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African-American Images in
the Media: Alice and Me in Wonderland
What is the influence of the media on Black
culture today? How do music videos, newspapers,
magazines, television, and movies effect how Blacks
are perceived in American society? Has this changed
from the past? Is the case for equal rights being
helped or hurt by the media's depiction of Black
Americans?
When first approaching this question, Alice and I
took it to be a question specifically related to
black history. Upon further examination, we recognize
that the influence of the media on our culture is not
specific to the Black race. At one time, the bad
news of the day was tendered with human interest
stories and other positive happenings. In today's
society, it's not a question of how Blacks are
perceived; but it is a question of how human nature
in general is perceived.
Most recently Black Americans are represented by
figures such as Clarence Thomas, O.J. Simpson, and
Snoop Doggy Dogg. These images do not help Blacks
to be portrayed in a positive light. On the other
hand, stories of Jack Kavorkian, Jeffrey Dahmer, and
Jim Baker present an equally bad image of the white
population. Society demands media coverage that is
sensational and perverse. Even since the days of yellow
journalism, the media has concentrated its energy on
presenting negative stories rather than positive ones.
It has distorted events to sell papers, boost ratings,
and break box office records.
It appears to us that this negativity in media coverage is
almost specific to the United States. Even when crossing the
border to Canada, the United States is perceived as
a place of excessive brutality, sexual perversion, and
economic shambles. This opinion may not be unfounded
if it is based on American newspapers, magazines, music
videos, and movies. These images are not even close to
the violence that goes unreported in most of the world.
Media representation of Blacks in America definitely
does not help in the fight for equal rights. The
reform need not be specific to Blacks but to the way
that all of American is portrayed to ourselves and to
the world.
Julie S. |
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