Portrayal of African Americans in the Media

One group affected by their portrayal in the media is the African American community. Quite often one can see the stereotype of the black person within movies, television shows, and within the news. African American men are portrayed as ‘gang-bangers’ and criminals more often than white men as well as men of many other minority groups. This trend is slowly changing within television and film with Latino men making up a growing percentage of these portrayals, but black men are still the most detrimentally affected group through their portrayal as criminals by the media.
One only has to pick up a copy of a movie with a gang in it to observe this stereotyping of black men. Movies such as John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood and Phil Joanou’s Gridiron Gang directly depict such forms of gang violence. While the film strives to bring the detrimental effects of gang violence to the attention of not only the black community but also the rest of the general public, one cannot dismiss the fact that it is one of the few films of its kind. Another point to consider is that there are even fewer movies that depict this type of violence within white communities or other ethnic communities. Other films such as Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, directed by Paris Barclay and written by Phil Beauman and Shawn and Marlon Wayans, make light of gang violence within the black community. The film exploits many stereotypes of the black community such as perpetual gang violence among males, black women having multiple children from multiple men, and underage parents in a comic fashion.
Other ethnic groups are portrayed in films depicting gang violence as well. The number of movies featuring gangs within the Latino culture is on the rise. Films such as Blood in, Blood Out, directed by Taylor Hackford, and Michael Pressman’s Boulevard Nights depict aspects of the violence in Latino gangs and the outcomes of such violence. Despite the existence of such movies, the fact remains that the media continues to focus more on the gangs that exist within the African American community than any other group.
Movies featuring white males involved in gang violence are relatively rare in number when compared to the number of films featuring men of color involved in gang violence. The gangs depicted in these films are usually those of Neo-Nazis, such as the gangs in Tony Kaye’s American History X, the British film This is England by Shane Meadows, and James Merendino’s SLC Punk (though there was only a short segment featuring this Neo-Nazi gang in the latter). Rarely are the white gangs in these films depicted to be committing violence on the same scale as gangs with members of ethnic minorities.
One cannot dispute the fact that, while gang violence is becoming a major aspect in films today, gangs within ethnic communities receive much more attention from the media than those within white communities. While the fact is that more gangs within minority groups exist, should this mean that the media should choose to focus on them without much regard to gangs within white communities and the dangers they present?

Race in the Media

For my blog topic I have chosen to write about race and its representation in the media. I have chosen to write about this topic because it is of great interest to me and because the media is of such great influence in our society and in the world today. Virtually every person in the United States has access to the media in one form or another. Whether it is through movies, television, radio, magazines, newspapers, or any other form of media, people are constantly bombarded with messages about anything and everything from people and places to behaviors, attitudes, and what constitutes beauty within our society. These messages can come from sources of so-called importance, such as those communicating current affairs, or can be from sources of entertainment, such as movies and television shows. Regardless of how the messages get in, they can stick with a person and influence the choices that they make on a daily basis, their beliefs, attitudes, and their assumptions.
Because the media is so ingrained into our society, most people have begun to rely on it for almost all information that they receive. Oftentimes, opinions expressed within the media (either implicitly or explicitly) are also construed as fact. For example, within the reporting of criminal activity in the news, how many times does one see or hear that the crime was perpetrated by a black person? Compare this number to how often a person will see a report of a crime committed by a white person. One can even examine the differences in the natures of the crimes which are being reported. The news is not solely to blame in its biased reporting of crime. Within television and film one is far more likely to see a person of color commit a crime than a white person, and even when there are an equal number of crimes portrayed, the nature of the crimes of white people are very different from the nature of the crimes of persons of color.
Another aspect I intend to examine is the representation of bodies. How are the bodies of white people portrayed within the media and how does this compare to the representation of the bodies of people of color? One can see a multitude of advertisements which portray bodies of color as “exotic” or more animalistic. On the other hand, white bodies are seen as more proper and “civilized.”
I wish to examine and critique these issues concerning the representation of race in the media along with many others throughout the semester. Along with these examinations I hope to be able to discuss with others topics such as where we draw the line and how deeply these messages and images have become ingrained into the mind of the average consumer. I am open to any suggestions that people have regarding different avenues within this topic or any sources that may be helpful. I look forward to my research into this topic that has been discussed in so many of my classes.