Abstract

Criminal. Jezebel. Mamie. Thug. Inhuman. Beast. Loud. Slave. Dumb. These are some of the controlling images of Black people that circulate in the white media. Stereotypes placed upon Black men and women stem from slavery. “Cultural trauma significantly influences representations of history in all media... the trauma of revisiting stories about slavery and other horrors can trigger unresolved, negative emotions” (Ndounou, 2014). Throughout film history, African Americans have been underrepresented. Social, finances and racial bias are barriers that keep Black Americans' representation from succeeding in films. Black professionals are underrepresented, and when it comes to the buying side, Black distributors make up a small fraction in total. “Jobs in the industry often go to insiders’ acquaintances or members of their extended networks, who tend to be overwhelmingly white and upper-class” (Dunn, Lyn, Onyeador and Zegeye, 2021). These controlling images and stereotypes have been propagated in film and television shows like Cops, Love and Hip Hop, The Upshaws, the Birth of a Nation, etc. My research focuses on Black representation in the media. Drawing upon interviews with 12 Black college students from both predominantly white universities and historically Black institutions across North Carolina. This research explores the negative effects of how Black people are represented in white media. Each participant answered questions pertaining to the types of Black films shown to them growing and how they felt racism within the entertainment industry affected them. Participants expressed how violence and trauma were common in the films that viewed growing up. A few students said they related to the trauma displayed in the media but wished film industries produced Black stories that focused on success stories, without displaying trauma. Many participants described feeling as if the media felt Black Americans were only interesting if they were suffering. Further, my findings indicate that Black women feel more underrepresented than men and that participants felt Black men had more positively represented in the media than women. It is important we teach Black children at a young age to love themselves. That starts with displaying positive representation. As a future entertainer, gathering information around my intended audience helps me think of ways to better display Black content and how others would like to be represented. In today's society, the media is the most influential socialization agent in a child’s life. Racial representation in the media is important because it makes people feel included and seen. My findings highlight the influential role of the media on Black identity development; all Black students discussed how violence and trauma depicted in the media informed how they made sense of being Black in America.

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