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Chris Brown
Professor Carty
UWRT 1102- 003 Final Draft
23 November 2014

How African-Americans are depicted in the Media

There are over 7 billion people across the world where advertisement is displayed and
seen every day, everywhere. People see over 10,000 different types of advertising a day from
billboards to commercials, even on the sides of busses. Mass media has a great effect on our
minds and body because it can easily influence us to believe something or make us feel a certain
way about anything. For instance if you came upon an article online about a celebrity getting in
some trouble for drugs or infidelity or anything would you believe it? Why? Whats your
source?
Most people would believe just because it was published or displayed in a magazine.
Hypodermic needle theory is a media theory that has direct effect of mass media on audiences
because of how powerful the message is or can be. All of us depend on the media to portray and
define those things that we have not personally experiences. We "learn" about others through
radio, websites, television, movies, video games, newspapers, and magazines. The portrayals
and news coverage of Native Americans and other groups in those media can become reality in
our minds, especially if we have no direct experiences to balance them against. I believe that out
of all races that our world consist of minorities of all kinds, especially African Americans, are
misrepresented and disrespected by the media.

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A great way that the media represents our country is through television and the shows
that we watch they all have messages and audiences, either hidden or in sight. One show that I
have seen that has misrepresented our country is an old television show from the 1960s call
leave it to beaver. Leave it to beaver was an American comedy television series about a young
nave boy and his adventures at home in school and around his neighborhood. His family
represented the Ideal American family; middle class, two parent home, nice house and car, and
white. That is an ideal American well its supposedly is. Thats where every race that is not
white is disrespected or misrepresented because not everyone in the world is middle class. Some
are high class or low class/ poor. So why is that represented in this show? I know growing up
my family consisted of a one parent home in the projects with an old car. Are the two even close
to being similar? No, there are many families like mines throughout this country and this show
miss-represents and targets an audience that is mainly white. This television series was targeting
a more white audience than minority because they felt like blacks or Hispanics couldnt relate.
Just because one might be a single mother of two that is low class doesnt mean she is
any less of a person or family than one with a two parent middle class family. Everyone in their
own way is different that is why our country is great but at the same time we are all humans and
creatures of God, meaning we are all equal. This show just doesnt give the message of
everyone being the same and representing our countries many different nationalities. It puts a
bias on whites saying this is what a family is supposed to be or is in America this excludes
minorities from basically being relevant in our society making them feel not a part of something
great because of them being different. Mass media is often referred to as main stream media
because it gets the attention of a large audience.

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The function of mass media is to sell ads, entertain, inform, and make money for
shareholders (Smith). Prime time television is a form of mass media, it serves the purpose of
mass media through the transmission of messages to a certain target audience. Many producers
of the TV shows are basically trying to inform us on a topic or situation that might not be
familiar to them.
The problem with Prime Time television is the continuous inaccurate depictions of
African-Americans, which result in stereotypical misrepresentations of this minority group. This
is considered Outsider-Insider Theory (Smith). Outsider insider theory is when an outside
source is trying to tell someone about a topic that they do not have actual facts about to an
audience (Smith). African Americans are looked down upon in mass media, a lot of the roles
that African Americans get in todays business are sub servant roles or roles where the
personality of the character being played is tainted or fouled.
Social media is by far one of the worlds main attractions? Why; because it entertains us,
gives us a quicker way to communicate with one another and its easy to access it. But it is not
always the best way to exemplify how we are feeling because there is no filter on these forums
liked Facebook, Tumbler, Instagram, and Twitter. People are allowed to post anything that they
would like to post no matter what it consist of. Not always is the information shared positive or
true. In many instances the information is inaccurate, hurtful, and/or offensive.
Unfortunately African-Americans are typically viewed in an unfavorable light with the
various racially driven cartoons, group games and chain letters, or even random racially driven
posts and comments that are circulated or shared through these sources. I have personally
noticed some of the racial things that can be put upon these websites epically on Instagram where

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you can find a lot of racially driven memes bout black people in todays world. Everything from
stereotypes of how all African-Americans are good at sports to calling the current President of
the United States Mr. Obama instead of President Obama.
Some of these things can really hurt people and manipulate them into believing some of
the ignorant things that they see on a daily basis. Take for example the Stereotype Threat in
which a person who belongs to a group that has a negative stereotype attached to it,
subconsciously conforms to that negative stereotype (Smith). The power that media has on our
society is crazy, it can really change peoples views on something whether it being right on
wrong just because they seen it through one of these forums.

Approximately over 450 films are release this year (LEIPZIG).

So if you do the math thats almost a movie and a half each day. Today movies and
streams of movies are at an all-time high. I barely watch TV anymore I only was sports games
and Netflix and so do a lot of my friends and family. Over the years African Americans have
played minor roles in the good movies or they have played roles that bring shame to our race.
Take for instant in most of the scary movies you see who is all ways the first to die? The black
person this just shows that we are worthless and are not important. It also shows the slight, sub
servant role that we end to play.
This leads to the broad characterizations of African American people based on the type of
movies we play in and their roles. The main one in my opinion would have to be that black is
savage, meaning that we have no home training and illiterate, also dishonest. The next one in line
would be that black is happy servants, meaning that no matter what the role is we would be
happy with it. Even if its being an extra, we do not fight for the bigger role so we become

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content with anything. Then comes black is ugly, compare to its white counter parts, when you
see a lot of models and make up commercials who do you see? White people because thats the
medias ways of saying that white people are naturally more beautiful than African Americans.
In movies today if African Americans are represented they are represented in four
different categories. As an uncle toms, a buck, a mammy or a coon. As the Uncle Tom this
person tends to be the good character, hes honest and trustworthy but on the other hand you
have the total opposite in the coon where his sole purpose is to entertain, he is represented as a
dumb buffoon that is basically clown. The mammy is usually the fat sweet dark skinned woman,
take Madea for example. Then you have the buck where he is all into the white women and
isnt afraid to stand up to the white man in charge. These are basically the roles we as African
Americans play in movies today
I believe that todays world and the media has let minorities down tremendously
from a representation stand point. I feel as though they have left us out of the light by the roles
African Americans tend to get, and how we are profiled by everyone because of how the media
believes we are. The portrayal of minorities in movies and television is less than ideal. Whether
its appearing in disparaging roles or not appearing at all, minorities are the victim of an industry
that relies on old ideas to appeal to the "majority" at the expense of the insignificant minority. I
believe that out of all races that our world consist of minorities of all kinds, especially African
Americans, are misrepresented and disrespected by the media.

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Works Cited:

Smith, Debra. "Global Connections." LBST 2101. Charlotte, 8 July 2014

LEIPZIG, ADAM. New York Times. 16 january 2005. 23 November 2014.