Portrayals of Race in Popular Culture
Anne Taylor
Anne Taylor is founder and former co-director of Media Awareness Network.
Issue Contents
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A majority of Canadians would agree that that diversity has become an integral component of Canadian identity. Look at our schools and you’ll see multiculturalism in action. Any veteran urban teacher knows intuitively what the statistics show: visible minorities (excluding Aboriginal peoples) now constituting 13.4% of the population have increased three-fold over the last two decades (Statistics Canada, 2001). Urban (and increasingly small town) school demographics continue to evolve; according to Statistics Canada, by 2016 visible minorities will account for one-fifth of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2001).
The Unofficial Curriculum
Now let’s switch channels for a moment and think of the environment that young people are immersed in today. Theirs is the multitasking media generation. As they study, play sports and hang out with friends, kids are also instant messaging, listening to music, watching TV, playing videogames, or surfing the Net. Engaging with media is part of the natural rhythm of their lives. It’s ironic that in the huge range of literature about multiculturalism, Canadian identity, human rights and equality, little attention is given to the impact media can have on how kids view themselves and others in society.
Given the pervasiveness of media in kids’ lives, it’s worth asking: What are media telling Canadian youth about ethnic and visible minority groups? And what effect might the unquestioned acceptance of media realities have on the social development of children and young people?
In 1999, the U.S. organization Children Now, surveyed kids’ attitudes and found that children of all races and cultural backgrounds share similar beliefs about the characters they encounter on TV. Consistently, children associated “having lots of money”, “being well-educated” and “being intelligent” with white characters, and “breaking the law”, “having a hard time financially” and “acting goofy”, with minority characters (Children Now, 1999).
Media influence perceptions
What young people see and hear in media helps them figure out how the world works, and who and what is valued in our society. If a young person’s own racial group is over-represented, that tells them something about the choices that are open to them. If the value of a group of people is not affirmed by positive inclusion in the news and entertainment media, or if inclusion is generally attached to conflicts, crises, or tokenism, the message is also clear.
The Media and Stereotypes
On television, the incidence of visible minorities per program is fairly representational – 26% in American TV and 12% in Canadian. It’s the amount of on-screen time, and the nature of the portrayals that are problematic. Research by the U.S. Screen Actors Guild (SAG), in 2000, shows that minorities are likely to be cast in secondary or two-bit roles, more often in poorly paid occupations, and rarely in home settings. As well, lead actors on TV and in the movies are overwhelmingly white (SAG, 2000).
Videogames are full of predictable stereotypes. Eighty-six per cent of characters are white males and non-whites are portrayed primarily as aggressors, victims, or sports competitors (Children Now, 2001).
Educational Opportunities
The media are so much a part of young people’s landscape that it’s easy for them to passively absorb messages without reflection or questioning. There’s a wonderful opportunity here for educators to get kids to reflect on the differences between the media’s realities and those of the real world, and to investigate the reasons why.
Bringing discussions about minority representation in media into the classroom serves a number of purposes: It makes kids think and question the basis of their own attitudes or biases; it provides a safe forum for discussing issues of systemic discrimination and the integration or marginalization of visible minorities; and it makes kids, overall, smarter media consumers and users – all part and parcel of provincial education goals and mandates.
Introducing a few lessons in how to think critically about media can make all the difference in how kids perceive the messages inherent in media productions. One of main precepts underpinning media literacy is the concept that all media are constructed for a reason, from a specific viewpoint, and are the result of hundreds of decisions made by journalists, cinematographers, photographers, editors, directors, producers and owners. Some of these decisions are conscious; some are not. Related to this is the lack of visible minorities behind-the-scenes in creative positions and in the higher echelons of decision-making (SAG, 2000). Consciously or not, this all contributes to the ignoring or filtering of minority experiences through the dominant white culture lens.
A discussion about stereotypes is always instructive. Stereotypes are used by media producers because they provide audiences with a quick common understanding of a person or group of people. But stereotypes can be caricatures and they can transmit simplistic and erroneous ideas about whole groups of people that can perpetuate social prejudice and inequality.
An examination of the news industry and the competition that drives it is also instructive.
Visible minorities are significantly under-represented as news reporters; in 2001, 88% of evening news stories on ABC, CBS and NBC were reported by whites (Media Awareness Network, 2006). As well, most mainstream news outlets position white males as authority figures, while marginalizing the expertise of members of minorities. “Approximately 90% of all experts featured in U.S. news stories are white” (Media Awareness Network, 2006). When minority experts are consulted, it's typically in response to crime, drugs, or minority community matters (Media Awareness Network, 2006).
There’s good news too however; the last decade has seen a significant rise in minority news anchors in Canada in both the public and private broadcasting systems, and the face of advertising has changed considerably to reflect the actual make-up of our population.
All food for thought, and all important considerations when planning curricula and classroom programming to develop empowered and thoughtful future citizens for an inclusive society.
Media Awareness Network (www.media-awareness.ca) offers teaching resources examining: stereotyping in media; the impact of race imbalances in news reporting; the impact of absent voices in media content; and how media portrayals of race and crime may affect attitudes in society. For intermediate and secondary lesson plans on these topics, check out “Diversity Portrayal” in MNet’s Lesson Library in the For Teachers section. For background essays on media portrayals of ethnic and visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples, go to Media Issues, Stereotyping. For information on MNet’s professional development workshop and self-directed PD tutorial, Exploring Media and Race, contact licensing@media-awareness.ca.
References:
Children Now (1999). A Different World: Children's Perceptions of Race and Class in the Media”, Oakland , CA. Retrieved February 10, 2006 from http://publications.childrennow.org/publications/media/differentworld_1999.cfm
Children Now (2001). Fair Play? Violence, Gender and Race in Video Games. Oakland , CA . Retrieved February 11, 2006 from http://www.childrennow.org/media/videogames/2001/index.cfm
Media Awareness Network (2006). Ethnic and visible minorities in the news. Retrieved May 5, 2006 from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/ethnics_and_minorities/minorities_news.cfm
Screen Actors Guild (2000). Screen Actors Guild Employment Statistics Reveal Increases in Total TV/Theatrical Roles and Increases for All Minorities in 2000. Los Angeles , CA
Statistics Canada (2001). Visible minority population, by census metropolitan areas (2001 Census). Retrieved May 8, 2006 from http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/defdemo53a.htm
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