Sample Advertisements:
1. A commercial for Vogue eyewear had three models in it and one was black.
2. A commercial for Gossip Girl on the CW didn’t include any minority cast members.
3. The photographer on America’s Next Top Model was black along with Tyra Banks and some of the models.
4. On CSPN2 every single political figure was white.
5. A Coors Light commercial had all white actors in it.
6. An HP wireless computer commercial had an Indian in it.
7. When watching BET, every commercial had black people as the majority in them.
8. BET also showed a commercial for Dora the Explorer and Dora is Mexican.
9. On the Real World cast there is only one black woman and she is stereotyped as the “mad black woman.”
10. An Olay commercial featured both black and white models.
11. Every advertisement except for one in Shape magazine featured white women, only one had a black woman and you couldn’t even see her face.
12. One article in Shape magazine was about working out and the woman was white and the personal trainer was a black man.
13. The cover of In Style magazine had Beyonce on it.
14. One article about “couture couples” in In Style featured ten couples and only one couple was African American and one couple was Mexican.
After reviewing many commercials and print advertisements, I noticed there is not enough representation of minorities. I was surprised to see that African Americans are much more frequently represented than any other minority. I was not surprised though that they are much less shown as the leading actor or model in the ads. Although African Americans were frequently in the commercials, they were not usually shown as the “leads” unless it was BET which is obviously centered on African Americans. In the few hours I examined the TV ads, not once did I see a commercial that contained a Mexican, Asian, or Native American. I saw only one commercial that had an Indian as the focus. When examining the print ads and articles in magazines, a few of the articles contained Mexicans and African Americans but absolutely none of them had Asians, Native Americans or Indians. Any time there was a minority in a print or TV ad, it was always an African American over any other minority. But whites definitely dominate both TV and print ads.
Reflection:
In an ideal world, it would not matter what race was in an advertisement because people don’t “see color.” But in today’s world, I think the reason minorities are not portrayed enough in the media is because advertisers are worried the product will not appeal to the majority audience, whites, if a minority is representing the product. I think it is important for all races to be equally represented in the media but it just isn’t that way. One thing that I think would help is having a more diverse Journalism world. If there are more advertisers and editors that are minorities, then they will be represented more in the media. It was very surprising to me to watch TV for a couple of hours and not ever see a Native American or Asian in a commercial. They are so under-represented and although blacks aren’t represented enough, they are at least being represented. As a person going into the Journalism world I think it should be a goal of all advertisers to represent every race. The media is not an accurate portrayal of how the real world is. I think the print advertising is especially bad because I did see some blacks in the TV commercials but the print ads were almost always white in all the women’s magazines. It is unethical to be portraying only white women in beauty magazines because what kind of message is that sending to young girls? That being beautiful means being white.
Aside from the perception in the media, people’s perception of minorities in the media is instilled at birth. Until you are old enough to formulate your own ideas and opinions, you grow up emulating your parent’s ideas. If I had grown up listening to parents who walked around talking negatively towards specific races, I would grow up with an ingrained stereotype of minorities. Those certain stereotypes some kids would grow up listening to would be hard to forget. Some could call this “parental brainwashing”—instilling their own negative beliefs upon their children. Location of where the family lives and the area of the United States also helps create a huge impact. At some point in my life, I realize I have created ideas in my head all along but have had a fundamental basis. This began with basis of parent’s beliefs and exposure to society that helped shaped my ideals and values. Circumstances throughout my life, whether good or bad, have also helped mold my life. In the future with my own children, I realize the magnitude of people’s perception. This cycle is extremely important and I am molding the future generation of people. It is hard to break the cycle. Hopefully I can make a difference and show them the true perceptions of minorities, not the stereotypical ones we see in the media everyday.
ReplyDeleteIf we were in an ideal world.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. In an ideal world every type of person would be represented in the media-men, women, gay, straight, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American and so on, but that is not the case. The world revolves around money. In our society money is everything and advertisers are only thinking about how to make the most of it. If they try to reach minorities in their ads they will be neglecting the majority and would be losing money in the end. In advertising money is the priority. Is this right? No, but it’s the way it is until society decides to demand a change.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you. I was also surprised to see how minorities were definitely underrepresented. I also noticed that African Americans were the minorities that were shown the most. I was really surprised with these findings as well. I guess I never really paid attention to the representation of minorities before this class. I always assumed that commercials most likely were dominated by white people, but I was surprised at how much the difference was. I also agree that of course in an ideal world that every type of person would be represented in the media. I think we are definitely making improvements in the world, but of course it is very slow moving.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I completely agree with Mel's Blog. I think the message the media and the advertising world are sending to young girls is terrible, no wonder so many young women and girls have body issues as well as a huge surge in plastic surgery! I also agree with her in that if the people who are behind the camera's and pages are more diverse then they might portray a more diverse world. I also agree that although African Americans are still poorly and under portrayed in the media they are getting more exposure than Native American's and Asians. America is a nation of everyone, every race and every religion, it is sad that we don't embrace our differences, uniqueness and ability to relate to any and everyone through our media!
ReplyDelete