It's hard to pen point an exact time throughout history to show when pop culture began its issues on racial inequalities. In my opinion, the most appropriate and significant place to start this discussion is in the invention of television its ability to broadcast all across the country. Although other pop culture events occurred through the circus, plays and musicals, and of the sort. I believe the development of television truly catapulted the issue of racial inequality in the United States into popular culture. As entire families sat together to watch various tv programs, they became conditioned to seeing white actors and actresses. The end of African American segregation and the introduction of color tv correlate in time and viewers began seeing the lack of diversity tv programs had.
Through the development of tv, minorities especially African Americans, were devalued and not given the same opportunity as whites. Stemming from traces of segregation, powerful white tv channel owners, began integrating stereotypes, racial humor, and racial satire into their broadcasts. The white directors would stereotype almost all black actors on tv and those racial views began to spread like wildfire throughout the United States. The popularity of African Americans being depicted as characters from the age of slavery solidified these issues of stereotyping and inequality. The tv programs allowed viewers to view African Americans in that same light despite legislation to ensure they were treated equal.
Although we have come a long way from the racial messages and hurtful stereotypes in the history of pop culture, there is still an undeniable continuance of racial undertones in the industry today. Fortunately, there are some actors from minority cultures breaking down barriers and gaining slow success. However, those actors do struggle to find the same opportunities as white actors, directors, singers, and producers. Modern pop culture has made significant gains in the blatantly racist comments, remarks, and roles it once presented in history, but activists are trying to fight the racial inequalities still present in pop culture.
I think you are right about the power of mass media--TV--in creating and reinforcing racialized images, stereotypes in particular. I teach a sociology course on the TV series, The Wire. Although it breaks down some stereotypes, the vast majority of criminals on the series are African American.
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ReplyDeleteThe 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report put out by the Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA (http://www.bunchecenter.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015-Hollywood-Diversity-Report-2-25-15.pdf) is an amazing source that goes through a lot of the statistics of representation on television and film. It covers the racial, ethnic, and gender of actors, roles, executives, directors, writers, award winners and more.
ReplyDelete"In the end, every industry stakeholder — individual and institutional — has a role to play if meaningful industry advancement is to be achieved on the diversity front.
Broadcast networks must begin to treat the airwaves as a public good through which diverse content promotes profits and democracy. Studios must cast the net much more widely when they entertain pitches for film and television projects. Talent agencies must diversify their rosters, packaged projects, and their own ranks. The film and television academies must overhaul their memberships. The guilds must better understand their respective membership pipelines and find ways to increase access and professional development for minorities and women. Individual producers and writers must finally accept the notion that having diverse voices and perspectives in the room actually increases their odds for success" (Hunt & Ramon, 2015, p.54).
Hunt, D. & Ramon, A.C. (2015). 2015 Hollywood diversity report: Flipping the script. Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. Web.