Black People in The Media

Socrates claimed once, “False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” Media excels at bending the truth for consumers. Representation of African Americans throughout the years in the media can be described as unquestionably distorted at most times to say the least. Though coming a long way from “blackface” and other far racist depictions, the fact cannot be ignored that African American portrayal in the media, even in its vast progression, is not perfect.

The media’s influence on consumers cannot be underestimated. Malcom Little (better known as Malcom X) once claimed, “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses” (qtd. in “Media Portrayals…”). Regardless of his controversial reputation, Malcom X brings forth an excellent point. The media has an immense amount of command over consumers’ thought process. Whether or not they present the truth or falsehoods, weighs greatly with that power.

Access to media of some format is readily available for almost every person in the United States of America. Daily lives are saturated with medias of all sort. Television, music, and social media hijack daily routines and either shake up or confirm common beliefs. Discussed throughout this essay is the progression from confirming stereotypes and racism to a media much more progressive that strives for equality and proper representation.

From the almost century ago that television set was created, consumers ages fifteen and above now watch upwards of 2.8 hours a day on television. Dedication like that to anything of any sort is likely to create an influence Ninety-nine percent of households have at least one television, while sixty-six percent have three or more. Presence like that in a common household just shows the access available to consumers. It comes down to what content is shown on these screens which has incredible power to impact lives (Isaacs).

Of course, depiction in visual media has come lightyears from the age of “blackface”. An age where black actors were unheard of and when they were needed for productions, white actors would quite literally cover their faces in black paint and paint exaggeratingly large, bright red lips (Horton). Though, advancement in the media depiction has not been smooth; Thugs, athletes and homeless among the black man’s onscreen resume throughout time (“Media Portrayals…”).

News is one such visual media platform is the news. Subtly or not, the news has been known to hyperbolize or hide coverage in order to please the consumer. News often can be the only source from which one learns, and if presented with incorrect information, that will be what is learned. Unfortunately, those with little or no personal relations with black people are likely to believe too much of what is on television (Horton). A 1992 study showed college students who relied on news for information thought less of black’s economic standing (Punyanunt-Carter). Unfortunately, a 1997 sample showed that less than 3% of guest speakers were black (“Media Portrayals…”).

Crime in the news is one that has been known to patronize blacks and black communities. Blacks are often characterized by their traditional involvement in crime. Blacks are overrepresented as perpetrators of violent crimes when compared with factual arrest rates, according to a 2000 study. They are also four times as likely to have mug shots in a news story than whites (“Media Portrayals…”).

The news unfortunately can reinforce age old stereotypes with these falsities. As previously stated, many people learn and hold true what is shown on the news. Without this correction age old stereotypes of blacks being involved in crime and such is only confirmed. Luckily, progress can be noticeable since then, but as a common theme of this paper, it is not perfect.

Alongside news, on television shows misrepresentation is not uncommon, for many years blacks of television shows have played the roles of homeless, jobless, thugs or athletes. Cases show roles of black people impoverished outweigh the true number greatly, yet many blacks find themselves in these roles of “down on their luck” jobless people (Thernstrom). Even when they are portrayed with jobs, the majority are blue collar jobs the majority of society would not prefer (Punyanunt- Carter).

Of course, along with these televised, stereotypical depictions come real life consequences. Because of poor representation of socioeconomic standing, blacks many times have a hard time applying for and obtaining loans (“Media Portrayals…”). Of course, it is not limited to economic troubles, but troubles with society are a real threat as well. Without truly understanding blacks and taking to heart what one learns from television, interaction between races can be difficult. People must realize what the truth is and conduct themselves with that in mid.

A car cruises by with the shaking murmur of bass from a hip-hop song, an image almost instantly an image comes to mind. From the beginning hip-hop was classified as a menace before becoming a multibillion-dollar industry. In present day, hip-hop reaches many backgrounds and listeners. From being a genre classified as only black, suburban males are now a main consumer of the music (Johnson II).

Hip-hop comes from the expression of urban decay of blacks especially in areas like Los Angeles and New York City. Many inner-city black artists used it in response to economic depression. The genre saw a split in the motive of east coast hip-hop versus west coast. On the east coast, music rap or hip-hop was striving to be more socially progressive. On the opposite coast to the west, hip hop there was classified more as violence geared. A genre thought only listened to by blacks actually was not – Soundscan, invented in the 90s allowed for producers to realize suburban whites were listeners of rap as well. Coming from a “menace” to society hip-hop is widely enjoyed by lots of different kinds of people (Johnson II).

Luckily, from more progressive media portrayals, positive relations can be noted amongst white and black. In 1958 a survey showed 44% of whites claimed that if a black person or family moved next door they would move – a more recent poll showed only 1% made the same claim. In 1964 a mere 18% of white people claimed to have a black friend, today that number is up to 86%. Noticeable relation between progressive, positive portrayal of blacks can be seen throughout the years with or without polls.

Racism is a thing almost completely faded away and some of that must be credited with better roles for blacks, acceptance of hip-hop and such, and of course here to be discussed, those who broke stereotypes (Thernstrom). Progression, though not always flamboyantly displayed, is noticeable in the media. Studies from the years 1975, 1998, 1992, and 2000 showed large amounts of strides made in the roles of black actors and actresses. A study comparing the years 1975 and 1998 in the media showed black males as helping, cooperative and giving, while females were depicted as virtuous.

One of the amazing feats that can be observed from struggle, in this case racial stereotyping, is those who rise above and break the stereotypes. More recent, prominent and famous black orators like Martin Luther King Jr. and even Barack Obama prove the ability of blacks as intellectuals who are characterized by charisma and thoughtfulness, not simple athletes, street thugs, or the pitiful homeless. Some noteworthy names of today are men who are highly prevalent in Media. Virgil Abloh, born from Ghanaian immigrants, rose from a child of a seamstress and paint store employee to be the first man of African descent to be artistic director for luxury brand Louis Vuitton. Creating his own designs and fashion companies along the way, Virgil faced no easy battle to be where he is today. Another name in the black community, famous hip-hop producer and singer, Kanye West has been a strong advocate for black republicans. A well-known name in media, his words are controversial, but he is a strong advocate for President Donald Trump. Men like these have broken stereotypes of old and shown the true ability of black men (Fiske).

“The truth will set you free” is an old saying that stands true for representation of black people in media. It may not always please all the masses, but knowing the truth is important compared to a twisted version of it. Progression cannot be ignored of portrayal of blacks which is something to be celebrated, but improvement is a crucial part of everything in life as well, which is what humans, regardless of race.

Cite this page