How the Media Perpetuates Racial Stereotypes

The Role of Media

Media plays a significant role in entertaining, informing, instilling values to diverse audiences in society, while doing so, it also tends to perpetuate racist stereotypes.

Television shows such as "Basketball Wives" and "Love and Hip Hop" help to perpetuate the stereotype of African American women being "brash".

The "Brash Woman"

The "Thug"

• routinely portrayed as sassy, "neck rolling" individuals with attitudes
• maintain plenty of drama
• often loud and aggressive
• reality television helps perpetuate this stereotype

• portrayed as drug dealers, pimps, con artist and other forms of criminals
• fuels racial stereotype that black men are dangerous and have zero respect for the law
• plays a role in creating the cradle to prison pipeline for African American men

Television shows and films such as "The Wire" and "Training Day" are prime examples of how the "thug" stereotype is perpetuated.

Racist Stereotypes the Media Perpetuates

• The "Magical Negro"
• The "Black Best Friend"
• The "Thug"
• The "Brash Woman"
• The "Domestic"

What are stereotypes?

How the Media Perpetuates Racial Stereotypes

Tracy Thomas' character "Lily" in "The Devil Wears Prada" and Aisha Tyler's character "Andrea Marino" in "Ghost Whisperer" are prime examples of a "Black Best Friend" stereotype.

Stereotypes are qualities assigned to groups of people related to their race, nationality and sexual orientation, to name a few.

The Black Best Friend

• function in films and television shows to guide white characters out of crisis
• appear to not much going on in their lives
• usually has a keen insight on relationships and life

The "Magical Negro"

• typically tend to be men
• have special powers
• make appearances solely to help white characters out of jams
• seemingly unconcerned about their own lives

The "Domestic"

• one of the earliest stereotypes about African Americans to emerge in television and film
• function mostly to nurture and guide white characters

Michael Clarke Duncan's character "John Coffey" in The Green Mile is a prime example of a "Magical Negro" stereotype.

THINK!

Given that media has so much influence in our lives, why is it that they choose to capitalize on the falsification and over exaggeration of the portrayal of African Americans and not shed a better light on us?

Because to them (the majority), we will never be anything more than the magical negro, the black best friend, the thug, the brash woman, or the domestic worker, so why not make money from it .

Films such as "Driving Miss Daisy" and "The Help" help to perpetuate the racist stereotypes of African American being "domestic".