Quiz 1

Week 2 •Discussion Week 2: First post by Wednesday July 1 and second post by Sunday July 5 •Quiz: uploaded on June 28 and due on July 2 (short answers)

•Assignment 1 on media diet due on July 6

•Readings ( complementary to lectures) • The Portrayal of Racial Minorities on Prime Time Television: A Replication of the Mastro

and Greenberg Study a Decade Later. Elizabeth Monk-Turner, Mary Heiserman, Crystle Johnson, Vanity Cotton and Manny JacksonStudies in Popular CultureVol. 32, No. 2 (Spring 2010), pp. 101-114 (full article On Canvas under Files/Articles)

• https://www.cjr.org/covering_climate_now/covid-19-pandemic-climate-crisis.php • https://www.vox.com/2016/7/14/12184766/media-boost-donald-trump-coverage • https://www.cjr.org/analysis/essential-reporting-and-analysis-amid-pandemic.php

Media portrayals and stereotypes

Data on representation primarily from Mastro, 2010

Cultivation and Representations The description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or as being of a certain nature

Stuart Hall –Identity & Representation ◦ “Identity is not as transparent or unproblematic as we think. Perhaps instead of thinking of identity as an already accomplished fact, which the new cultural practices then represent, we should think, instead, of is never complete, always in process, and always constituted within, not outside, representation.(1994, 392)”

Representation vs. Reality •Representations involve:

• a process of selection • Parts of reality are “highlighted & other neglected”

“All representations ‘re-present’ the social world in ways that are both incomplete and narrow.”

Croteau & Hoynes, 2000, p. 194

Connection to cultivation theory

• Every media representation is a “drop in the bucket”, an image that makes us think about a particular group in a specific way

• Over time, these representations influence how we think about different social groups and affect stereotypes and public policy decisions

CMNS 130 6

Sex role stereotypedbehaviors ◦ Tannis McBeth Williams

◦ Experimental study Notel, Unitel, Multitel introduction of TV to aNorthern Canadian Community ◦ Found children’s play exhibited more sex-role stereotyped behaviors after

introduction of TV ◦ Perceptions more traditional

◦ Judge stories on the basis of what they look like rather than what they do

CMNS 130 7

Effects of TV representations on selfesteem

◦ Body Image ◦ Trend to thinner and thinner models ◦ ( average more than 30% underweight) ◦ More and more young women would like to look differently, are dieting for

ideal shape ◦ Rise of eating disorders, both genders

Invisible vs. Stereotype •Invisible

Some groups are missing from media

•Stereotypes A widely held but fixed and oversimplified images or ideasof

a particular type of person or thing. • Some stereotypes become so pervasive that they are deem

“controlling images”

Native American Portrayals Represent 0 to .4% of the characters appearing on primetime television.

Stereotypes ◦ Close to nature or the environment ◦ Traditional dress ◦ Rural ◦ Alcoholic ◦ Gamblers ◦ Impoverished • Inherently violent or aggressive

Stereotypes create Others Edward Said

the process of creating and maintaining a dichotomy between ones-self, as marked by a particular (Western) identity, and the Other(s)

from Orientalism, 1979

•“These images are almost always stereotypes that depict the ‘Other’ as inferior on a variety of dimensions such as intellect, morality, and temperament.” (Shah, 2003)

•Mass media plays a major role in the ways images are spread and understood within a culture. (Shah, 2003)

Portrayals of Whiteness • People who have power & authority

• Politicians • Military leaders • Businessmen • Entertainers

• Heroic • Smart/Intelligent • Rational • Patriotic

Who can play who & what?

Ways to Other

• Making groups seem animal-like ◦ Jewish people during the Holocaust ◦ Represented as vermin, particularly rodents (Jahoda,

1999) ◦ Japanese during WWII portrayed asmonsters ◦ Latino people ◦ Insect-related language, “hordes of immigrants”

(Santa Ana, 2002) ◦ African Americans

◦ Represented as apes

Othering •Explain/ Justifies history

• Justifies the treatment of racial groups

• Sets power dynamics between racial groups • In-group vs. Out-group • Superior vs. Inferior

People of Middle EasternDescent

Justifying History

In-groups vs. Out-groups

Latinos About 2.5-6% of primetime TV population, but 13%of the population

Typical seen in ◦ A family member ◦ Primarily seen in sitcoms and crime dramas

1% of lead characters in movies

Compare to on-air counterparts Latinos are: ◦ Lower authority jobs ◦ Lazier ◦ Less articulate ◦ Less intelligent ◦ More seductively dress

(Masto & Behm-Morawitz, 2005)

Asian Portrayals 3% of characteristic on primetime TV, but 4% of the US population Seen in High Status and/or professional position

Model Minority

◦ Smart (Math & Science)

◦ Hardworking

◦ Self-Sufficient

◦ Wealthy

◦ Well-educated

Super strict Asian parents

◦ Tiger mom

African American/Black On television Black Americans represented 14-17% on prime time

Majority in sitcoms or crime dramas ◦ Characters are “less provocative” and

“less professional dress” than White characters

Black characters 2x as likely to be seen as the topic of crime as White characters

African American underrepresented as victims of crime

Are mass media representations becoming more inclusive?

Why should we care about these representations?

1. Residential Segregation & Social Contact 2. Social Policy and Discrimination

Residential Segregation

Residential Segregation: •US urban areas have extremely high levels of racial segregation

•Mass media become one of the few avenues for learning about people who are different from us

Social Policy -Exposure to even subtle racial/ethnic depictions can lead to stereotypical evaluation (Mastro, 2009)

-Significant relationship between TV exposure & Real-World Racial Perceptions (Mastro, 2009)

-Stereotype Endorsement ◦ Evaluation of Political Candidates & Politicians (Valentino, 1999) ◦ Endorsement of the Death Penalty ◦ Crime & Welfare become racially-coded