Television
Television
In his book Watching Race, Herman Gray describes television as a medium used to “engage, understand, negotiate, and make sense of the material circumstances of [everyday life]” (Gray 1995, p. 43). A person’s entire worldview is obviously influenced by many factors, but it remains evident that, in many parts of the world, television plays a significant role in shaping public perceptions of race and racial differences.
Racialized groups are relegated to the role of the “invisible other” in television programming in the United States. Viewers of most commercial programming are led to believe racial/ethnic groups are virtually nonexistent, and that those that do exist reside in racial worlds or on television channels of their own. Cultural programming is needed that expresses the range of experiences of African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans. In the early twenty-first century, however, the major television networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX) continue to marginalize and stigmatize racial minorities in their programming.
AFRICAN AMERICANS
In early television programming, African-American performers occupied stereotypical, unflattering roles. These actors gradually became a part of mainstream society at the expense of self-degradation, and the visual images of blacks on network television created a false portrayal of African-American identity. Such controlling images as the Jezebel, mammy, servant, matriarch, buffoon, minstrel, and slave presented a distorted reality of racial identity for African Americans. Shows such as Amos and Andy (1951–1953), Beulah (1950–1953), and Jack Benny (1950–1965) portrayed African Americans as lacking intellect and seemingly enjoying their subservient and less powerful positions in the world. As an example, the show Beulah typified the “good old-fashioned minstrel show” (Haggins 2001, p. 250). The lead character, Beulah, was the stereotypical domestic servant who was “happy” with her lot in life serving her boss. Similarly, her friend Oriole was her queen-sized “childlike idiot friend,” perpetuating the “pickaninny” stereotype of the bulging-eyed child with thick lips, unkempt hair, and eating a slice of watermelon. The third character typified the “Uncle Tom” and “Coon” character. Beulah’s boyfriend Bill embodied what it allegedly meant to be a black man. While in the presence of whites, Bill was hardworking, dependable, and content. In his “real” state, however, he was lazy and avoided the work and responsibilities he should have held as a man. Although more recent televisual depictions have not been as blatantly racist as this, shows such as Beulah paved the way for controlling images to be constructed, transformed, and perpetuated in all forms of media. Unfortunately, these images continue to create an illusion of African Americans as subservient and of less value, in addition to being criminal, predatory, and a threat to European Americans. These negative portrayals are a result of slavery and the objectification of African slaves as sexual creatures and servants to the whites who colonized North America, a stigma that remains in place in the twenty-first century.
Television portrayals have, to some degree, begun to challenge many of the long-standing controlling images associated with African Americans. Although they may not be as blatantly racist as they were in the past, networks, reporters, and television writers still perpetuate a subtle form of media racism that R. R. Means Coleman has dubbed “neominstrelsy.” According to Coleman, neominstrelsy refers to contemporary versions of the minstrel images of African Americans that were pervasive in early television programming. The early images set the stage for current media images, which often still function to sustain the myth that African Americans are unscrupulous, lack morals, and are only capable of entertaining others through comedy. According to the media reasearcher Robert Entman, “images of Blacks are produced by network news [that] reinforce whites’ antagonism toward Blacks,” and these images perpetuate stereotypic depictions and contribute to this cycle of television racism (Entman 1994, p. 516). Because television is one of the most heavily used media for information and entertainment purposes, it is imperative that media outlets and creators begin to rethink how these distorted images create an unrealistic picture of African-American life.
Unlike other racial groups, African Americans have been depicted in many television shows in which they have made up the vast majority of the cast. These shows include, but are not limited to, Good Times (1974–1979), The Cosby Show (1984–1992), A Different World (1987–1993), Moesha (1996–2001), Sister, Sister (1994–1999), Girlfriends (2000–), Half & Half (2002–), and Everybody Hates Chris (2005–). These shows have portrayed the diversity that exists within the African-American community. Yet while different kinds of relationships and life experiences have been portrayed in these shows, the constant is that African Americans are generally confined to shows that have a neominstrelsy theme. The characters are comedic and, to varying degrees, embody the Jezebel, mammy, matriarch, buffoon, minstrel, and “Stepin Fetchit” stereotypes. These images sustain the myth that African Americans are unscrupulous, lack morals, and are only capable of entertaining others through comedy. The Cosby Show was an exception, however, for it attempted to debunk these stereotypes. Yet while the show was praised for communicating a positive image of African-American identity, it was also criticized for not being “black” enough.
In the 2006–2007 television season, there were fewer than seven programs with a predominately African-American cast. While this may be better than blacks
having no visibility at all, little is being done to deconstruct societal beliefs about Africans Americans. Sadly, the shows are rarely fully developed and confine blacks to the genre of comedy, making it difficult to counter longstanding controlling images that impact real world perceptions of the African-American community.
NATIVE AMERICANS
Native Americans are rarely portrayed in movies or on television, and when they are shown they are often wearing stereotypical attire (i.e., headdress) or armed with antiquated artillery (i.e., bow and arrow), ready to fulfill the all too familiar image of the “noble” savage. These images perpetuate a negative image of racial/ethnic identity for First Nations people and instill the belief that being Native American is a “thing of the past.” Audiences are led to believe that Native Americans either do not exist or are too small in number to be fairly represented. No matter what period of time in which a story is being told, “contemporary portrayals [of First Nations persons] are typically presented in an historic context” (Merskin 1998, p. 335).
This depiction is a visual representation of a linguistic image accepted as an accurate symbol of First Nations people. They are restricted to an image of being a homogenous group of people lacking any distinctive qualities (e.g., tribes) or heterogeneity. The most pervasive and troubling image is the “conventionalized imagery [that] depicts Indians as wild, savage, heathen, silent, noble, childlike, uncivilized, premodern, immature, ignorant, bloodthirsty, and historical or timeless, all in juxtaposition to the white civilized, mature, modern (usually) Christian American man” (Meek 2006, p. 119). Other stereotypes include the portrayal of Native Americans as drunkards, gamblers, and wards of the government, and these images are too often perceived as accurate representations of the original inhabitants of North America. Television programs with a periodic or a recurring Native American character include, but are not limited to, The Lone Ranger (1949–1957), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993–1998), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001), Northern Exposure (1990–1995), McGyver (1985–1992), and Quantum Leap (1989–1993).
These shows portray First Nations people as either occupying a space on the Western frontier or being virtually invisible on television’s racial landscape. This portrayal is attributed to movie and television “Westerns,” which created the stereotypical genre of media representations. According to the sociologist Steve Mizrach, “Indians are shown as bloodthirsty savages, obstacles to progress, predators on peaceful settlers, enemy ‘hostiles’ of the U.S. Cavalry, etc. … the political context of the Indian Wars completely disappears” (Mizrach 1998). To this day, notes Duane Champagne of the Native Nations Law and Policy Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, “Hollywood prefers to isolate its Indians safely within the romantic past, rather than take a close look at Native American issues in the contemporary world” (Champagne 1994, p. 719). These archaic, inaccurate portrayals are further problematized by “images in which the linguistic behaviors of others are simplified and seen as deriving from those persons’ essences” (Meek 2006, p. 95) and “remind us of an oppressive past” (Merskin 2001, p. 160). Through these depictions, First Nations people are presented as “nonnative, incompetent speaker[s] of English” (Meek 2006, p. 96). This is a strategy used to emphasize “Indian civilized otherness by having the character speak English in monosyllables” (Taylor 2000, p. 375).
U.S. companies have long used images of American Indians for product promotion, mainly to “build an association with an idealized and romanticized notion of the past” (Merskin 2001, p. 160). Products such as Land O’ Lakes butter, Sue Bee honey, Big Chief sugar, and Crazy Horse malt liquor have stereotypic caricatures on their labels that are supposed to reflect Native American ethnicity, but which are actually “dehumanizing, one-dimensional images based on a tragic past” (Merskin 2000, p. 167).
ASIAN AMERICANS
Asian Americans are represented on television as a homogenous group of people whose ethnicity is Chinese, Korean, or Japanese. This worldview of a population that is in reality very ethnically diverse is both problematic and restricting. Stereotypes of Asian Americans emerged from efforts by whites to oppress racial groups deemed inferior, and from a nineteenth-century fear of an Asian expansion into white occupations and communities, often referred to as the “Yellow Peril.” These controlling images emerged in order to reduce Asian-American men and women to caricatures based on how the dominant society perceived their racial and gendered identities.
There are both general cultural stereotypes and gender-specific stereotypes of Asian Americans disseminated in the media. General cultural stereotypes include assumptions that Asian Americans are: (1) the model minority, (2) perpetual foreigners, (3) inherently and passively predatory immigrants who never give back, (4) restricted to clichéd occupations (e.g., restaurant workers, laundry workers, martial artists), and (5) inherently comical or sinister. Controlling, gender-specific images of Asian-American identity include Charlie Chan, Fu Manchu, Dragon Lady, and China Doll. Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu are emasculated stereotypes of Asian men as eunuchs or asexual. Charlie Chan, a detective character, was “effeminate, wimpy,” and “dainty,” (Sun 2003, p. 658), as well as “a mysterious man, possessing awesome powers of deduction” (Shah 2003). He was also deferential to whites, “non-threatening, and revealed his ‘Asian wisdom’ in snippets of ‘fortune-cookie’ observations.” Conversely, there is the Fu Manchu character, who is “a cruel, cunning, diabolical representative of the ‘yellow peril”’ (Sun 2003, p. 658).
Asian-American women are portrayed as being hypersexual–or as the opposite of “asexual” Asian men (Sun 2003). The Lotus Blossom (i.e., China Doll, Geisha Girl, shy Polynesian beauty) is “a sexual-romantic object,” utterly feminine, delicate, and welcome respites from their often loud, independent American counterparts” (Sun 2003, p. 659). Dragon Lady is the direct opposite of the Lotus Blossom. She is “cunning, manipulative, and evil,” “aggressive,” and “exudes exotic danger” (Sun 2003, p. 659). There are also the “added characteristics of being sexually alluring and sophisticated and determined to seduce and corrupt white men” (Shah 2003).
Shows with at least one recurring character of Asian descent include: The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1969– 1972), Happy Days (1974–1984), Quincy, M.E. (1976– 1983), All-American Girl (1994–1995), Ally McBeal (1997–2002), Mad TV (1995–), Half & Half (2002–), Lost (2004–), and Grey’s Anatomy (2005–). Examples of how long-held stereotypes of Asian-American women are perpetuated include the character Ling Woo on Ally McBeal and Miss Swan on Mad TV. Ling Woo was an attorney (portrayed by the Chinese actress Lucy Liu) who was “tough, rude, candid, aggressive, sharp tongued, and manipulative” and hypersexualized (Sun 2003, p. 661). She was also a feminist, in stark contrast with past portrayals of Asian women. While some Asian Americans believed Ling was a stereotype breaker, she still perpetuated the Dragon Lady stereotype, especially when she “growl[ed] like an animal, breathing fire at Ally, walking into the office to the music of Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz” (Sun 2003, p. 661).
Miss Swan is an Asian-American character on FOX’s sketch comedy show Mad TV. She is played by the Jewish comedian Alexandria Borstein and represents an example of “yellowface,” which is the Asian equivalent of blackface and refers to a non-Asian person “performing” an Asian identity. Miss Swan is “a babbling nail salon owner with a weak grasp of the English language” (Arm-strong 2000), and she is always depicted as the perpetual foreigner, inherently predatory and restricted to the occupation of nail salon owner. She is also a comic character who speaks broken, unintelligible English. Ms. Borstein is not Asian, which has appeared to be okay with the show’s audience. This mixed casting of Asian characters was also a problem with the short-lived sitcom All-American Girl, which portrayed a Korean family but cast only one Korean actor (the comedian Margaret Cho). All the other actors were either Japanese American or Chinese American, thus perpetuating the assumption that Asians are interchangeable and must assimilate to mainstream (white) culture in order to “fit in.”
The controlling images of Asian Americans distort what it means to belong to this very heterogeneous ethnic group. Attempts to diversify television programming were made with All-American Girl, but much more work is needed to accurately represent Asian Americans. Both Lost and Grey’s Anatomy have strong and visible Asian-American actors as part of the regular cast. As the journalist Donal Brown notes, UCLA researchers believe these shows and characters are complex and have great appeal across racial and ethnic groups, but they are “concerned that the Asian American characters on television [are] portrayed in high status occupations perpetuating the ‘model minority’ stereotype” (Brown 2006).
LATINO AMERICANS
“Latino representation in Hollywood is not keeping pace with the explosion of the U.S. Hispanic population, and depictions of Latinos in television and film too often reinforce stereotypes” (Stevens 2004). Television shows purport to reflect reality in their programs, but they rarely, if ever, do so when casting characters. According to advocacy group Children Now, Latinos make up over 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, yet only 2 percent of characters on television are Latino (Stevens 2004), not including those Latinos who are portraying white (non-ethnic) characters.
Latino Americans have been subjugated and oppressed as immigrants “invading” U.S. culture. Contemporary immigration issues notwithstanding, the most prevailing stereotypes associated with Latino-American males are the glorified drug dealer, the “Latin lover,” the “greaser,” and the “bandito” (Márquez 2004). Latina women are depicted as deviant, “frilly señoritas” or as “volcanic temptresses,” and Latino families, in general, are “unintelligent,” “passive,” “deviant,” and “dependent” (Márquez 2004). These depictions may be rare, but they can undoubtedly have a significant impact on perceptions and attitudes people develop about individuals of Latin descent. Images of Latino Americans do not reflect the “Latino explosion” in U.S. culture, and they ultimately reinforce the stereotypes that should be countered. These images may not be fully positive or fully negative, but their rarity makes it more problematic that these images are so restricting.
Notable television programs featuring or including a Latino-American character include: Chico and the Man (1974–1978), Luis (2003), The Ortegas (2003), NYPD Blue (1993–2005), Will & Grace (1998–2006), Popstar (2001), George Lopez (2002–), The West Wing (1999–2006), The Brothers Garcia (2000–2003), Taina (2001–2002), Dora the
Explorer (2000–), Desperate Housewives (2004–), CSI: Miami (2002–), and Ugly Betty (2006–). Latino-American culture has had tremendous appeal in popular culture, yet members of the different ethnic groups within the Latino community remain marginalized in primetime television programming. One promising program that can potentially debunk these controlling images is Ugly Betty, starring the actress America Ferrera. Betty is aspiring for success in the fashion industry and is faced with opposition because she does not fit the industry (read mainstream) cultural standard of beauty. Despite much opposition, she refuses to succumb to societal expectations and remains committed to not compromising her character and integrity.
Ugly Betty is based on an incredibly popular Columbian telenovela (soap opera), Yo soy Betty, la fea, that was very successful in Mexico, India, Russia, and Germany. Although the lead character defies conventional wisdom regarding televisual success, the show may presage an era in which issues concerning racial representation in television are dealt with onscreen as well as off.
Television demographics in the United States should mirror the racial demographics of both the country and the cities within which the television programs take place, but many analyses suggest they do not (see Márquez 2004). This becomes particularly salient for individuals who have had limited interpersonal contact with people from other racial groups. Diversifying television production teams and actors is an effective strategy for eradicating subtle and blatant racism, or “symbolic annihilation” (Meek 1998). Community activism is also a powerful tool in this regard. Through research and the creation of “diversity development” programs at networks like FOX, the national Children Now organization offers practical approaches to addressing racial representation in the media. Efforts by Children Now and other organizations committed to addressing issues of fair racial and ethnic representation in the media are critical in bringing about such change. It is only through education and formal efforts that programmers, scriptwriters, and other pivotal players can be made aware of the exclusionary nature of television. Awareness of such racism will ideally prompt the television community to become proactive in redefining their role in perpetuating controlling images that continue to plague twenty-first-century portrayals of racial groups.
SEE ALSO Cultural Racism; Film and Asian Americans; Social Psychology of Racism; Stereotype Threat and Racial Stigma; Symbolic and Modern Racism.
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Tina M. Harris