linda smith senior thesis

8/18/2019 Linda Smith Senior Thesis

1/67

Saint Mary’s College of California

LIVING IN A COLOR BLIND WORLD:

A CULTIVATION ANALYSIS OF MODERN TELEVISION

A Thesis

Presented to

The Faculty of the School of Liberal Arts

Department of Communication

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Arts

Submitted by

Linda A. Smith

Moraga, California

May 2010


2/67

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION PAGE 1

ABSTRACT 2

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 3

CHAPTER ONE: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Introduction 4

Statement of the Problem 5

Purpose of the Study 5

Relevance to the Discipline 6

Research Questions 7

Theoretical Framework 7

Definition of Terms 8

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Restatement of the Problem 12

Overview of the Available Literature 12

Background for Research Question Number One 13

Background for Research Question Number Two 25

Summary 31

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

Restatement of the Problem 32

Research Design and Method 32

Method of Data Collection 33

Method of Data Analysis 34


3/67

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS

Overview of Findings 36

Results for Research Question One 36

Results for Research Question Two 38

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMMENDATIONS

Overview of the Findings 41

Conclusions Drawn from Research Question One 41

Conclusions Drawn from Research Question Two 43

Reliability of the Study 46

Final Conclusions and Implications 47

Recommendations for Future Research 48

Concluding Remarks 49

REFERENCES 50

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Codebook 52

Appendix B: Codesheet 57

Appendix C: Suvey 60


4/67

DEDICATION PAGE

This research study was a work of love and a collaboration of my entire family. I

dedicate this to my wonderful fiancé, Jeff Newman, who was always willing to listen to

me ramble while I tried to figure out where the research was taking me, sat through each

program I coded and offered a new perspective for me, never once complained as I

analyzed him using the research questions and kept our family in order while I was going

insane. Jeff has supported me through all my educational endeavors and without him, the

completion of my degree wouldn’t have been possible.

I dedicate this paper to my daughter, Abbigail, for her wonderful acceptance of

Mommy’s continual abandonment in favor of school. Waking her up every morning was

a continual reminder of why I have spent the last four years working so hard to graduate.

She is the reason that I study into the wee hours and the reason that I have been so

adamant about graduating with my degree. I hope that someday that she will understand

that everything we have gone through for the last four years has been so that I can

provide a better life for us.

Finally, I would like to thank my parents for their continued support in this

process. I am so proud of being able to finally give them the moment they have been

looking forward to for the last 25 years, me walking across the stage and receiving my

diploma. They have willingly dealt with all the financial strain of supporting both me

and Abbigail for the last eight years and without them I could never have afforded the

opportunities I have had the pleasure of experiencing.


5/67

"

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the extent that the

media creates a mythical world of color blindness in broadcast primetime television. The

study looks at the attitudes cultivated by college student audiences. The study began with

a message system analysis of prime time television by doing a character content analysis

followed by a survey of St. Mary’s College of California students. The results of the

study were that the media’s portrayal of a color blind world has moved beyond partial

messages to a full message of equality. Characters of all races are shown as having equal

opportunities in education, occupation, and income. Students surveyed showed

recognition that their peers have cultivated media attitudes but are unable to recognize the

same attitudes within themselves. The implications of the study are key to understanding

how social stratification of minorities is reproduced in each generation. The media has

created a story that everyone has the same opportunities, regardless of race, telling

audiences that there is no more work to be done in fixing societal problems.


6/67

#

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

List of Tables

Table 1: Scaled Survey Responses 39

List of Figures

Figure 1: Character Careers By Race 42Figure 2: Educational Level of Characters By Race 43

Figure 3: Number of Characters By Race 43


7/67

$

CHAPTER ONE:THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Introduction

America is a country made up of immigrants from all over the world. Every race

from every location a person could think of has settled in America, making America one

of the most racially diverse countries in the world. Despite this, racial equality in

America is nearly non-existent. Minorities are under-represented in business,

government and media. They are given fewer opportunities to succeed at fulfilling their

American dream, whether it is systematically, structurally or as product of their social

standing.

When Barack Obama was running for President of the United States, Americans

began to believe his message of hope. It was a message of hope of fixing the financial

problems facing the country. It was a message of hope to bring about political reform.

But most importantly it was a message of hope that winning the Presidency would be a

symbol of racial equality in America.

As President Obama begins his second year in office Americans could clearly see

that although his Presidency was a victory for the side of equality, it had done nothing to

change the circumstances of minorities in America. They were still given fewer

opportunities to succeed, were still more likely to need government aid, and were still

less likely to be portrayed fairly in the media.

President Obama’s election into office solidifies the message of equality the

media has been pushing since the end of the Jim Crow segregation era. The myth of

color blind society creates a framework that makes it impossible for minorities to claim


8/67


9/67

&

This study had a primary goal of describing the myth that is put forth by the

media and the effects that it has upon audiences. After understanding the phenomenon, it

was hoped that this study would be able to make predictions as to the behavior of

audiences in reaction to the strategies of the media as well as explain the effects on its

audience. It was further hoped that the conclusions drawn from the data could also be

generalized to similar populations of those in the sample demographic of this study. This

study while important has a larger relevance to the discipline, which will be explored in

the next section.

Relevance to the Discipline

The study is related to the socio-psychological and critical traditions of media,

which look at the power structures in society and the social or cultural causes. The socio-

psychological tradition of communication is focused on “individual social behavior,

psychological variables, individual effects, personalities and traits, perception and

cognition” (Foss & Littlejohn, 2008, p. 42). Theories in the socio-psyhological tradition

look at “the relationship between communication behavior… in relation to variables as

personal traits, situational differences and learning” (Foss & Littlejohn, 2008, p. 43).

The study is furthered through a critical lens, which looks at “how power,

oppression, and privilege are the products of certain forms of communication throughout

society” (Foss & Littlejohn, 2008, p. 45). Critical theories have a goal of understanding

“the taken-for-granted systems, power structures, and beliefs-or ideologies- that dominate

society, with a particular eye to whose interests are served by those power structures”


10/67

'

(Foss & Littlejohn, 2008, p. 46). The next section will look at the research question

developed to inform the study.

Research Questions

In order to develop the study, two research questions were created. The first

asked: In what ways and to what extent does the media create a mythical world of color

blindness? The second research question asked: In what ways and to what extent does the

color blind discourse of the media effect an audience of college students? The next

section will look at the theoretical framework that guides the study.

Theoretical Framework

The theory that is the guide for the study is George Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory,

which looks at the strategies of the media over time on culture and particular viewers.

The theory argues that television exposure cultivates the viewer’s perceptions of reality.

Gerbner uses the term “cultivation because television is believed to be a homogenizing

agent in culture, or cultivating a common culture” (Foss & Littlejohn, 2008, p. 299).

Cultivation theory regards viewers as passively accepting the ideologies with little to no

interpretation.

Cultivation theory guides the study because it provides a framework for

understanding the effects of the media’s strategies on the way the audience perceives

racial relations in America. The next section will highlight key terms and definitions

needed to understand this study.


11/67

(

Definition of Terms

Aversive Racism: Covert, subtle expressions of prejudice anddiscrimination against racial and ethnic minorities,

often unconscious and unintentional (Marger,

2009).

Color blind: The way the media decries blatant racial inequality

so as to soothe those in favor of the status quo whileattempting to appear sensitive and objective (Walsh,

2009).

Discrimination: Negative actions against a group, aimed at denyingits members equal access to societal rewards

(Marger, 2009).

Dominant Ethnic Group: That group at the top of the ethnic hierarchy, whichreceives a disproportionate share of wealth,

exercises predominant political authority, and hasthe greatest influence on shaping the society’s

cultural system (Marger, 2009).

Dominative Racism: Actions taken to oppress racial and ethnicminorities and to keep them in a subservient

position (Marger, 2009).

Ethnic Collectivities: Groupings of people who have a recognizableculture, are aware of themselves as a unit, are

recognized as a unit by outsiders, interact with eachother, and feel a sense of obligation to support and

defend the group (Marger, 2009).

Ethnic Group: A group within a larger society that displays aunique set of cultural traits and a sense of

community among members (Marger, 2009).

Ethnic Hierarchy: The structural arrangement of diverse groups of amultiethnic society in a rank order, from those at the

top, with most of the society’s wealth and power, tothose at the bottom, with correspondingly little

(Marger, 2009).

Ethnic Stereotype: An over-simplistic and exaggerated belief aboutmembers of an ethnic group, generally acquired

secondhand and resistant to change despite contraryevidence (Marger, 2009).


12/67

)

Ethnocentrism: The belief by members of a group that their culture

is superior to others (Marger, 2009).

Ideology: A set of beliefs and values that explain, rationalize,

and justify inequalities in wealth, power, and privilege (Marger, 2009).

Institutional Discrimination: Actions taken against members of particular groupsthat are the result of the policies and structures of

organizations and institutions. May be direct , inwhich discrimination is based on law or custom, or

indirect , in which it is obscure and often unintended(Marger, 2009).

Macro Discrimination: Discrimination against minority groups not limited

to specific cases but firmly incorporated in thesociety’s normative system (Marger, 2009).

Merton’s Paradigm: A theoretical model explaining that prejudice and

discrimination are variable, depending on a numberof situational factors; hence, attitudes and actions

toward members of minority groups may fluctuatewithin different social contexts (Marger, 2009).

Minority Groups: Groups that, on the basis of their physical or

cultural traits, are given differential and unequaltreatment and receive fewer of the society’s rewards

(Marger, 2009).

Model Minority: A popular characterization of Asian Americans,recognizing their comparatively successful

adaptation to American society (Marger, 2009).

Multiethnic Society: A society composed of numerous cultural, racialand religious groups (Marger, 2009).

Myth: Those unstated, unquestioned, and unnoticed beliefs

we assume about the world (Gorham, 1999).

Power-conflict Theories: Theories that view prejudice and discrimination asemerging from dominant group interests and used to

protect and enhance those interests .

Prejudice: A generalized belief, usually inflexible and


13/67

*+

unfavorable, applied to members of a particulargroup (Marger, 2009).

Race: A socially constructed category of humans,

classified on the basis of certain arbitrarily selected

hereditary characteristics that differentiate themfrom other human groups (Marger, 2009).

Racial-ethnic Group: An ethnic group whose members are noticeablydifferent physically from the dominant ethnic group

(Marger, 2009).

Racism: The belief that humans are subdivided into distincthereditary groups that are innately different in their

social behavior and mental capacities and that cantherefore be ranked as superior or inferior (Marger,

2009).

Racial Triangulation: The pitting of one race against another in order toremove responsibility from a third party race.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy: A process in which the false definition of a situation

produces behavior that, in turn, makes real theoriginally falsely defined situation (Marger, 2009).

Social Class: A category of people with approximately similar

incomes and occupations who share similarlifestyles (Marger, 2009).

Social Darwinism: A theory, based on the notion of “survival of the

fittest” holding that one’s economic standing isultimately the product of one’s inherent capabilities

(Marger, 2009).

Social Distance: The degrees of intimacy members of one ethnicgroup are willing to accept with members of other

ethnic groups (Marger, 2009).

Social Mobility: The movement up or down a society’s class orethnic hierarchy by individuals or groups (Marger,

2009).

Social Stratification: A well-established system of structured inequalityin which people and groups receive different

amounts of the society’s valued resources, based on


14/67

**

various social, and sometimes physical,characteristics (Marger, 2009).

Stereotype: A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image

or idea of a particular type of person or thing

(Marger, 2009).

Yellow Peril: An anti-Chinese characterization, referring to the

perceived economic and cultural threat of Chineseimmigration to the United States in the late

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Marger,2009).


15/67

*"

CHAPTER TWO:REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Restatement Of The Problem

Our personality is developed over our lifetime based on our interactions with the

people and things that surround us. Television, or the babysitter, is one of the most

influential factors in developing personality and worldviews in its audiences. It is a

storyteller that provides the narrative for viewers to model and live by. Since the end of

Jim Crow segregation the social ramifications of open racism has created a subversive

myth of color blind discourse within society and the media. The myth of racial equality

within the media is a way for the majority group to maintain their privilege over the

marginalized minorities. In order to create a truly realistic picture of the world and to

create a truly equal world, an understanding of the ways the media uses the myth of color

blindness is essential.

Overview Of The Available Literature

The literature on the issues being looked at in this study is extensive. Researchers

have found that there is a new type of color blind discourse that is being offered by the

media which has a greater negative impact on social issues today. Color blind linguistics

employed heavily and adeptly by youth argue that race is no longer a problem that faces

America. Media portrayals of race have also changed, with numbers of minorities

appearing beginning to match their proportional population numbers. However, as the

media portrays more minorities they are using new tactics to cultivate ideologies similar

to that of Jim Crow segregation. Further research shows that although age and

geographic location may effect how a person reacts to message systems produced by the


16/67

*#

media, most researchers believe that the media is still cultivating audience perspectives

on reality. The next section will look at the literature available for research question two

more in depth.

Background For Research Question One

Color Blind Discourse

One might truly believe that America is a color blind society when only the

surface is scratched. Descriptions of scenes around America include, “The young white

male sporting FUBU (African-American owned apparel company ‘For Us By Us’) shirt

and his white friend with the tightly set, perfectly braided cornrows blended seamlessly

into the festivities at an all white bar mitzvah celebration. A black model dressed in

yachting attire peddles a New England, yuppie boating look in Nautica advertisements”

(Gallagher, 2003, p. 2). Gallagher argues:

Americans are constantly being bombarded by depictions of race relations in the

media which suggest that discriminatory racial barriers have been

dismantled…Much of white America now see a level playing field, while amajority of black Americans see a field which is still quite uneven. (Gallagher,2003, p. 2)

The word colorblind first appeared during Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 when U.S.

Supreme Court Justice Harlan claimed, “the constitution is colorblind…In respect of civil

rights, all citizens are equal before the law” (Kawai, 2005, p. 113). The discourse of

colorblind has been a way for the white hegemony to effectively cut off racial cries of

inequality by claiming racial equality. By ignoring race, the media attempts to neutralize

racial categories and focus on the “issues.” Any problems that face minorities are clearly

separate from the systemic and structural problems that they face. Critical race theorist

T.J. Yosso found “films tend to blame Chicana/o socioacademic failure on their culture,


17/67

*$

language, family, values, cycle of poverty, lack of motivation, inclination to violence, and

proclivity to unplanned pregnancy” (Yosso, 2002, p. 2). Walsh argues the importance of

understanding how and why color blind discourse functions within media,

How media outlets discuss or avoid discussions of race tell us somethingimportant about how the media comes to represent race in the social world they

help shape. The argument I make is that the mainstream media, in seeking tocomfort its dominant white audience, engages in colorblind tactics designed to

soothe those who benefit from the statues quo while simultaneously trying toappear sensitive and objective to the growing audience of those who are cognizant

of the racial hierarchy and unequal access to power, prestige, privilege and property. (Walsh, 2009, p. 122)

As the media attempts to fix negative racial stereotypes in the media there can be the

problem of the reverse effect: creating a color blind myth. Entman describes this process,

We must acknowledge a normative conundrum: actions taken to ameliorate onemisimpression could heighten another. For example, reducing images of black

crime and victimization could instill among whites an unwarranted sense of black progress. Similarly, TV’s deliberate use of black experts on non-‘black’ issues,

while conveying the positive diversity of the black community, couldsimultaneously feed the complacency of whites who insist racial discrimination

has ceased. (Entman, 1994, p. 518)

Research on race in children-targeted television commercials revealed that although

character representation by race was generally close to their racial population in America,

“such extent of representation may give the casual viewer the impression that children’s

commercials are now multicultural, equitable, and progressive, a deeper examination

suggests that this surface change masks continuing racial biases in the screen presence,

casting, and direction of people of color” (Li-Vollmer, 2002, p. 220).

The linguistics of color blind racism have come about because it is no longer

socially acceptable to use racist terminology, “Because post-civil rights racial norms

allow the open expression of direct racial views and positions, whites have developed a

concealed way of voicing them” (Bonilla-Silva, 2002, p. 46). Solorzano says that the


18/67

*%

linguistics of color blind racism are generally hidden but occasionally people of color get

a glimpse into the world of “subtle and unconscious racism and racial stereotyping”

(Solorzano, 1997, p. 10). Solorzano lists some examples that are heard often by people

of color,

‘When I talk about those Blacks, I really wasn’t talking about you.’‘You’re not like the rest of them. You’re different.’

‘If only there were more of them like you.’‘I don’t think of you as a Mexican.’

‘You speak such good English.’‘But you speak without an accent.’

Taken individually, these comments are viewed by most People of Color asinsults. However, many Whites see these statements differently and responded to

People of Color with such retorts as ‘you’re being too sensitive about race’ or‘why does everything have to go back to race’ (Solorzano, 1997, pp. 10-11)

Language for teachers has had to change to fit the more socially acceptable subversive

color blind linguistics, “it would be unprofessional for teachers and teach educators to

describe Students of Color as ‘dumb,’ ‘dirty,’ or ‘lazy.’ Instead, some educators and

scholars might use a different terminology such as ‘uneducable,’ ‘lack hygiene,’ or ‘lack

motivation’” (Solorzano, 1997, p. 11). Bonilla-Silva argues that contemporary America

has created a new language that is filled with new ways to discuss race. Some examples

he offers are, “‘I am a little bit for affirmative action, but…’ ‘Yes and no, I mean…’ ‘I

am not prejudiced, but…’ ‘Some of my best friends are black’ ‘I sort of agree and

disagree…’”(Bonilla-Silva, 2002, p. 41). All are examples how whites in America are

using the “slippery, apparently contradictory, and often subtle” (Bonilla-Silva, 2002, 42)

contemporary color blind linguistics. In another article Bonilla-Silva and Forman argue,

these discursive maneuvers or semantic moves are usually followed by negativestatements on the general character of minorities (e.g. ‘they are lazy’, ‘they have

too many babies’) or on government-sponsered policies and programs that promote racial equality (e.g. ‘affirmative action is reverse discrimination’, ‘no-

one should be forced to integrate). (Bonilla-Silva & Foreman, 2000, p. 50)


19/67

*&

Bonilla-Silva found that students used projection as a way of avoiding guilt and

responsibility so that they could place blame elsewhere,

College students projected racial motivations onto blacks as a way of avoiding

responsibility and feeling good about themselves. Their projections appeared on avariety of issues (e.g. affirmative action, school and residential segregation,interracial friendship and marriage, and blacks’ work ethic), but most often on the

hot issue of so-called black self-segregation. (Bonilla-Silva, 2002, p. 54)

Bonilla-Silva found that about half of the students he interviewed used diminutives when

discussing racial issues,

Because maintaining a non-racial, color blind stance is key, whites usediminutives to soften their racial blows. Hence, when they oppose affirmative

action, few say, ‘I [am] against affirmative action.’ Instead they say somethingsuch as, ‘I am just a little bit against affirmative action.’ (Bonilla-Silva, 2002, p.

57)

Bonilla-Silva’s preliminary research suggests that “younger, educated, middle class

people” (Bonilla-Silva, 2002, p. 62) are more likely to use the new color blind linguistics

but says, “This does not mean they are less ‘racist.’ It just means that they are more adept

at navigating the dangerous waters of America’s contemporary racial landscape and

know all the stylistic tools available to save face” (Bonilla-Silva, 2002, p. 62). The over-

arching themes of color blind racism are:

(1) the extension of the principles of liberalism to racial matters in an abstract

manner, (2) cultural rather than biological explanation of minorities inferiorstanding and performance in labor and educational markets, (3) naturalization of

racial phenomena such as residential and school segregation, and (4) the claimthat discrimination has all but disappeared. (Bonilla-Silva & Foreman, 2002, p.

42)

Lewis finds that Whites tend to believe that race is about minorities and does not

include Whites, “Despite the key role whites have played historically in the original

construction and replication of racial categories, they often claim today to be beyond


20/67

*'

race- to be color-blind and not think about race” (Lewis, 2004, p. 624). Lewis argues that

whites are racialized just as much as any minority group,

Because of their social location (as dominants) whites historically have had the

luxury of racializing others without necessarily, except strategically, developingor invoking a strong racial consciousness. Yet they remain an important racialcollectivity despite their lack of felt groupness. They are a passive social

collectivity that can become, at strategic moments, a self-conscious group (e.g.race riots, choosing a school for children, hiring a new employee. (Lewis, 2004, p.

626)

Lewis argues, “Though the nature of whiteness often enables whites to go through life

without thinking about the racialized nature of their own experiences, it does not mean

they are somehow outside of the system they have created and have projected onto

others” (Lewis, 2004, p. 640). Whites ignore their own racial category they as part of a

color-blind ideology that functions to,

Facilitate the disavowal of numerous troubling racial patterns in interactions and

outcomes, but it [also] co-opts a racially progressive aspiration- color-blindess-and asserts it as a reality, it also makes other antiracist frames that might allow for

the creation of different outcomes very difficult. Racial ideology generally andcolor-blind ideology in particular, at least in part in the claim that whites are not a

social collective, naturalize racialized interactions that privilege whites. (Lewis,2004, p. 636)

Lewis argues that multiracial children are complicating the landscape of race in America,

As the case of Tiger Woods and others demonstrate- even explicit efforts toidentify as multiracial (or ‘Cablinasian’ in this case) rarely meet with success

given current racial realities. Woods is touted as a great black golfer (not a greatmultiracial golfer); Fuzzy Zoeller did not try to dissuade him from selecting Pad

Thai (i.e. Thai food) for the menu for 1998 Master’s, but rather mentioned friedchicken and greens, cuisine associated with the black southern tradition. On the

other hand, his categorization as black within the United States is complicated by

his placement elsewhere; Woods is esteemed as a great Asian golfer in manyAsian countries. His racial categorization is thus transformed within differentsocial contexts. (Lewis, 2004, p. 629).


21/67

*(

Race in the Media

The first research question looks at the way the media portrays race on television.

Yosso found that “entertainment media are one of the means through which racism

pervades, albeit sometimes in unconscious, subtle, indirect, and covert ways” (Yosso,

2002, p. 2). Ramasubramanian found that

due to the ubiquitous nature of media stereotypes, biased information inevitably

becomes incorporated into ‘common knowledge’ or schemata that viewers formabout stereotyped groups. According to the neo-associationistic model of media

priming, when such cognitive networks are firmly in place, exposure to mediastereotypes can serve as cognitive shortcuts to immediately and easily activate the

cultural stereotypes associated with the group. (Ramasubramanian, 2007, p. 2)

In her study on how the media cultivates moderate perspectives on racial integration

Paula W. Matabane found that “Television fiction establishes the social value of an

integrated setting while omitting the social negatives that many blacks may experience in

real-life all-white circumstances” (Matabane, 1988, p. 22). Her review of content

analysis found,

Black characters tend to be cast either in all-black settings or as lone black

persons in an otherwise all-white setting. Black settings tend to be low income,with few socially productive persons concerned about social problems; blacks in

white settings tend to be upscale and productive. Black English is generally used by low-income characters in all-black settings. Racism is rarely discussed or

portrayed. (Matabane, 1988, p. 22)

Ramasubramanian adds that there are only a few long-standing racial stereotypes in the

media. African Americans are portrayed as criminal, aggressive, and unintelligent. Asian

Americans on the other hand have more positive depictions as being “model minorities”

who are non-controversial, polite, hard-working, and who do not challenge the existing

system.

Jannette L. Dates review of commercial television finds that,


22/67

*)

American commercial television is a clear reflection of the split in the AfricanAmerican image in popular culture, and of empowered groups’ rigid control of

most images presented on the television screen…the mainstream values and beliefs of African Americans seen on primtime commercial television have not

revealed unique African American experience but rather the perceptions of white

producers, sponsors, writers and owners. (Dates, 1990, p. 253)

Dates argues that over a period of forty years only thirteen weekly dramas featured

African Americans and “Over the years, six of the thirteen dramas aired for less than a

year, while six of them were on for just a year” (Dates, 1990, p. 255). The dramas

“continued the tradition of framing thoughts about the world that said strong, white males

solve the problems generated by social disorder and human bungling, whether the victims

are black or white” (Dates, 1990, p. 255).

There have been some interesting attempts at discussing race on commercial

television. In general, television in the 1950’s and 1960’s featured “happy people with

happy problems (Dates, 1990, p. 254) but when All In The Family and its spin-off The

Jeffersons aired, they showed racial issues and racist language which garnered different

reactions by audience members, “unprejudiced and minority viewers perceived and

enjoyed the show as satire, while prejudiced viewers perceived and enjoyed the show as

one of the few that was ‘telling it like it is!’” (Dates, 1990, p. 268).

However Dates notes “‘The Jeffersons’ appealed to white Americans because

they represented African Americans who had ‘made it.’ ‘The Jeffersons’ was the

fulfillment of the American dream” (Dates, 1990, p. 272). Columnist William Henry

argued, “viewers ‘yearned to believe that a social revolution had been won,’ and that this

somehow freed white Americans from redressing any more grievances which African

Americans might have said were due” (Dates, 1990, p. 272). This is one of the first

examples of the color blind discourse being offered by the media. Later Bill Cosby


23/67

"+

starred on the program I Spy in which “Cosby’s character did not usually address his

blackness or another character’s whiteness, and, like other shows with black characters

on primetime television, he was portrayed in an atmosphere where being black merely

meant having slightly darker skin” (Dates, 1990, p. 280).

The most frequent presence of blackness on television was within the role of

entertainer. Dates argues, “In the earliest American television programs, black people

were employed with some degree of dignity by Ed Sullivan, Arthur Godfrey, Milton

Berle, Steven Allen, and a few others like them who frequently used African American

performers in their variety shows without cosigning them to stereotypical roles or to the

rigidity of white models” (Dates, 1990, p. 284). The portrayal of African Americans on

variety shows and as having equal roles reinforced the idea that

Many believed that the appearance of Negroes on television was a sign that barriers were coming down. Some believed that the Federal Communications

Commission and advertisers, because of their responsiveness to social forces,would lead the way to opening up television as a strong medium of black

expression” (Dates, 1990, n.p.)

African Americans characters in soap operas however still lacked depth or dimension,

“The primarily white writers for soaps developed characters in the context of their own

world experiences. Often they were afraid of offending black viewers and so made the

characters perfect or wooden rather than realistic” (Dates, 1990, p. 294). Nancy

Signorielli found in her analysis of prime time television,

Women and minorities have less prestigious jobs than White men…White

characters of all ages are more likely than minority characters of all ages to becast in prestigious jobs. These differences also hold for gender—30% of White

men, 25% of White women, 22% of minority men, and 20% of minority women.(Signorielli, 2004, p. 290)

Further she found that “older minority characters are more likely than older White

characters to work outside the home” (Signorielli, 2004, p. 289).


24/67

"*

The Asian American community is one that is plagued by a strange ambivalent

nature when viewed through stereotypes. Kawai points out that,

On one hand, Asian Americans as the yellow peril embody ‘foreignness’ and

‘masculinity’ that threaten U.S. identity as a White, Christian nation; on the otherhand, Asian Americans who make efforts to succeed silently and diligentlywithout demanding or protesting anything-symbolize ‘the model minority’ and

‘docility’ or ‘femininity’ and confirm colorblind ideology. (Kawai, 2005, p. 115)

In other words, Asian Americans have the positive image of being self-sufficient and a

model group among the minorities as long as they are not a threat to the white hegemony.

But as soon as they embody that threat whether it is through economic or academic

achievement they become part of the yellow peril. Kawai also points out that, “in the

world of Hollywood films, Fu Manchu served to enhance the yellow peril stereotype: a

person who possessed a superhuman intellect and ambition and also ‘was subhuman in

his immortality and ruthlessness’”(Kawai, 2005, p. 113).

In the media the Kawai shows that “Latina/Hispanic women are also

contradictory stereotyped as both “the halfbreed harlot” and “the female clown” that

neutralizes the overt sexual threat posed by the former in Hollywood films” (Kawai,

2005, p. 118). Yosso goes on to say “mainstream Hollywood films often portray whites

as successful in school and in life, whereas Chicanas/os and African Americans are more

generally characterized as failures in education and society” (Yosso, 2002, p. 1).

The stereotypes of these groups can help to maintain the hegemonic white group

power by creating a triangulation among minorities, which pits one group against the

other while white groups are portrayed as neutral (Kawai, 2005, p. 124). This is

especially evidenced by the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict, in which a “not-

guilty” verdict was given to white policemen accused of beating an African American

man (Kawai, 2005, p. 124). Although Rodney King was African American and the


25/67

""

policemen were white, Kawai claims, “mainstream media are believed to be responsible

for turning the Rodney King case, a White racial issue, into an Asian-Black racial

issue…the media framed the riot as an inter-racial conflict between Asians and Blacks

because such a portrayal resonates with underlying American ideological currents, which

pit Asian Americans, as a model minority, against African Americans, as an urban

underclass” (Kawai, 2005, 124). There has been a historical framing of Asian Americans

as superior to African Americans while being inferior to whites (Kawai, 2005, pp. 110,

114-115). In the end Kawai argues, “by valorizing Korean immigrants and defending

them against Black ‘agitators,’ the media once again used Asian Americans and the

norms of colorblindness to protect White privilege from a Black Power challenge” and

that “the Rodney King case, which was undoubtedly motivated by White racism, was re-

contextualized as an inter-minority conflict in which ‘urban underclass’ African

Americans attacked ‘model minority’ Asian Americans, and White Americans

disappeared from the scene” (Kawai, 2005, p. 124).

In 2008, the first Black man was elected President of the United States despite a

strong discourse on the impossibility of such an event. Fullbright places the

responsibility on this discourse on the media, “the idea that Americans would not be able

to get past racism and elect a black president was a myth largely perpetuated by the

media” (Fullbright, 2009, p. B3). Fullbright asserts that this is largely due to the financial

benefits created by portraying a racial division among Americans, “a vote for Hilary was

not a vote against Obama or against an African American…but promoting the idea that

we don’t get along sells papers” (Fullbright, 2009, p. B3). The media even used racial

triangulation between African Americans, Latinos and Whites to downplay Hilary’s part


26/67

"#

in the race while playing up a racial division between the African Americans and Latinos.

Fullbright quotes, “Sylvia Manzano, an assistant professor of political science at Texas

A&M University, said the media generated the idea that Latino’s wouldn’t vote for an

African American man even though surveys proved that wasn’t the case” (Fullbright,

2009, p. B3). The historic race between Obama and Hilary, both representing first for

their respective categories of female and Black, left the media with a dilemma of how to

pit them against one another. Walsh describes both categories as having a history of

repression with “Black men given the vote a half-century before women of any race were

allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions of power, from the

military to the boardroom, before any women” (Walsh, 2009, p. 126). To attempt to push

herself above the Black privilege over women Walsh explains Hilary’s strategy, “in the

beginning of the campaign to demonstrate her ability to lead the country Clinton marked

herself not only as a strong woman, albeit one occupying the unmarked category of

white, with race rendered invisible. In response, the press consistently portrayed Hillary

Clinton as a mythical man-attributing to her those characteristics of hegemonic

masculinity: tough, self-sufficient, stoic” (Walsh, 2009, p. 124). Obama was much

harder for the press to categorize and eventually they settled on emasculating him. Walsh

describes the media discussion,

After the press and pundits settled during the Fall 2007 on the debate aboutwhether or not Barack Obama was ‘black enough’ (they determined he was Black

using both the historic rule of hypo-descent and some arbitrary cultural litmustest), their next project was to find a category which he could occupy that fit

‘commonsense’ for the audience. (Walsh, 2009, p. 127)

The response Walsh says was to “at every opportunity Obama was painted not only as the

antithetical persona to the Black buck stereotype, but as a poor substitute for the

hegemonic masculinity that has been preferred by the public in selecting a candidate for


27/67

"$

the Oval Office” (Walsh, 2009, p. 127). The media often displayed mixed messages

regarding his race, “while one project during the primary sought to portray Obama as less

than Black, another project operated frequently to remind audiences that the candidate

did not fit within the category of normative whiteness” (Walsh, 2009, p. 127). Overall

the general depiction of Obama in contrast to Hilary served to comfort white, middle-

class normative values so that if Obama did succeed in creating a miracle win, white

power wouldn’t be challenged. Walsh sums it up,

In recasting the Black man candidate both as less than “Black,” and less thanmanly, the ideological work of the white supremacy remains in tack: should this

man succeed to capture the nomination and perhaps the White House, his race andhis masculinity have been diminished: he is seen as not quite Black but also not

quite manly. This recasting of race and gender renders white supremacy if notintact, at least less threatened than the social order would be if a stereotypical

Black masculinity had won the election. (Walsh, 2009, p. 129)

In research on how race is portrayed in television commercials, Li-Vollmer found

“In commercials that utilized a product spokesperson, African Americans were rarely cast

in the spokesperson role and other racial minorities never served this function. In

contrast, White characters were the most visible spokespeople” (Li-Vollmer, 2002, p.

217). Occupations by race within commercials revealed stereotypical roles for racial

minorities,

Among the 499 White primary characters with an identifiable role, the largest

number appeared as humans with supernatural powers and as parents orgrandparents. African Americans had much narrower representation among the

role categories; out of the 90 African American characters in specific roles, thelargest number appeared as laborers. Only 9 other minority characters were

identified with a specific role with the largest number portrayed as serviceworkers. (Li-Vollmer, 2002, p. 218)

The next section will look at the literature available for research question two more in

depth.


28/67

"%

Background For Research Question Two

Television Cultivation

Cultivation analysis is a way of looking at the narrative of the message systems

within the media and their long-term effects on the viewers. “Most of what we know, or

think we know, we have never personally experienced. We live in a world erected by the

stories we hear and see and tell” (Gerbner, 1996). The person telling the story isn’t a

family member or close friend. It’s not even an institution that is a part of the

community.

Television stories show and tell us about life- its people, places, power, and fate

as well as how things work and how to solve problems. Characterizationsrepresent the good and bad, the happy and sad, successes and failures, show

who’s on the top and who’s on the bottom of the economic ladder and/or peckingorder. (Signorielli, 2004, p. 279).

These stories have three primary roles in life “1) they reveal how things work; 2) they

describe what things are, and 3) they tell us what to do about them” (Gerbner, 1996,

Foreward). Stories that reveal how things work, “…illuminate the all-important but

invisible relationships of life. They help us perceive the insivisible and hidden dynamics

of daily reality” (Gerbner, 1996, Foreward). The second kind of stories, which depict

what things are provide the “…descriptions, expositions, and reports from total

situtations, which fill in with ‘facts’ the gaps in the fantasies conjured up by the stories of

the first kind” (Gerbner, 1996, Foreward). The stories of the third kind work to bring

together the first two kinds of stories. They are the stories

…which tell us what to do-clinch the lessons of the first two and turn them into

action. They typically present us with a valued objective or suggest a need ordesire- and then offer a product, service, candidate, institution, or action to help us

attain it. (Gerbner, 1996, Foreward)


29/67

"&

Gerbner and associates relate television to religion, “Television provides, perhaps for the

first time since preindustrial religion, a daily ritual that elites share with many other

publics” (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1994, p. 18).

Cultivation framework is made up of two parts: the message system analysis and

the cultivation analysis. Gerbner says, “The most popular products of mass-produced

culture provide special opportunities for the study of socially potent message systems. In

these systems- popular fiction, drama, and news- aspects of life are recreated in

significant associations with total human situations” (Gerbner, 1977, p. 203). A message

system creates its own synthetic world, “all that exists in that ‘world’ is represented in it.

‘Facts’ reflect not opaque reality but palpable design” (Gerbner, 1977, p. 203). The

world of a message system is much like that of reality, “The ‘world’ has its own time,

space, geography, demography, and ethnography, bent to institutional purpose and rules

of social morality” (Gerbner, 1977, p. 203). The point of content indicators of message

system analysis is not to tell us what individuals think or do, but rather “what most

people think or do something about in common” (Gerbner, 1977, p. 204).

The second part of cultivation framework is the cultivation anaylsis. In this

researchers are not looking for what the effects of television “make us ‘do’ but what they

contribute to the meaning of all that is done (or accepted or avoided)- a more

fundamental and ultimately more decisive process” (Gerbner, 1977, p. 205). Cultivation

is not focused on the short-term because “What is most likely to cultivate stable and

common conceptions of reality is, therefore, the overall pattern of programming to which

total communities are regularly exposed over long periods of time” (Gerbner, Gross,

Morgan, &Signorielli, 1994, p. 20).


30/67

"'

In research on response times to positive or negative word associations after

viewing African American stereotypes, Ramasubramanian found that “after viewing

movie clips depicting African American women in stereotypical roles, participants

responded faster to negative words than positive words in a reaction-time task”

(Ramasubramanian, 2007, p. 3). Entman found that “the network news does produce

images of blacks that may, in more subtle ways than is true of the locals, reinforce

whites’ antagonism toward blacks, especially among audience members already

predisposed toward hostility and resentment” (Entman, 1994, p. 516). The cultivation of

the negative view of minorities works easier on the majority group,

For the majority group, blacks in the news may represent or symbolize all blacksin a way that singular whites do not stand for all whites. Since news presents

itself as a kind of sample survey of the world’s events, white audience members,especially those having limited personal contact or hostile predispositions toward

blacks, may assume those blacks who appear in TV news are representative andthus generalize from them” (Entman, 1994, p. 517)

Entman warns that the news needs to be aware of the problem that the news presents

which is unique because of the way that it categorizes its presentation as truth and versus

the fiction of primetime television. He suggests that newsmakers need to be aware of

their part in the cultivation of audiences,

This mental disposition means many white audience members may over timecombine news images of blacks that are individually accurate into stereotyped

cognition. If the ultimate goal of journalism is establishing truthful audiencecognitions, news organizations might bear in mind this tendency toward

prejudiced stereotyping when assessing and refining their newsmaking practices.

(Entman, 1994, p. 17)

Matabane found that the audience members’ demographics and community participation

effected the cultivation influence of the media,

Television seems to be a more important factor in the construction of racialintegration perceptions for young respondents, high-income respondents, women,


31/67

"(

churchgoers, those with low community participation, and those with mediumlength of residency in one neighborhood…we observe a consistent influence of

television among all these groups in the direction of a more mainstream perception of racial integration. (Matabane, 1988, pp. 26-27)

However Matabane found that the age group of over 57 was effected by cultivation

differently than other age ranges, “For older respondents, the amount of television

viewing appears to be of little consequence in the formation of some of their racial

beliefs, but even these distinctions in the perceptions of the degree of integration are

blurred or absent for heavy viewers overall” (Matabane, 1988, p. 29). In general

Matabane concluded that age was a factor because, “Each generation has had a different

social experience in race relations, ranging from segregation to civil rights, and varying

modes of protest” (Matabane, 1988, p. 28). Matabane has serious worries about the way

the media cultivates perceptions of race, “The illusion of well-being among the oppressed

may lead to reduced political activity and less demand for social justice and equality”

(Matabane, 1988, p. 30).

Grabe and Drew found in their research on the cultivation effects of crime dramas

found “little evidence of cultivation effects associated with televised crime drama,

whereas nonfiction did produce cultivation outcomes” (Grabe & Drew, 2007, p. 163).

This is consistent with Entman’s theory that the news is taken more as truth than fiction

programs. Their research results showed cultivation aspects in that, “after controlling for

the influence of demographic items, exposure to reality programs alone predicted almost

2% of gun ownership, showing a notable association between watching reality crime

programs and owning a gun” (Grabe & Drew, 2007, p. 164).

Research on the cultivation of violence has formed three main conclusions; “First,

viewing television violence is related to increased aggression toward others by viewers.


32/67

")

A second conclusion in the report is that viewing violence is related to ‘desensitization’

by which viewers end to become indifferent to real-world violence. And, third, viewers

tend to become fearful of the real world” (Larson, 2003, p. 67). Researcher Li-Vollmer

argues that because children watch 30,000-40,000 commercials each year they provide a

good way to judge the cultivation effects on children, “television advertisements targeted

at children present stable patterns of race representation, these messages about race will

be repeated many times over to a relatively receptive audience” (Li-Vollmer, 2002, p.

208). Larson’s uses the same reasoning but applies it to research on violence in

children’s television commercials, “in the significant two-way interaction of aggression x

race, commercials that featured White boys and boys of Color together exhibited less

fortuitous aggression than expected” (Larson, 2003, p. 71). Larson’s research also found

that object aggression was higher in commercials that featured only White boys. Larson

concludes that the cultivation effects of commercial violence for White boys may be high

for several reasons,

White boys are given a wealth of models of object aggression such as thedestruction of property in video games and attacks on action figures. White boys

also have many models for physical aggression such as arm twisting on a playground or shooting a stringy, gooey substance at people. (Larson, 2003, p. 73)

Li-Vollmer is concerned that children with little access to alternative means of

socializing beyond their television may assimilate the messages in commercials more

easily, “children with few opportunities to interact with people from diverse backgrounds

are more likely to assimilate television commercials’ cues about race into their role

schemas, which in turn inform their later judgments and interactions” (Li-Vollmer, 2002,

p. 224). The effect of the television commercials is especially great because,


33/67

#+

The messages about race that are embedded in television commercials may havea greater likelihood of assimilation into schemas not only because of their

repetitive nature, but also because the racial stereotyping is not blatant to theaverage viewer. Few adults, let alone children, are likely to analyze the

differences in the distribution of race in various kinds of product commercials, or

the settings in which various characters appear, or even the occupational rolesassigned; as a result, both adults and children would be hard pressed to evenconsciously recognize the racial biases, no matter how sensitive they are to such

issues. (Li-Vollmer, 2002, p. 224)

Understanding how television commercials portray race is key to cultivation because,

By exposing children to this worldview through stable and repetitive images,

television commercials have the ability to shape more than product preferences:They have the potential to shape children’s definitions and attitudes about race

according to the racial biases projected by the media industry. (Li-Vollmer, 2002, p. 225)

In contrast to sources that acknowledge the cultivation effects of the media

Gorham argues,

Media do not reflect the world in any empirical sense, but instead help constructand maintain it by re-presenting particular meanings and understandings of

‘reality.’ The media are part of the larger social process that constructs andencourages some meanings (generally those of dominant social groups) over

others (generally socially suborinate groups), and it does this via discourse(language that is infused with particular meanings [and myths] and not others).

Yet despite their clear connections with the dominant groups of society, mediatexts are not necessarily dominating ” (Gorham, 1999, p. 240)

Gorham argues that individuals create the meaning for the information that is provided by

the media and therefore they shape their own perceptions of reality. In a study on the

way audiences respond to local and international social conflict in news, Cohen, Adoni,

and Bantz found, “people perceived, made sense, and in some instances might even have

been critical of the way television presented social conflicts in the news” (Cohen, Adoni

& Bantz, 1990, p. 172). To some extent their respondents still formed their opinions of

reality based on the news, “people tended to be less dependent on the media portrayal of

reality when evaluating local conflicts with which it could be assumed they were more


34/67

#*

familiar, while they were more dependent upon the media when dealing with

international conflicts that were more remote from their immediate environment and

zones of relevance” (Cohen, Adoni & Bantz, 1990, p. 190).

Summary

This chapter has looked at color blind discourse, race in the media and the

cultivation effects of television. Color blind discourse is the new way of allowing those

in the majority to use racist linguistics and perpetuate their dominance over minorities

while maintaining that the world provides equal opportunities for all. Researchers have

found that Whites use a diminutive language and hide behind comments that appear to

support equality while essentially spouting racist remarks similar to those found in the era

of Jim Crow segregation. Researchers have found that race in the media tends to be

stereotypical with disparities in racial representation and actual populations in reality.

Further some researchers have found that while race is occasionally represented equally

based on their population, they are still likely to be shown in under-privileged ways.

Theorists have shown that cultivation of worldviews that are similar to those portrayed on

television are especially high with viewers who are heavy viewers and that age and/or

geographic location can factor into how much an audience is cultivated. The next chapter

will look at the experimental design for this study.


35/67

#"

CHAPTER THREE:METHODOLOGY

Restatement Of The Problem

The issue that this paper looks at is the way the media creates a mythical world of

equality and imposes that ideology upon its audiences. The mythical world created by

the media encourages the cultivation of an environment of disguised racism and

discrimination to which many are blind. The next section will look at the method for

understanding in what ways and to what extent the media has created this mythical world

to marginalize minorities.

Research Design And Method

The purpose of this study is to understand the strategies employed by the media as

well as the effects upon their audiences. In order to fully understand all sides of the

issue, the design of the study must look at both the perspective of the media as well as the

perspective of the audience. Thus the methodology is a mixed methodology of a

character content analysis and a survey. The content analysis was designed to look for

evidence of color blind discourse, the way race is portrayed and the demographics of the

characters. The survey helped in understanding the way the audience reacts to the

message and mythical world being portrayed by the media. The first eight questions

were designed to gain an understanding of the demographics of the audience being

studied. The questions regarding how those surveyed self-identify for race, religion and

political views were designed as opened-ended in the hopes of seeing a unique pattern.

Following the demographic section was a six-question Likert scale section. The scale


36/67

##

was designed with only four responses (1) not at all, (2) some, (3) often, (4) always so

that respondents were forced to choose a side. The final section was an open-ended

section in which respondents were asked to identify positive and negative stereotypes

displayed on television. Further the respondents were asked to discuss any changes in the

portrayal of race on television within the last ten years and how their own views on race

have changed in this time period. The next section will break down how the data

collection will be organized.

Method Of Data Collection

The combination of content analysis and survey provides rounded information for

understanding the ideology of the media and the reaction of their audiences. The content

analysis focused on the programs most watched by the audience being studied. It looked

at the top five most watched broadcast programs for the demographic age range of 18-49,

as determined by the reliable tracking company Nielsen and published by

www.tvbythenumbers.com. Broadcast programs are used because they are available to

all TV watchers where as cable programs are only available for a monthly fee. For the

week of Monday April 26th

, 2010 to Sunday May 2, 2010 the top five programs were (1)

American Idol-Tuesday, (2) American Idol- Wednesday, (3) Glee, (4) Dancing With the

Stars, (5) House (Seidman, 2010). Because the top two programs were from the same

show but with one being the results show, the number one program for the week was

disregarded in favor of the number six program, Modern Family. By expanding the

programs within the content analysis the study was able to look at the overarching themes

over shows that were all different.


37/67

#$

The coding for the content analysis was organized into two different sections

within the codebook (see Appendix A) as well as the codesheet (see Appendix B)

The survey section of the data collection was distributed to St. Mary’s College of

California students through the website SurveyMonkey. The survey was linked through

the researchers Facebook profile, an email notification to professors asking that they

distribute the survey to their students, and by passing out a printed copy (see Appendix

C) within a class on campus. The next section will look at how the data that was

collected was analyzed.

Method Of Data Analysis

In an attempt to fully understand all the data that was available there was a mixed

methodology in breaking down the data. First the website SurveyMonkey broke down all

the information into the purely numerical values for the Likert scale questions. Further

the researcher grouped open-ended questions with a limited number of responses into

categories; for example, respondents were asked to self-identify their religion. The

researcher grouped responses that were similar together under one category so that the

rest of the data could show if there was a pattern present within a certain religion.

Further data was crosschecked to find out if certain racial minorities felt something

different than the hegemonic majority regarding the effects of racial stereotypes.

The content analysis was designed to focus on the characters within the programs

that were coded. The coding afterwards look for educational, socio-economic, and

participation disparities within the programs. Further the researched looked at age and

gender issues within the programs to find out if there were any disparities that would go


38/67

#%

along with anything else that was found in the programs. The research findings will be

discussed in depth in the next chapter.


39/67

#&

CHAPTER FOUR:

FINDINGS

Overview Of The Findings

The findings from the research found that in general races within the media are

portrayed similarly although minorities are still highly under-represented as both

principal and supporting characters. The characters in programs are shown as having

equal opportunities and life-styles. The audience watching the programs found that

although they believe that the media influences the opinions of their friends and peers

they don’t believe that the media influences their own opinions. Respondents generally

listed negative racial stereotypes that have been found to be present in the past but had a

hard time listing positive racial stereotypes in the media. The next section will look at the

findings for research question one more in depth.

Results For Research Question One

The character content analysis looked at the top five broadcast programs from the

week of Monday April 26, 2010 to Sunday May 2, 2010. The five programs were (1)

American Idol- Wednesday, (2) Glee, (3) Dancing With the Stars, (4) House and (5)

Modern Family for a total of five hours of television. Within the five programs there

were 84 characters that could be analyzed, 45 men and 39 females. The characters were

all those who had a principal, support or extra role that furthered the plot line and

consisted of more than two sentences. Of the 84 characters 3 were Asian, 9 African

American, 7 Hispanic, 63 Caucasian and 2 which the researcher could not determine a


40/67

#'

race. The most interesting fact found in the research was that not a single character,

whether principal, support or extra was from a socio-economic status lower than middle

class. Every single character had all necessities and some luxuries if not completely free

from monetary worries.

The three Asian characters portrayed ranged in age from 0-2 years old to 20-39

years old and were all female. Two of the characters had principal roles while one was

solely there for support. This was the baby Lily from the show Modern Family, which

utilized her presence so that her adoptive father could use her as an excuse to visit family

members.

The seven Hispanics portrayed ranged in age from 3-12 years old to 40-54 years

old with three being men and four females. This was the only race portrayed in which the

females outnumbered the males, although it was by a small margin. Further with only

two of the Hispanics being portrayed taking center stage as principal characters, their role

as support and extras was double their appearance as principal characters. The

educational level of the characters was similar to the other races portrayed in that one had

less than a high school education (although he was also the child between the ages of 3-

12 years old and would not be expected to have a higher education), two were in high

school and four their education was unclear. This is consistent with the data from the

other races in which 44% of African Americans, 66% of Caucasians, and 33% of Asians

were unclearly portrayed as to their educational level.

The nine African American’s that were portrayed fell were the closest to those of

the Caucasian characters in that they were the only other group to have careers which

required a Ph.D. Both African American’s and Caucasians were portrayed around 44%


41/67

#(

of the time as holding jobs within the entertainment industry. Note that coding for

personality traits were factored into the final analysis of the content analysis, due to

determination that the data set yielded no useful information. Next section will look at the

findings for research question two more in depth.

Results For Research Question Two

The surveys were completed by a group of 35 students from St. Mary’s College,

ranging in age from 18 to 31 years old. Respondents answering the survey were found to

be 68.6% female and 31.4%% male. Further 14 of the respondents self-identified as

Catholic while 17 others self-identified as eight other religions and four declined to state.

The political make-up of the respondents was that 16 self-identified as Democrat, two

Republican, seven declined to state and the rest were other. Of the respondents 21 were

Caucasian, four Hispanic, two Asian, one African American, one Indian and six self-

described as a mix of two races. The majority of the respondents would be classified as

light viewers with 67% of them watching five or less hours of television.

Of the 35 respondents 28.6% claimed to have been a victim of racial

discrimination within the last five years. This is especially interesting being that the

minority make up of the sample only 40% of the group surveyed and that a majority of

those who said they were victims of racial discrimination self-identified as Caucasian.

Respondents were asked in question nine the extent that racial stereotypes were

portrayed accurately in the media (see Table 1).


42/67

#)

Table 1: Scaled Survey Responses

SURVEY QUESTIONS RESP 1 RESP 2 RESP 3 RESP 4

QUEST 09 2.9% (n=1) 62.9% (n=22) 20% (n=7) 14.3% (n=5)

QUEST 10 11.4% (n=4) 51.4% (n=18) 28.6% (n=10) 8.6% (n=3)

QUEST 11 25.7% (n=9) 51.4% (n= 18) 20% (n= 7) 2.9% (n=1)

QUEST 12 37.1 (n= 13) 54.3 (n=19) 5.7 (n= 2) 2.9% (n= 1)

QUEST 13 0% (n= 0) 48.6% (n= 17) 45.7% (n= 16) 5.7% (n= 2)

QUEST 14 42.9% (n= 15) 51.4% (n=18) 5.7% (n= 2) 0% (n=0)

Response 1 = Not At All

Response 2 = Some Response 3 = Often

Response 4 = Always

A majority of the respondents felt that the media only portrays race in the media

accurately some of the time. Further 89% of the respondents recognized that the media

influences the opinions of their peers regarding racial stereotypes at least some of the

time. In regards to the media’s influence over the respondents opinions 25% claimed that

the media never had an effect on their ideas of racial stereotypes. Interestingly, 51% of

the respondents claimed to have exhibited some racist behaviors within the last 10 years.

Respondents were very closely divided on the issue of how much the media has

changed in the way that they portray race. Forty-eight percent of respondents thought

that the media has changed some, where as 45% thought that the media had changed

often within the last 10 years.

The open-ended questions revealed that most respondents recall the typical

negative racial stereotypes that have been portrayed within the media in the past. Some

of the most common negative racial stereotypes that were recalled by respondents were:

African Americans as thugs/criminals, poor, and violent; Hispanics as illegal immigrants,


43/67

$+

lazy, and in service oriented occupations; Asians as nerd and cheap; and Caucasian’s as

superior racists. Respondents had a harder time recalling positive racial stereotypes but

the few that were listed were: Asians as smart, African American’s can dance well, and

minorities in general are hardworking. The next section will discuss the interpretation of

the results from the content analysis and surveys.


44/67

$*

CHAPTER FIVE:CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMMENDATIONS

Overview Of The Findings

The content analysis portion of the study revealed that characters on television are

portrayed equally no matter what their race. There are still disparities in the number of

minorities being portrayed but in general when they are portrayed they are done so as

equal to that of their majority counterparts. The survey section of the study revealed that

students have a hard time recognizing the cultivation effects of television on themselves

despite their ability to see the effect in their friends and peers. In the next section,

conclusions drawn from data for research question one will be discussed.

Conclusions Drawn From Research Question One

The content analysis had surprising results in that of all 84 characters that were

coded, not a single one exhibited any kind of racial signifiers. Racial signifiers that the

researcher was looking for were things like clothing, hair, accessories or anything else

external to the character that would signify a relationship with a specific racial category.

Further all 84 characters were fully integrated with all the others within the program. The

conclusions that can be drawn from this is that the color blind discourse is much more

pervasive than previously thought. It was expected that some examples of racism or

inequalities of the races would have been portrayed but in general all characters were

either middle class or upper middle class.

The occupations of the characters reflect a similar trend in which all characters

have similar careers, with the most prominent being that of the entertainment industry


45/67

$"

(see Figure 1). This is further proof that the color blind discourse is prevalent across all

the genres looked at within the study. Also when looking a comparison of the education

levels of the characters it easy to see that no matter the race the characters all fall within

the same educational levels (see Figure 2).

The essence of color blind discourse is the equalization of race in all matters

regarding life. Although there are obvious disparities in the equal number of characters

of different races being portrayed on television (see Figure 3), the characters that are

being portrayed are done so in equal levels.

Figure 1: Character Careers by Race

In the next section, conclusions drawn from data for research question two will be

discussed.


46/67

$#

Figure 2: Educational Level of Characters By Race

Figure 3: Number of Characters by Race

Conclusions Drawn From Research Question Two

The data collected regarding research question two was inconclusive as to the

effects of the media on college students. Students recognized that their friends and peers


47/67

$$

were influenced by the media’s portray of racial stereotypes but were unable to describe

the influence of the media on themselves. Of those who responded to the open-ended

questions, four felt that they could recognize stereotypes in the media but were willing to

admit that they were still somewhat influenced by them. Respondent 13 says,

“I recognize the stereotypes, therefore my opinions of different races remains predominantly unchanged. However, I will admit that the portrayal of African

Americans as criminals on TV has triggered a minor sense of racism.”

Respondent 13 doesn’t say why they have the ability to recognize stereotypes on

television but Respondent 16 attributes their ability to do so to their own identity as a

racial minority,

“Being Indian, I feel as if I’m very critical on how people of colored [skin] are

portrayed in the media. I rely on my own personal interactions with people tomake up my opinions of race on them.”

Respondent 16 goes beyond acknowledging the difference in perceived racial portrayals

on television to understanding that there is a definite need to form opinions separate from

that in the message system being offered.

Respondents for their second open-ended question were asked to describe any

changes they may have noticed regarding the portrayal of race on television. Although

62% of the respondents felt that race in the media is only portrayed accurately some of

the time, seven of the respondents recognized examples of the color blind myth in the

media. However, although they recognized examples of the color blind myth not one

mentioned that this could be a new form of subversive racism. Most seem genuinely

pleased with the way the color blind myth portrayed by the media. Respondent 13 who

self-identified as Asian and Caucasian says,

“It seems as though television has become a more diverse landscape in context toaccurate representations of races. In older television shows “foreign” ethnicities

have thick stereotypical accents, and are represented by a white character.”


48/67


49/67

$&

Reliability Of The Study

Generalizability

One of the major problems that face this study is that it cannot be generalized out

to a larger population. The sample size was relatively small with a total of 35 survey

respondents who were all students at St. Mary’s College of California. The unique

homogenous nature of the population of St. Mary’s College students limits the

generalizability of the study to students from suburban, liberal arts colleges outside San

Francisco. As it is unlikely that anyone could find another such population, this study is

limited solely to the students who currently attend St. Mary’s College.

Another issue facing the study was the relatively small selection of programs used

for coding. A cultivation framework looks at the overarching themes of the media over a

long-term time period and many different genres. This study looked at only a small

snapshot of programs available for viewing and within only a one-week period of time.

Researcher Bias

The researcher bias of the study is great as the researcher was responsible for

developing the survey questions, distribution of the surveys, and analysis of the data

collected from the surveys. Further the researcher developed the content analysis matrix

including all data that was coded for and all definitions of data being coded.

Technical Issues

The main technical issue of the study was that there was a mixed distribution of

the survey. Originally the researched contacted professors at St. Mary’s College of

California and asked for the link to the survey on SurveyMonkey to be distributed to their

students. When a relatively small sample number was collected the researched switched

to posting the link to the survey on their Facebook profile, asking that only St. Mary’s


50/67

$'

College of California students participate. Again, a relatively small number of students

responded, so a final printed version of the SurveyMonkey survey was distributed by

hand during a class. Conclusions and implications of the study will be discussed in the

next section.

Final Conclusions And Implications

The study proved that the media’s creation of the color blind world myth is much

more extensive than what had previously been thought. The programs analyzed clearly

showed that all characters were created color blind and equal, which is not a true

reflection of reality. In reality America is still very much a racist country in which

minorities are marginalized with few opportunities to better themselves. The

implications of a color blind discourse that is so pervasive in prime time television is that

the cultivation of audiences can create a new form of color blind racism with a new kind

of color blind language. Researchers have found that there is a new language of racism

which tells a story which is being repeated by the media. It is a story of the ability of

anyone to achieve the American dream as long as they work hard and do their best. It

ignores the structural and systemic issues that face minorities and allows for those in the

hegemonic majority to reassure themselves that they play no part in the problems.

The data regarding the cultivation effects on students was inconclusive and

reveals a need to study the problem much more in-depth. It is key to understanding how

effective the media has been in creating an understanding within their audiences the

discourse that is being presented. Further if researchers can determine the level of the

effect upon the audience there may be a way to mitigate the problem and attempt to


51/67

$(

change the message systems to a truly equal discourse. Next is the discussion on how to

further study this issue given the reliability of this study.

Recommendations For Future Research

One of the key problems regarding this study was the methodology or collecting

data on cultivation effects on students. Students often seemed to have a hard time

recognizing their own racist behaviors and an even harder time relaying them to the

researcher. Future research would do well to conduct individual interviews looking

carefully for linguistics of color blind racism and following up on key questions in the

moment.

The first problem with this study was that it couldn’t be generalized out to a larger

population because of the homogenous nature of the sample. Future research needs to

look at a larger, more random sample size across many different demographic

backgrounds. Further, the study was limited by the sample size of the content analysis.

In future research it is recommended that analysts code for many more programs over a

much longer period of time.

Secondly, the research of this study was biased because the researcher developed

all parts of the survey and content analysis. For future research products it is

recommended that questions for the survey, coding themes and definitions, and the

coding matrix be checked by a group of individuals independently as part of a validity

panel. Also future researchers should have a team of no less than 10 research assistants

who have been properly trained to assist in coding data and collecting surveys.

Finally, a single method of distribution would eliminate any variables that are


52/67

$)

outside those that are being looked for in particular and guarantee that any results are

based on the data being collected.

Concluding Remarks

This study was one that was a lot of fun to do and was really interesting to me.

Race is something that most people don’t want to talk about and when it is discussed it is

usually in politically correct terms. This forced me to look at race through a lens that

isn’t familiar and one that wasn’t always comfortable. Although my data on the

cultivation of students was inconclusive there was some really interesting data on

experiences that students have had. It was surprising the number of White students at St.

Mary’s who have experienced racial discrimination within the last five years and it would

have been interesting to talk with them more about what happened, how they felt about it

and why they think it occurred. Overall I am very pleased with the research done and

look forward to reading other researchers works on the subject.


53/67

%+

REFERENCES

Bonilla-Silva, E. & Foreman, T.A. (2000). ‘I am not a racist but…’:Mapping whitecollege students’ racial ideology in the USA. Discourse & Society, 11(1), 50-85.

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2002). The linguistics of color blind racism: How to talk nasty about blacks without sound

linda smith senior thesis

Documents