African-American Portrayals: Past and Present

This week in American Studies, we have begun to talk about the portrayal and stereotypes that surround African-Americans in today's society and in the past. After thinking about the perceptions that are connected to black people, we started to see some patterns that ring out in nearly every form of today's media.

Because we are a forward-thinking society, we would like to believe that racism has virtually been eliminated in the 21st-century. Despite these hopes, the negative stigmas that define African-Americans really flaw our views. Some portrayals of African-Americans include: violent, uneducated, and  unintelligent. While there are millions of blacks in America that completely shatter these concepts (like President Obama), they always seem to be exceptions to the rule that the media presents. In primetime television dramas such as CSI and Law & Order, these negatives views about African-Americans are born. In both shows, blacks tend to be the criminals that are fighting against the law. But when they are on the "good" side, they always seem to be playing as a minor supporting character; a follower to the nth degree. In other forms of media, especially sports, African-Americans themselves use slang and profanity in their speech.

It is important that the media balances out their portrayals of African-Americans as much as possible. That way it gives the full spectrum, making it more and more realistic.