Introduction
Race and ethnicity are not just the physical attributes of people since these notions affect the way people see and understand the world. Due to the process of globalization, people of different cultures are being put together to interact. The clash of cultures leads to various problems connected to race and ethnicity. These issues have a long history that is reflected in popular culture that either define the current social values or provoke change.
Artists, writers, news reporters, actors, and producer have an apparent impact on their audience’s opinion about social problems. At the same time, controllers of distribution can indirectly affect people’s views on various matters using numerous mechanisms. The present paper offers an overview of the problem of race and ethnicity as reflected in three pop culture artifacts: a song Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey, the movie In the Heat of the Night, and a TV series Insecure.
Historical Perspective
The problem of racism in the United States is well reflected in the pop-culture history of the nineties. The changes in R&B music are represented in the song by Mariah Carrey Always Be My Baby since it has become popular not only among African Americans but also among other ethnic groups. At the same time, the movie In the Heat of the Night has not experienced any changes in audience, underlining that the issues discussed in the film are still of immediate interest. The analysis of the history of pop culture artifacts shows that the problem has evolved.
The people’s attitude towards rhythm and blues has changed considerably during the last 80 years. Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey, a tender mid-tempo R&B love song, was released in 1995 and had great success among all audiences (Werthman et al., 2018). However, R&B as a genre of music was initially meant for African Americans. According to Ripani (2006), the term R&B emerged in the 1940s, replacing an unethical name “race music” (p. 172).
Until the 80s, R&B was mostly enjoyed by lower-class African Americans with little attention from the white population. However, the emergence of talented producers and social changes led to R&B music becoming increasingly popular among all the ethnic groups around the globe. Always Be My Baby reflects the changes, as the theme of the song is universal and can be understood regardless of racial background. Additionally, in the official music video, Mariah uses heavy make-up to look more like a white person. Therefore, it may be said that the cultural artifacts demonstrate that the problem of racism is no longer as acute.
At the same time, a detective movie In the Heat of the Night directed by Norman Jewison demonstrates the racism still exists. The film touches upon ethnic issues in the US, as it describes how a white and an African American detectives work together. The movie was well-received by all audience in the US and abroad. Today, the global audience still like detective stories like Rush Hour featuring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker investigating a case of kidnapping. Therefore, since a literature review revealed no change in the audience of the popular culture artifact category, it may be concluded that even though the problem of racism has evolved, it still exists in the American society.
Insecure: The Current State of Things
It has become fashionable for modern people to talk about racial diversity and ways of fighting racism. Different initiatives, like Critical Media Project (n.d.), provide valuable information about how and why people of a different race are treated unequally. Various studies theorize and elaborate strategies to promote workplace diversity and analyze the outcomes of cross-cultural teams. For instance, recent research by Scarborough, Lambouths III, and Holbrook (2019) examines how employees of different race and gender evaluate such policies and discusses the implications of the assessment for productivity.
However, the discussion does not always mean concern, since many people care about the problems of racial minorities only on the surface. In Insecure, a contemporary TV series about a life of two African American women, Ray and Wilmore (2016) try to reveal this attitude to show that the issues African Americans remain unsolved. For instance, Issa’s boss talks about different theories about how to address the problem of minorities while hardly hiring any African Americans.
The TV series aims at disrupting the definition of normal behavior towards African Americans. In the series, Issa and Molly are represented as ordinary people that have to face problems due to their race and gender. The series wants to show that African American people do not need any special treatment, demonstrating that it is not “normal” to create diversity programs for show. Ironically, Morris (2018) discusses the same problem approached from a different angle. In his article about the show, Morris (2018) states that it is impossible to criticize art created by African Americans without being accused of being racist. In short, the TV series shows that it should not be normal to treat racial minorities differently.
While Insecure discusses the problems of race and ethnicity, it also touches upon the issues of gender roles. In the sitcom, Issa often experiences bias when trying to get a new job or get a promotion. She is often accused of being unable to do what women should do, such as cooking and keeping the house clean. She is also often viewed as an object of sexual pleasure. The sitcom provokes change in people’s views of gender roles by criticizing and ridiculing sexism.
The Effect of Distribution
Distribution mechanisms can control the issues addressed in any artifact using various methods. One of the most common ways of controlling the problems is through annotations to video and music content. According to Fridkin, Wintersieck, Courey, and Thompson (2017), modifying the introduction of the dash-cam video powerfully influences people’s views of the event. Therefore, if distributors choose so, they can change the annotations to shift the focus of the content to the side they want. For instance, the original caption phrase for In the Heat of the Night was “They have a murder on their hands. They don’t know what to do with it” (Filmsite, n.d.).
Even though the movie reveals the problems connected with race and ethnicity in the US at the time, the phrase remains neutral, allowing the viewers to judge the content for themselves. In other words, United Artists, the distribution company, tries to avoid affecting the shared experience of the audience and community in the US. In short, one of the ways to control the issues addressed in an artifact is by creating captions and annotations.
Another way of regulating the distribution online is by pricing policies and restricting access to several regions. Insecure is distributed through by HBO, which provides access to the series through its official website. In order to access the videos, a user should pay for a subscription. The fee differs depending on the country of the user. Moreover, people from some countries, such as Russia and Turkey, are not allowed to visit the website and view its content. Therefore, HBO controls the issues discussed in the artifact by limiting access to it.
While the distributors have the ability to affect the experience of communities, they do not use it all the time. When an artifact touches upon no resonating matters, there is no need to modify the shared experience of the audience and community. For instance, the song Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey describes the feeling of attachment and unity the singer feels towards her estranged lover. Since it discusses no socially essential questions, all the music distribution companies do not need to alter the experience of the communities.
Personal Opinion
All of the artifacts discussed in the present paper connect to my personal values. Similar to the creators of Insecure and In the Heat of the Night, I believe that racial minorities should be treated according to their strengths and talents rather than by their accent or the color of their skin. However, I do not think that creating workplace policies and theorizing about the matter is not an effective strategy for addressing the problems of race and ethnicity.
Instead of showing how things should not be done, it is more beneficial to provide positive examples. In other words, pop culture should focus on demonstrating how the lack of racial discrimination may lead to positive changes in society. As demonstrated by Mariah Carey in her song Always Be My Baby, people of different race have more in common than they have differences. All people value love and loyalty regardless of their race, gender, or social status.
Conclusion
The problem of discrimination against racial minorities is not new since it well represented in pop culture both today and historically. The analysis of three artifacts shows that during the last 50 years, the issue has evolved along with the audience of pop culture. Even though distributors may control topics touched upon in the artifacts, the problem of race and gender discrimination is currently discussed by people from all over the world. Additionally, pop culture promotes the idea that all people have similar issues and values despite the ethnical background. People should genuinely care for the problems of African Americans instead of merely showing off their involvement.
References
Critical Media Project. (n.d.). Topic overview: Race and ethnicity. Web.
Filmsite. (n.d.). In the Heat of the Night. Web.
Fridkin, K., Wintersieck, A., Courey, J., & Thompson, J. (2017). Race and police brutality: The importance of media framing. International Journal of Communication, 11, 21.
Morris, W. (2018). The morality wars. New York Times Magazine. Web.
Ray, I., & Wilmore, L. (Creators). (2016). Insecure. Web.
Ripani, R. (2006). The New Blue Music: Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950-1999. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.
Scarborough, W. J., Lambouths III, D. L., & Holbrook, A. L. (2019). Support of workplace diversity policies: The role of race, gender, and beliefs about inequality. Social science research, 79, 194-210.
Werthman, C., Scott, D., Nostro, L., Diaz, A., Charity, J., Ortiz, E., … Scarano, R. (2018). The best 90s R&B songs. Web.