North Carolina State University
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Media Contacts:
Dr. Robert Entman, 919/515-7942 or [email protected]
Dr. Andrew Rojecki, [email protected]
Sara Frisch, News Services, 919/515-3470 or [email protected]
June 14, 2000
Book Examines Elements of Modern Racism in Mainstream Media
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Jerry Maguire" and "Independence Day" were big blockbusters in 1996 for movie stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Will Smith. But look closely at the characters portrayed by the African-American actors, and you'll see that stereotypes persist, according to two scholars who have written a new book about race and media.
Gooding's football star character has talent, but also an ego and little financial knowledge. Smith's courageous fighter pilot dates a stripper with an illegitimate child.
Though black actors have gained a larger presence in Hollywood productions and major news outlets, the media still reflect components of modern racism, argue Dr. Robert Entman of North Carolina State University and Dr. Andrew Rojecki of the University of Illinois at Chicago in their new book, The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America. The book will be published June 15 by the University of Chicago Press.
In The Black Image, Entman and Rojecki argue that the modern spectrum of white racial thinking stretches from racial harmony on one end, through ambivalence and animosity, to outright racism on the other end. The media reflect this complexity and have made enormous progress in portraying blacks, the two scholars say. But local and national news coverage, advertising, television shows and films still reinforce - mostly unintentionally - traditional hierarchies, stereotypes and feelings of racial distance and disengagement.
Entman and Rojecki viewed the material in the context of white Americans' thinking about race, based on surveys and the content of national forums on race.
White racial thinking lies on a continuum, Entman said, with roughly 20 percent of Americans exhibiting old-fashioned racism, and an equal number believing in racial comity - feelings of acceptance, trust and harmony across races. "There is middle ground, and that's where most whites are," he said.
Between comity and racism are two intermediate stops. Next to comity lies ambivalence, a mixture of positive and negative feelings about race. "And the step between ambivalence and racism is occupied by animosity. I think a lot of what gets labeled as racism is probably animosity," Entman said. Those with animosity harbor negative emotions toward blacks, without necessarily believing blacks are an inferior race.
The media reflect and reinforce these nuances and gaps in white racial thinking, Entman said. For example, recent interracial romances on TV shows "ER," "Ally MacBeal," and "West Wing" are tentative steps that reflect white ambivalence about interracial romance. When the "ER" romance of black character Peter Benton and white character Elizabeth Corday ended, the audience protested - evidence that viewers are more accepting than producers and writers expected, he said.
Overall, television entertainment reflects a real-life racial divide, the authors write. "In 1998, the top ten shows in Black households were completely different from the top ten in White households. The groups shared only four in common among the top twenty."
Analysis showed that interracial exchanges in top TV dramas for white audiences were rooted primarily in superior/subordinate relationships. In "ER" and "NYPD Blue," these pairings involved white subordinates working for idealized black superiors. Most major black characters in TV dramas have professional or management roles, usually without white peers in the same position.
The hierarchy of characters, Entman and Rojecki write, provides symbolic affirmative action for blacks so that black characters with prototypically white traits are accepted by largely white television audiences. "It effectively keeps blacks and whites separate emotionally," Rojecki said. The black professional characters could benefit from being more vulnerable, making more mistakes and interacting with other characters, he said.
Hollywood films have made the most progress in portraying blacks accurately, Entman said. Still, he and Rojecki explain, the progress is mixed with continued stereotyping, distancing and exclusion of black characters. In the top-grossing films of 1996, black women were significantly more violent, more profane and more sexualized than white women. Interracial relationships were confined to professional settings, and the top occupations for black characters were military and police, blue-collar and service workers, and athletes.
From the study of network news, Entman and Rojecki conclude that national news tends to "ghettoize" blacks. In stories about economics, politics and foreign affairs, blacks rarely contributed comments. "Only in human interest features, sports/entertainment stories, and discrimination reports did Black voices achieve more prominent access," the authors write. News features about black political leaders, Rojecki said, often focused on troubled or sensational figures like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (accused of sexual harassment) and former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry (charged with drug crimes.)
In local television news focusing on violence in Chicago, the researchers found that blacks were more likely than whites to be portrayed without distinct identities (on-screen names) and to be grouped with negative associations -- unflattering mug shots and video showing physical restraint by police. White violence victims outnumbered black victims in news reports, and white victims received almost three times as much air time as black victims.
In television advertising, the authors found that black characters rarely touch each other or non-blacks in ensemble casts. And when black actors are a major presence in commercials, they are usually pitching necessity products - groceries, drugs and household items. In 545 ads promoting luxury items and fantasy lifestyles, six featured an all-black cast and 385 featured all-white casts.
Entman and Rojecki explain that current television images reflect political, economic and market pressures from the real world. It's important for blacks to understand that these forces, and not just racism, contribute to media portrayals of stereotypes and differential images, Entman said. "And it's important for whites to realize how they're being bombarded with these images that unconsciously may stimulate fear of blacks."
But, the authors write, "There is nothing in 'reality' that compels the presentation of African Americans that the [news] media offer." The news generally does not reflect conscious effort by journalists to enhance their audiences' accurate understanding of racial issues, they write.
The critique of news media concludes that representations of race in the news could benefit from more self-critical examination, especially when it comes to reporting crime and welfare figures and other race-based statistics. Entman also calls on entertainment producers to be more aware of the patterns they reinforce and to push the envelope with issues such as interracial romance. He said the media could reach white Americans whose attitudes are in the middle of the spectrum, and urge them closer to ambivalence and comity.
-frisch-
NOTE TO EDITORS: "The Entman-Rojecki Index of Race and Media," which provides detailed statistical evidence from the studies, is available on the Web at http://www.raceandmedia.com/details.asp. The authors have created a companion Web site, to promote further discussion and research, at http://www.raceandmedia.com. For a review copy of the book, contact the University of Chicago Press at [email protected].
A photo of Dr. Robert Entman is available from NC State News Services at 919/515-3470 or [email protected], and will be available on News Services Web site, at http://www.ncsu.edu/news, after Friday, June 16.
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