African Americans in Contemporary Media Landscape Article

African Americans in Contemporary Media Landscape - Article Example Over the years, many people who immigrated to America from various countries and continents in pursuit of various goals are also considered to be African Americans. African Americans are often associated with black skin and Africa. For a long time in the history of America, African Americans were considered to be inferior to their white counterparts and, therefore, suffered the consequences of racial segregation. Furthermore, the Black Americans, as they are sometimes referred to, have greatly been associated with poverty, drugs, violence, ghettos, and crime. African Americans have been subject to a lot of stereotypes since the days of slavery. As a minority group in the U.S., they have mostly been associated with negative aspects, behavior or lifestyles even as their white counterparts are often associated with a lot of good. In many television programs, African Americans always take minor roles or play second fiddle to the main actors. Also, in terms of representation, they are always fewer in number in the television programs in which they are featured. Stereotypes may be positive, neutral or negative. In many cases, the African American is always depicted as being servile, simpleminded, slow-witted, primitive, drug addicts, poor, aggressive, criminal, overweight (for females), lazy, athletic, gifted to make music, and religious as noted by the M3 Foundation (n.d.). This list of stereotypes is all negative except for athletic and musical gift stereotypes. In some cases, African Americans are also depicted as having no jobs in spite of their education which leads them to remain poor. These depictions of the African American in television shows and films generally serve to reinforce the negative attitudes that whites have towards the Black Americans. African American Stereotypes as Presented on Contemporary TV Programs In Bravo's Top Chef, one stereotype that is assigned to the African American is aggression. In the second season of the show, one of the characters in the TV program is an African American male called Cliff. All the while, Cliff is depicted as a very talented chef.  

Qualitative Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Qualitative Research - Essay Example Hubbard reckons the gendered attitudes and beliefs to arise from a merging of the students’ school, family and community ethos. Her results prompt the author to question â€Å"the wisdom of Ogbu’s undifferentiated treatment of the African American student population.† (p. 605). In her study, Hubbard found that a combination of ethnicity, class and gender determined the academic achievements of her subjects whereas Ogbu had asserted that under-achievement in schools by minority students was influenced essentially by cultural factors, and not by any inherent deficiency of racial, genetic or academic traits. According to Hubbard, â€Å"Recognizing the salience of gender in constructing academic identities extends the work Ogbu started and corrects an oversight that plagues his work.† (p. 606). Hubbard has chosen to focus on cases of successful minority students rather than look to explain the reasons for minority students’ failure. Through this study, Hubbard has tried to find answers to several questions including how to â€Å"account for the relative success of African American students who not only stay in school but also do well and become eligible for college?† What made the subjects of her study â€Å"not assume an ‘oppositional stance’, as Ogbu’s theory predicts?† and â€Å"why are female African American high school students typically more academically successful than their male counterparts?† The gender issue in the educational field is not a new phenomenon and it is not restricted to any ethnic group. In fact, low aspirations coupled with poor examination results in boys seem to be a global problem. Furthermore, gender-based differentiation vis a vis over-achieving girls and under-achieving boys has become a common feature in recent years so that experts in education are strongly advocating specific strategies intended to improve educational outcomes for