We all are quite aware that the normal ‘white’ people do not want to consider racism as an issue. But the sad truth is that the world has faced many instances of racism, not only in the US but all over the globe. A lot of African American essays have already highlighted this issue. This has caused a lot of people to raise the question – where is this racism stemming from?
Though racism is basically a process of the mind, yet there are many platforms that are aggravating this process. One of the most common platform, found in most households, is that of media. There are many different forms of media that are bringing this ideology of racism into every household. It might seem surprising, but the truth is unknowingly, screen media is the biggest platform that speaks about racism against the black or the African-Americans.
Role of media
The image of an African American is limited to a certain few characters which seem to make the round in most of the movies of today. If you are to take the example of Training day, a movie that showed both black and white characters, you will notice this grave difference. The main lead who played the ‘bad cop’ portrayed a black character who went out of his way to deal with everything in a wild manner. At the same time, the ‘good cop’ was played by a white man, who like the character suggests, always abided by the law. These small examples are enough to showcase that people are of the opinion that black men can only play certain images or characters when it comes to movies.
Image of African Americans
The stereotype negative roles portrayed by black men have been opposed on many platforms. One of the leading names of the Hollywood industry, Will Smith, has become one of the most sought after actors today. He has portrayed the characters which were beyond the preview of most black men. He has broken out of the shackles of misrepresented characters. There are many others heroes who are willing to cross this boundary if they are able to secure the right scripts. But the whole fraternity needs to be educated on the same in order for everyone to get the equal opportunities that has been enjoyed by the likes of Will Smith.
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Images of African American in print media
More than often it is seen that even in print media, a lot of people are pointing out this marginalization. A lot of different African American essays are talking about the different stars who are trying to step out of this stereotype and educate the masses regarding the wrong that is done against the dark skinned population. It is high time that we realize that black people in media are not only meant to play side-kick roles or that of violent drug dealers.
The media is one of the most influential platforms for mass education. They should take it upon themselves as a responsibility to present these people in a much better light, so that the masses can get a better idea regarding the same.
