Minorities In The Media Analysis

Manning 1

Destini Manning Mr. Gearns Social Issues in the 21st Century 22 February 2015 Representation in the Media Media has evolved for hundreds of years. From Newspapers, to TV, to the Internet. Media has advanced as the technology has. The media is also the most influential aspect of everyone’s life. Whether one believes’ it or not, the media around them affects them, both psychologically and philosophically. Realistically,with the ever evolving media access, you would think that we as a society would evolve, as would be sown as such. However, this is not the reality we live in. “The critical point in this ever­evolving media landscape, however, is to ensure that as we evolve technologically, we evolve socially as well. By this, we mean that…show more content…
“One of the problems with representations of racial and ethnic minorities in American media is that there aren't enough. What I mean is that minorities (black, Hispanic, Asian American, etc.) are, on the whole, proportionally underrepresented in the media relative to their population. And most of the time, the minority characters that do exist tend to be secondary to a white protagonist(s), often sidekicks, best friends, "first to die," etc. This absence of people of color sort of implies that the stories of minorities are not important.”(Bodnick) The stigma, whether it was created directly or indirectly,created by the lack of/negative portrayals of minorities in the media has created a very toxic environment for minorities. Not being portrayed in a positive light and/or not being represented has formed a world full of stereotypes and prejudice that haunt minorities to no end. Some as miniscule as bullying, to as serious as death. “Stereotypical representations of minorities perpetuate cultural ideas that encourage racism and sexism. They influence attitudes and reinforce gender and racial segregation still present in society, no matter if messages you might receive tell you otherwise. And worst of all, they dehumanize people and reduce them to one or two characteristics associated with a race or gender. …show more content…
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