Overtime, discrimination against specific races has slightly diminished, however is still present in today’s society. Often time people develop thoughts about races based off of inaccurate portrayals and create predispositions. The portrayal of African American men in society is greatly influenced by images seen in the media. We often see African American Males as homeless, violent, or unsuccessful.
The greatest conflict of our society is how we define success. Some see success as earning lots of money and being able to afford expensive material goods. Others see success as building lasting relationships and finding happiness. Taylor Gibbs reported in the article "Black Male" Imagery and Media Containment of African American Men, “that today’s young African American men are more likely than they were in the 1960s to be unwed fathers, unemployed, addicted to drugs, and involved in the criminal justice system and to die from homicide or suicide” (1997, pg. 99). By stating this he suggests that African American males are more likely to be unsuccessful. However, Gibbs fails to state that nowadays, there are more pregnancies independent of marriages, unemployment rates are high, and drugs are more accessible than ever before.
Media often depicts homeless men as “unkempt, bedraggled, and less-white” (Page, 1997, pg 100). For homeless men of color, the media portrays them as deserving of this lifestyle, leaving the rich-white man in internal conflict - “Shall I help? Am I safe? Do they deserve my help?” However, why is society focusing on how deserving a homeless person is of help, when they have the ability to help? We as a society should help others and not assume why someone is in a specific situation based on examples given by the media.
African American men are often portrayed as violent through television, music videos, and film. Lyrics of songs, specifically hip-hop, R&B, and rap, suggests African Americans display violence or destructive behavior. "Black Male" Imagery and Media Containment of African American Men describes a story of Susan Smith. Smith, a mother of a small son, reported in 1994 that a black man hijacked her car and took her baby inside. When her son could not be found, her story did not seem to add up.
Smith’s story began to crumble even before she failed the first of two lie-detector tests. Police continued to give her the benefit of the doubt, at least in public… Sweet Susan Smith - the [white] mother America had come to know… [as she cried] from the return of her stolen children on the Today show, play[ed] with them at a videotaped birthday party, [and begged]... that the kidnapper feed them and care for them - had confessed to killing them… “This whole incident with her labeling a black man as the criminal send a messafe of the black male as savage and barbarian,” sam McElroy Hughes, a retired minister and local president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
While the case is simply appalling, many people were upset about the fact that the mother accused a black male of the crime that she committed. “No one reminded the viewing public how Smith, as a white female member of the mainstream audience, had been socialized by the media’s production of black male images” (Page, 1997, pg. 101).
While certain media portrayals of African American males may certainly be true for some people, it is wrong to assume they represent the entire race. Many men and women are homeless. Many men and women are violent. Many men and women suffer from false stereotypes. Just because the media portrays a race in a certain light does not mean it is true. In order to prevent stereotypes from effecting how our society thinks, we must acknowledge the fact that these portrayals by the media are false and must stop.
Page, Helàn E. (1997). "Black Male" Imagery and Media Containment of African American Men. American Anthropologist, Vol. 99(1), pp. 99-111.
Clawson, Rosalee A., and Trice, Rakuya. (2000). Poverty as We Know It: Media Portrayals of the Poor. The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol, 64(1), pp. 53-64.
Hudson, Benjamin F. (1963). Another View of "Uncle Tom". Phylon, Vol, 24(1), pp. 79-87.
Images retrieved from:
http://beyoungandshutup.com/2013/09/19/the-problem-isnt-black-culture-the-problem-is-youre-a-racist/
http://mic.com/articles/80797/watch-how-fox-news-really-talks-about-black-america
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