...Movin’ On Up: Have Black Sitcoms Really Changed the Black Community for the Better? Through time, blacks in television have been able to abolish many of the pervious stereotypes from past generations. However as media progresses and blacks are becoming a more predominate part of American television, the effect of black sitcoms is being called into question when it comes to their effect on the black community. The early 70’s through the 90’s were the golden age for black sitcoms, both the good and the bad. Blacks were still portrayed as both ignorant, poor, mammy and uncle type characters in shows such as Good Times, Stanford and Son, and more recently, Tyler Perry’s house of Payne. However, many shows promoted the educated, independent, affluent black family such as The Cosby Show, The Jefferson’s, and A Different World. Do these shows truly have an effect on the black community, and even more importantly do they effect how the rest of America views them? For blacks portrayal on television perception is reality, many preconceived notions of how blacks act and carry themselves in everyday life have been eliminated, nevertheless, black sitcoms still reinforce stereotypes that have plagued the black community since the beginning of slavery. Background: * “From Mammy to Miss America and Beyond: Cultural Images and the Shaping of U.S. Social Policy:” A brief summery of the history of blacks on television and how this has effected the community in general. * In “Television...
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...In the pilot of the show, we learn the basic premise of Everybody Hate Chris, a semi-autobiographical sitcom in which Chris Rock recounts his middle-school experience in early 1980's Brooklyn. We learn that the Rock family has just moved out of the projects and into an apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant Young Chris is excited about the move, however his excitement diminishes when his mother tells him that he will be taking two buses every day to become the only black student at Corleone Middle School. In this way, two social issues serve as inspiration for the bulk of the show’s comedic content. In Chris’s home life, the issue of class are largely explored, while Chris’s struggles at Corleone Middle School seem to focus on questions of race....
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...America Good Times originally aired on CBS in 1974. It was a black situation comedy focused on the daily lives, struggles, and hardships of a disadvantaged black family living in a Chicago housing project during the peak of the civil rights movement. Esther Rolle was cast as the matriarch, Florida Evans. The character had originated as a maid on the sitcom “Maude”. From analysis of the main characters in Good Times, there emerges a clearly exhibited grouping of a minstrel show ensemble. Every minstrel caricature is represented; the mammy, the brute, the promiscuous, exotic woman, the lazy son, the ‘mulatto’, and the pickaninny. There are no legitimate marked talents portrayed among the characters, except for J.J., whose inability to be taken seriously enough undermines any effort to benefit from his artistic talents. As Bodroghkozy (2012) observes, “Good Times waded into these troubled waters. As a comedy reaching a diverse audience, the show had to negotiate its representations with care in order, on the one hand, to circulate empowering messages about African Americans while, on the other hand, not to unduly discomfort more conservative white viewers, including those who might have seen the ethnic whites of Chicago and Boston as victims in the era’s racial turmoil. Good Times quickly developed into an important site of contestation and struggle over questions of “blackness,” the black family, ...
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...American Portrayal in Media As the day progresses into the late evening hour most of America sits in front of their televisions impatiently waiting to watch their favorite shows. From prime time television to viral videos on YouTube, media has become one of the most influential areas of life. The clothes we wear, slogans we say, and actions we portray are all influenced by media. For example, in 2012 “Ain’t nobody got time for that” became a popular slogan which transcended from a news interview that went viral. Although the slogan was catchy, it became famous more so for the way it was presented. The interviewee was an African American female who was a victim of a house fire. With the female being very passionate and animated while speaking in an urban accent, it provided for great entertainment. Sadly, that news interview lacked the appropriate representation of African Americans. The way media portrays a certain message “can have an inordinate influence on the public’s perception of blacks” (Holt 6). Audiences have been a witness to negative portrayal of African Americans since the days of “blackface”, where Caucasian American actors painted their faces black to depict African Americans. According to blog author Michelle Whalen, “now, more than ever, images of African Americans are transcending racial stereotypes and forging ahead into the fight for equality” (1). In the past two decades, media has been successful in providing positive progression in the portrayal of African Americans...
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...Mr. Holcomb English Comp I 25 April 2014 Bill Cosby Bill Cosby, one of television’s funniest and most iconic comedic actors, has spent his long career making people laugh. Not only did he bring joy and laughter to people’s lives he also became a pioneer for many black actors by starring many TV shows like “I Spy”, ” Fat Albert”, and “The Cosby Show” .Whether it be through concert appearances or recordings, television or films, commercials or education, Bill Cosby has the ability to touch people’s lives. William Henry Cosby Jr was born on July 12, 1937 in Philadephia, Pennsylvania, to Anna and William Cosby. Cosby's father joined the navy and was away from home for months at a time. Cosby, as the oldest son, helped his mother pay the bills by having various jobs such as delivering groceries and shining shoes. At school, he was known for being a class clown by his teachers and for being a great story teller and also being a star athlete in various sports such as track and field, football, and basketball. Growing up in a poor family Cosby learned very early in life that his humor will get him through tough times. During his off time Cosby would listen to one of his favorite comedians Jerry Lewis on the radio, and started to imitate him. While his mother always pushed for him and his brothers to get an education Bill was never interested in school because he always failed his classes, so during his tenth grade year Cosby decided to drop out of high school and enlist in the...
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...in many ways such as length, stereotypes reflected, race, family values and types of families. For example, in Leave it to Beaver it presents the typical nuclear, middle-class and white family. The show illustrates the 1950's typical lifestyle which is father going to work, stay home mother that does "female jobs", and kids going to school. In the 1960's the stereotypical nuclear family changed and The Brady Bunch challenged this new change in traditional family types and their show consisted of a blended family. The married couple in the show had previous children to divorcees and got married to each other. As you can see between the 1950's - 1960's...
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...routines that would develop his talent; Murphy took heavy influence from the likes of Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby, incorporating their humour in to his own comedy. His early comedy career was recognized for its frequent swearing and lampooning a diverse group of people, including gays, obese, white, blacks and others. Murphy gained attention as...
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...weeknights, and just watch some TV. Popular shows of choice among families were sitcoms. These shows would portray different, unique types of families, and create their day to day lives into comedies. The types and class of families shown on sitcoms throughout the time of television has been widespread. Two shows in particular that I will discuss are “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, and “The George Lopez Show”. Each show is based around one famous celebrity. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” was centered around Will Smith, a famous rapper turned actor. “The George Lopez Show” was centered around George Lopez, a famous comedian. Each show was based around a specific ethnic group. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” was solely around African Americans, and “The George Lopez Show” around Hispanic Americans. These sitcoms challenged the many sitcoms prior to its time, being about a family that was non-white. Skeptics felt these shows would not be popular due to the fact they do not appeal directly to the average American family. Skeptics were proven wrong, as each show ran for 6 seasons. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “The George Lopez Show” both changed the perception of class and challenged the typical stereotypes that are normally associated with their respective race. The idea for a new show that would premiere on NBC in 1990 would be based on the new rap sensation Will Smith. Producers loved Smith’s electric personality and comical demeanor. The show would have Will Smith playing as himself...
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...William Ryals December 3, 2013 Black Identity and Culture Prof. W. P. Holbrook S116 Exploring the Views of Marriage and Family in African American Films, Stereotypes and TV Shows Good Times. The Jeffersons. The Cosby Show. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The list goes on; all of these shows are viewed as classics and are some of the most highest-rated television programs of all-time. Another commonality amongst these shows is that they all center around African American main characters and or families. Many of these shows dealt with the many problems the African American community faces. While African Americans are viewed in a mostly positive light, throughout television history many stereotypes were reoccurring on popular TV shows, movies and in the media. Although improved, the idea of stereotypical characters is still prevalent in modern society. One character that comes to mind immediately is Sheneneh from the hit TV show Martin. She was a loud-mouthed hair stylist, who was the stereotypical face of a ghetto woman in Detroit. In an episode that aired in 1997 titled, “Martin: Power to the People’s Court”, Sheneneh gets into a car accident and she makes the comment “I don’t [have any car insurance], Tommy, and now I ain’t goin’ to be able to get none is what I’m tryna tell you!” This reinforced the stereotype that African American women drive around without car insurance. Sheneneh isn’t alone when it comes to these types of characters; in the Barbershop film series there...
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...Devron Edwards TV Analysis Ian Peters 12/8/14 Community Today there are many shows that reflect American culture and issues that occur because of it. One of the shows that does an excellent job doing this is Community. Community is an American TV comedy created in 2009 by Dan Harmon. The show not only addresses social issues with a comedic approach, it also delivers great story telling. The show uses race and ethnicity to deal with serious issues, but in a comical way that makes it less controversial. Its use of the sitcom framework allows it to make light of situations and build upon them in the future. It is because of this use of the sitcom formula, that the show has developed a deep fan base that keeps the show alive. Community reflects American culture through its use of stereotypes, sitcom structure, and its development of a cult following. Community’s main cast is very diverse in race, age, and culture. Though the 7 characters are all diverse, they fit into stereotypes sometimes. Troy the black male, was supposed to play sports for Greendale community college, this follows the stereotype of schools getting black athletes to come to their schools. Troy is also portrayed as unintelligent which touches on the stereotype that athletes are not smart. Though Troy follows these stereotypes, Dan Harmon challenges them by making Troy dorky. Troy becomes best friends with Abed, an Indian character that very weird and is only into movies and television. The two have a very...
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...Eddie Stephenson Stratification Media Analysis 3/11/16 SOC/100 Jay Gregory A few common assumptions would offer some general stereotypes which most American are probably subjected to each time they tune into their favorite program. The problem with making assumptions based on stereotypes, racism, and bias maybe considered two-fold. Of primary concern should obviously be the narrow-minded and over generalized prejudice which exist in mainstream media culture. Then, of only slightly less distress, would be the willingness of society to accept such demeaning norms. However, within the “high definition” world of television, some prime-time shows are shattering overused typecasting. Although some are not also. For instance, one such common immoral stigma would be that only men of European heritage may hold position of authority at home and more importantly, in an office. Furthermore, African, Spanish speaking, and other ethnic American will be depicted as second-class citizen. Additionally, women of all races may not hold any position of a profession as do their made co-star. Luckily, most of these false accusation were proven wrong. For this analysis of television diversity, or lack of, a look at the portrayal of African American men as in their position within a working environment, the dynamic of their family structure, and the overall social implication of such position will be explored. Then, in reflection of the growing population of Spanish speaking people...
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...Stereotyping and Profiling – The Negative Effect on Society Glenn A Smith ENG102 Sullivan University Composition 102 Abstract This essay shows the negative effects society encounters from stereotyping and profiling and some solutions to how, we as a nation, can overcome this plague. Stereotyping is the act of making an assumption or generalization of a particular person or group of persons based on misconceptions usually extending to how they might act or what they represent or just categorizing these people and groups as to what they are like. Profiling is the process in which we base information on a person or group from past knowledge of their traits or actions. Some researchers’ feel that many of us unconscientiously stereotype and profile without even knowing and that our rearing traditions have also contributed to this way of thinking. Profiling can be implemented by different approaches such as racial profiling, facial profiling even as simple as individual or group profiling. Stereotyping and profiling can affect anyone, rich or poor, black or white, famous or ordinary, and does not consider any age or gender. Humiliation and degradation will come about within each person. As a nation, changes are needed on how we view and accept one another; teach our children the effects of this behavior at home and school, and stress to our government to undertake ways to establish effective means of profiling for security measures that will not violate constitutional...
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...in television, sports, and films in ways that have been changed in our society” (Omi 655). Stereotypes play an important role in today's society and particularly in Propaganda. According to the Webster's Dictionary stereotyping is defined as “a fixed conventional notion or conception of an individual or group of people, held by a number of people.” (Webster’s dictionary) Stereotypes can be basic or complex generalizations which people apply to individuals or groups based on their appearance, behavior and beliefs. Stereotypes are found everywhere. Though our world seems to be improving in many ways it seems almost impossible to liberate it from stereotypes. For example, African- Americans are associated with basketball, and acting. Asian – American men are made out to be the bad guys in film, women are seen as prostitutes and are sexual abused. Last but not least Latino’s are popping up everywhere, in hit TV shows like Ugly Betty, in major league baseball and in the music business. Stereotypes have existed since the beginning of time in our everyday life through religion, politics and the media. Humans have the tendency to use stereotypes in their humour, their descriptions of others, and even in their beliefs. One may believe it is possible to rid oneself of such habits; however if one looked at the regular promotions of propaganda, it would make this objective impossible. Stereotypes, however, aren't always negative. Propaganda is a force which can influence and affect everyone;...
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...Shamarkia Minor EN 0103-05 Mrs. Forsythe 19 September 2013 Misrepresentation of Black America Many African-American men and women get bad reputations due to today’s media. Whether it is from music, movies, or television shows. These stereotypes affect the African-American society very much, especially when they go search for jobs or even when they just go out in public. When people outside of the Black community see how actors and entertainers act on television shows, movies, and videos, they get the impression that all African-Americans act this or that way. Basically judging a book by its cover. Music play s huge role on African-Americans; especially rap music. When my mom was growing up, rappers like Tupac, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube, their lyrics were based on topics such as police brutality and other problems in black society. The music wasn’t as vulgar as today’s rappers. Even though they sometimes rapped about money, sex, and drugs, they kept it real and didn’t really exploit women. Music now has ruined the reputation for young black women and men. They make all men to be shooters, killers, drug dealers, etc. and they make the women out to be strippers, gold diggers, whores, drug abusers, etc.; telling young black men and women that this lifestyle is okay because you can make a lot of money. Artists don’t realize the effect they have on our generation. Rappers, for example, Chief Keef and Lil Wayne rap about robbing, shooting, killing people, smoking marijuana, popping...
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...America and Diversity Kathy McGowan ETH/125 February 2, 2014 Shanna Birkholz-Vasquez America and Diversity Over more than two hundred years, the United States has grown from a fledgling nation to one of the most powerful countries in the world. The principles which established this nation attracted many different groups to its shores. Principles of freedom of religion and speech bought refugees from different ethnic groups. While other groups came to seek their fortune in the “land of opportunity”, one group came to the America under duress. Each group found prejudice and discrimination. As the years passed and the country continued to grow, the barriers of prejudice and discrimination were beginning to crumble. The different groups began to accept the differences that accompanied the diversity of the nation. These changes bring up a question. Has the United States finally overcome our fear of diversity? If we examine the cultural background of Americans, we will discover many are of European descent. Many of our ancestors came looking for religious freedom. Others came to settle debts they had in their homeland. Some citizens are descendants of slaves who were sold to affluent citizens and plantation owners. The circumstances around people in these groups arrival resulted in prejudice and ethnocentrism. Prejudice was not just directed toward African Americans during the 19th century. German, Irish, Polish, Chinese and Italian immigrants found themselves...
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