives worry that films that focus on African-American themes risk being too narrow in their appeal to justify the investment. Hollywood has nonetheless shown an interest in recent years to bank more heavily on African-American actors and themes." Studio executives explain the lack of presence of the African Americans in supporting or starring roles by stating “only 4 out of 10 movies turn a profit, according to the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. But because pictures with nearly all-black casts come along more infrequently, they tend to stand out more when they fail".

Comprehension about the text, answer the questions bellow IN ENGLISH:

1 - What is the steriotype of African-Americans  on media?

2 -Why the African-Americans often portrait like this way on media?

3 - Why the studios did not invest their money in films that focus on African-American themes ?

4 - Do you agree with this kind of portrait of African-Americans? Why?