Introduction
Racism has been a common issue in the United States where African Americans have been portrayed as minorities and to a certain extent quite inhuman. The television media has played a role in the portrayal of the picture of the African Americans. This has been seen in the images of the African Americans that the television shows. The self identity of an individual depends on the environment to which the individual has been brought up and the exposures in the environment. The television media in the United States have affected the development of the self identity of the African American adolescents in a negative way. Their interpretation of what it means to be black has been distorted by the television media to the extent of hating being born black. The television is more influential since it provides visual pictures which are very appealing. With the high rate of television viewing among the African American adolescents, the self identity of these adolescents is at a great risk. This paper will seek to analyze the portrayal of diversity in a recent article in the United States.
The television media has played a major role in the Portrayal of diversity and greatly affects the racial identity development of many African American adolescents.
Diversity Represented in the American Landscape
The article on racial identity development of the African American youths clearly shows the diversity represented in the African American youths. There is about twelve percent population of African Americans in the United States. According to the article, African American youths receive great discrimination in different institutions. This will greatly affect the way that the youth will associate with being black. Viewing the African Americans being discriminated against by the leaders and other whites will affect the individual’s view of the African Americans (Conrad & Kathryn, 2002, p.67). The discrimination in the institutions is a clear representation of the African Americans in the American landscape. The article also talks of distorted images of the African Americans in the television programs. Most of the television programs use African Americans to take the roles of individuals who are aggressive and have no self control over themselves. The whites play the best roles of individuals who are organized and very smart in their actions. Viewing these programs in the television by the youths distorts their view of themselves and the way that they identify with being African Americans. The best programs lack the African Americans and the presenters in the televisions are all whites. This is a representation that the African Americans cannot take the best vacancies and their places are the minor and negative ones in the society.
The Media and Stereotypes in Depicting Certain Groups
The perception of the media about individuals in certain group plays a major role in the way that it represents the group. The media seems to believe that the African Americans are minor and therefore their roles are also minor (Ardis, 2008, prg.2). This determines the roles that the African Americans play in programs by the media especially the television media. The play names that the African Americans receive in the programs where they exist are also suggestive of the minority of the African Americans in the United States. Most of the wrong activities and mistakes in programs are made by the African Americans and they are always the victims in most cases. On the other hand, the whites have been portrayed as being very smart in dealing with the Africans. The whites come with the best plans and they easily fix the African Americans. This is a portrayal of the perception of the media about the African Americans and their use of the perception in depicting the different groups.
Understanding of Diversity and Multiculturalism
The article selected promotes the understanding of diversity and multiculturalism in a great way. According to the article, a race helps an individual identify with a certain group. It talks of the television media making individuals believe that what they see on the television is true (Ardis, 2008, prg.3). This means that the way that the African Americans are portrayed in the media is very different from the real thing. Being portrayed as being aggressive does not necessarily mean that the African Americans are aggressive. The individuals’ beliefs about their race promote the understanding of diversity and define the way that the individuals will fight for their race or culture. The views of others about the African Americans or the individuals with different cultures should not affect the view of the individuals about themselves (Ardis, 2008, prg.3). Having different cultures and being of different races does not affect the capacity of an individual. The race and culture of an individual are natural factors that one has no control over and should not therefore affect the view of an individual by others.
Conclusion
Diversity in the United States is still represented where the media portrays the African Americans as minors and who cannot take major and positive roles. The television media portrayal of the African Americans greatly affects the self development of the young African Americans. The media uses its perception of the different groups in determining the roles that the individuals will play in their programs. The article used greatly promotes the understanding of diversity and multiculturalism.
Reference List
Ardis, C. M. (2008). Television Media as a Potential Negative Factor in the Racial Identity Development of African American Youth. Web.
Conrad, P. K. & Kathryn, A. K. (2002). On being Different: Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream. New York: McGraw-Hill, 66-70, 87-89.