CSA Reflection

Maddie D

Reflecting on this question led me to a google search about representation of Black Americans in the media. I happened upon a study performed by Dr. Travis L. Dixon reported under the title “A Dangerous Distortion of our Families.” The study examines how families are represented in the news and media throughout the United States based on race. The study really stood out to me because it made me realize some of the subconscious biases I was not aware of yet that have probably been caused by the representation I see of people of color in the news. 

Overall, the study found that news outlets and other media disproportionally portray families living is poverty as Black families, suggest a disproportionate amount of Black families receive welfare compared to White families, falsely show Black fathers as often uninvolved in their children’s lives, and overrepresent the connection between Black families and criminal behavior ( read the study here: https://colorofchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/COC-FS-Families-Representation-Report_Full_121217.pdf )                                                                                                                        All of these findings go to show what Black skin often represents in our media as a racist society: helplessness, irresponsibility, and criminality. It is a terrible depiction that is constant in the media we consume. As a white person, I don’t think many white people are aware that the news they are consuming misconstrues reality in such a concerning way, even if they think that their preferred news source matches with their values. In the chart below you can see how often Black families are portrayed as poor on various TV networks. This is concerning for a number of reasons, but something that comes to my mind is the fear of poor people that is instilled in middle and upper class individuals. I think that middle and upper class families are taught to be afraid of being poor, which can turn into being afraid of individuals and communities who are poor. I think that this fear is combined with the many other unjust stereotypes to create fear of Black people in the news, and goes to show just how prominent racism is in our day to day lives.  








Comments

  1. Catherine BolzendahlFebruary 5, 2023 at 3:23 PM

    Here is the post in an easier to read format:

    Reflecting on this question led me to a google search about representation of Black Americans in the media. I happened upon a study performed by Dr. Travis L. Dixon reported under the title “A Dangerous Distortion of our Families.” The study examines how families are represented in the news and media throughout the United States based on race. The study really stood out to me because it made me realize some of the subconscious biases I was not aware of yet that have probably been caused by the representation I see of people of color in the news.


    Overall, the study found that news outlets and other media disproportionally portray families living is poverty as Black families, suggest a disproportionate amount of Black families receive welfare compared to White families, falsely show Black fathers as often uninvolved in their children’s lives, and overrepresent the connection between Black families and criminal behavior ( read the study here: https://colorofchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/COC-FS-Families-Representation-Report_Full_121217.pdf ) All of these findings go to show what Black skin often represents in our media as a racist society: helplessness, irresponsibility, and criminality. It is a terrible depiction that is constant in the media we consume. As a white person, I don’t think many white people are aware that the news they are consuming misconstrues reality in such a concerning way, even if they think that their preferred news source matches with their values. In the chart below you can see how often Black families are portrayed as poor on various TV networks. This is concerning for a number of reasons, but something that comes to my mind is the fear of poor people that is instilled in middle and upper class individuals. I think that middle and upper class families are taught to be afraid of being poor, which can turn into being afraid of individuals and communities who are poor. I think that this fear is combined with the many other unjust stereotypes to create fear of Black people in the news, and goes to show just how prominent racism is in our day to day lives.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Catherine BolzendahlFebruary 5, 2023 at 3:24 PM

    Thinking about how media can shape perceptions of race and inequality and perpetuate racism is really important. One of the things we know is that people are living segregated by race but also increasingly by class. When we are not sharing the same places and spaces the media may have even more power to shape perceptions - for good and for bad.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Milk

Image
 Maddie Dieringer  During class we discussed how acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals has changed quickly compared to other public opinions throughout history. This makes sense with my understanding of history, but I feel as though there has been an increase in the number of laws taking rights away from LGBTQ+ individuals, especially people who are transgender. I did a few quick google searches and found that there were 17 anti-LGBTQ laws passed in 2021 which was the worst year for LGBTQ rights since 2015. It seems that with more awareness and progress there is even more legislative push back to create laws that harm LGBTQ people than before. According to the American Civil Liberties Union there are 389 anti-LGBTQ bills being introduced across the US having to do with health care, education, civil rights, free speech and more. Linked below is the ACLU page that is kept up to date.  In the film Milk we see some of the adversity gay individuals faced during the 70s, and it's ea...
Read more

Dr. Strangelove- Havlyn Ehrich

Image
  Dr. Strangelove is a very interesting movie. We see a satirical stance of politics addressing the Cold War at the time the movie was made. According to one of the readings posted by The Atlantic, it is noted that audiences laughed at this movie back in 1964 when it was produced. However, things became more serious as time went on and nuclear war terminology soon became the norm in public entertainment. The movie Dr. Strangelove tells the story of an individual who has gone insane and launched a nuclear missile attack on the Soviet Union. The movie highlights the incompetence of the president in the movie as well the other governmental officials. They were all acting in fear that the Soviet Union would send nuclear missiles on them too. Such a case would be considered mutual destruction: each party terminates the other. Though this was meant as a comedy, this idea became very real to the people at the time and still flourish in the lives of Americans today. The US president is a...
Read more

CSA - Natalie

  Since the beginning of racial theory and the idea of race, narratives and experiments have been conducted to try and prove that the white race is superior. Early experiments on black people about the size of their brains related to their lower intelligence and they went so far as to claim black people were a different species. Then when slavery was brought to the U.S. the dehumanization of black people became so engrained into society. Slavery was around for over 400 years so it was centuries of discrimination and dehumanization that have created the lasting ideas around white superiority and black inferiority. Then as shown in the CSA film most of the ads they showed were real ads that further establish discriminatory narratives. Labeling black people as criminals and less than others. In our history, there was the 3/5rds law stating that a black vote is actually 3/5ths of a white vote. It is so deep in our society, this lesser-than narrative has been spread through laws and sig...
Read more