African American Stereotypes Essay

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Ellen Ha Professor Ellen Scott MEDST 145 10 April 2014 Negative Impact of Stereotypical African American Portrayals on Television Introduction How has the media portrayal of African Americans affected the way society perceives them as a whole? “…negative exposure to African American portrayals in the media significantly influences the evaluation of African American in general” (Punyanunt-Carter 242). My research question centers on the general public’s view of African Americans as individuals and as a minority. Mass media is a vital source of information that contributes to the public perceptions of African Americans and their roles and personality. According to several scholars and my own perspective, I believe that the depiction of the African American has been one-dimensional, negative and distorted; without a doubt, the stereotypical portrayal of African Americans has contributed to racial prejudice and assumptions. In my opinion, I feel as if the negative depictions outweigh the positive. My father was a Korean citizen who immigrated to New York City in 1983. He moved to New York in order to start a business. The business he started was mainly staffed by other Koreans and their contacts were all of Korean descent as well. He rarely had any direct contact with African Americans. I thought it would be interesting to find out his perspective on African Americans when he first arrived to the United States and how they were portrayed on television. This interview took place in a coffee shop located in Bayside, Queens. The interview started at 7:51 PM EST and was completed at 8:07 PM EST on April 3, 2014. Transcript of Interview with Joseph Ha Interviewer: Ellen Ha (EH) Interviewee: Joseph Ha (JH) EH: Hello Dad. Are you read... ... middle of paper ... ...owledge is unavailable to an individual such as a language barrier or rare interaction with one another, television provides society with images that influence and shape their perceptions. The higher the exposure, the more people are inclined to recall what they have viewed and apply it to their everyday lives and scenarios. Bill Cosby stated in 1994 that blacks in the media tended to be “menacing, untidy, rebellious, disrespectful, buffoonish, sexual, immoral, hopeless, untrained, uneducated and noisy” (Punyanunt-Carter 243). He concluded that most black roles were negative and stereotypical. These damaging –portrayals that do not shed a positive light on African Americans often focus on reaffirming harmful racial stereotypes. When the interviewee was asked which famous African Americans they recalled on television he mentioned Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy.

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