Race constantly appears in the media whether viewers realize it or not. The media could be putting the information out there causing people to form opinions or stereotypes about different races or cultures without viewers even realizing it. For example, I feel that the media portrays that African-Americans are better athletes through mediums such as television on the gatorade commercials.
Obviously, the commercial doesn't actually come out and make that statement, but when an audience sees a regular pattern in the gatorade commercials, they are going to start putting African-Americans in the athletic category because they are strong, powerful, and quick. When I think of famous athletes who have experienced great success, I think of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Adrien Peterson. This is not a harmful stereotype; however, some can be harmful if not reported or displayed correctly.
Statistics show that African-Americans dominate the NBA with 75%, NFL with 50%, and 25% in professional baseball.
The leagues are composed of so many African-Americans who have become legends and this may be why the results have been that "African-Americans are the best athletes"
The media is very influential and can easily cause individuals to form stereotypical opinions are many things. In many cases, I feel like the media may interfere too much. For example, when the media is constantly portraying sex and showing females with a certain look causing females to feel that they must look a certain way. The media isn't always realistic which is why people shouldn't always believe everything they hear or see. Many racial stereotypes within the media are based on social myths which is why they are harmful when displayed.
Ex: Say a young child is watching something on television that is making a harmful assumption about a certain race and the child has never met an individual within that race; the child is going to start putting the assumptions they saw with that race and will form their own stereotype without even being aware of it. That is why a medium should avoid placing people into stereotypes and different groups.
Although people have different heritages and cultures, that doesn't mean that the media needs to classify people and put them into certain groups because whose to say who belongs in what group anyways.
If we limit options by indicating that a group of people fit into a category or type, we take away the desire to dream. Many believe that when we elected a person of color for president and by we, I mean the United States, we gave children of every hue the right to dream to be better.
ReplyDeleteWe must remember the real objective of the media. What is that again?
I wrote my blog and then yours was the first one I came to and we seem to have similar views. I agree with you on your sports comments, I to feel that in today’s sports world African American athletes do receive a lot of exposure, but I also feel that is because they are simply the best in their sport. If Steve Nash was hands down the best basketball player I think he would be getting a lot of exposure as well. Also you are correct the media influences our stereotypes and opinions on an everyday basis and we as a society are so used to this we almost become oblivious to it and don’t even realize these stereotypes are being formed. The example of the young child is very relevant and it can also apply to everyone of any age. Good insight.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the media can define the standards for professional athletes, especially when you point out the prominence of African Americans in advertisements for Gatorade and other associated sports gear. Many companies like Gatorade sign on professional athletes to endorse their products, which is a good idea from a marketing standpoint. Take for example a few years ago when Michael Jordan endorsed Nike. The sales for Air Jordan’s went through the roof among aspiring basketball players. It seemed that people associated this particular brand of tennis shoe with athletic ability. I can say that I feed into this stereotypical advertising. I think that Kelly Ripa has incredible abs, and as soon as she endorsed a line of athletic wear for women, you bet I bought the overpriced sports bra and tank tops.
ReplyDeleteAfrican Americans are portrayed in Gatorade commercial because the company is targeting American Americans to buy their products. Although it is an advertising strategy, it is also strengthening the stereotype. I believe companies should expand their focus to all cultures because not only African Americans are buying the product. The focus might benefit the company’s sales but society doesn’t mature towards a more diversity environment. The next generation will learn this stereotype early in life due to our high dependence on television. The media becoming open-minded in their broadcasting is a start to changing its audiences’ views.
ReplyDeleteI realize you are talking about advertising for the most part, but sometimes I think we give the media, especially at the lower levels like local news, too much credit for masterminding schemes. I worked at a local station here in Oklahoma City as both a video journalist and as an editor and there was no grand plan to bring down one race, party, sex etc. For one, most working at the station still believed in a fair and balanced story, but when those words meant something and were not synonymous with bias. Two, the stations are just not that organized to pull off something like that. Stories are often being edited on until the last second and staff is very fluid, people just don’t typically stay in one place for too long unless they are anchors. Three, at least at the newsroom that I worked at, it was very diverse, with many races and lifestyles represented.
ReplyDeleteJoe Hight from the Oklahoman made an interesting point when talking about the description of suspects in the news. Often times, news outlets will give the height, weight, approximate age, race, and maybe clothing worn at time of criminal act. I agree that these descriptions are often so vague and they describe a large number of the population. It reminded me of an incompetent reporter who once worked with me at the station. In her live shot she described the suspect as a black male and advised the viewers to call the police if they see a black male. Our black male reporters had a field day with that one.
Phones were ringing off the hook?
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