Whether you know it or not, every day the media are shaping our thoughts and behaviors. Media have an especially influential role in forming our views of other ethnicities.
In Kristen Mott's article The Media's Take on Race, the issue of racial representation is discussed. The article documents a panel discussion hosted by the Cleveland-Marshall Black Law Students' Association in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Panelists included Dr.Benjamin Chavis - CEO and Co-Chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Avery Friedman - famous litigator of civil rights, and Professor Lolita Buckner Inniss - professor at Cleveland-Marshall since 1998. During the panel racist video clips were shown and each panelist spent time discussing the impact the media have on creating stereotypes. One example given by Professor Inniss had to do with racist reporting regarding Hurricane Katrina. She stated that as people were searching for supplies, whites were "finding" items, whereas African Americans were "looting" them. All in all, the article explained how much power the media have in shaping perceptions and beliefs.
This contention is shared by Sociology and Communication experts Crouteau & Hoynes (authors of Media Society). Crouteau & Hoynes discuss how ideology is formed. One process they explain, known as normalization, holds that, through repetition, "media images normalize specific social relations, making certain ways of behaving seem unexceptional" (p.163). In essence, the media define what is "normal". Normalization can occur on various levels, such as gender, age, race, or even occupation.
Essentially, what this all means is that the media images we encounter are heavily influential in the ways we view the world. This can be a negative thing when media images are exclusive or negative. Why? Because, if we see and hear incorrect information long enough, that information becomes true to us. This can create unfair and unprecedented racism among other things.
So, the next time you look through a magazine, or watch TV, pay closer attention to what you see and hear, because it may be defining your life.
xox,
blogdor.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Convince me! Are you saying that by watching news coverage of Katrina, I'll be convinced that white people "find" stuff and black people "loot" stuff? That seems a little too much like magic or brainwashing--am I really that gullible?
ReplyDeleteIt's not about being gullible. What it comes down to is a desensitization of sorts. If we are constantly shown things, they develop a validity over time. Whether true or not, they become so ingrained into our culture that they seem normal.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that one news story is going to turn you into a racist, but if there is consistent racial misrepresentation, there is a strong possibility that these misrepresentations will be perceived as racial norms.
-b.t.d