Diversity in Prime-Time TV
Joan L. Conners. (2008) “Color TV? Diversity in Prime-Time TV.” In Bramlett-Solomon, Sharon (Ed.) MCO 460 Race, Gender and Media. Phoenix, AZ. Alphagraphics: pp 161-67.
Problem.
Prime-Time TV does not represent the population of our country in parity. Major networks, under pressure from NAACP have begun focusing on diversity, however current television does not provide adequate representation. While 6.0% of children say there aren’t enough White main characters on television, 41.0% say there aren’t enough African Americans, 75.0% say there aren’t enough Hispanics and 79.0% say there aren’t enough Asians. Without proper representation, children may not feel their race is important or included and they are not provided with role models that they can identify with.
Method.
This study analyzes racial representation in comedy and drama prime-time television shows. The analysis is of 748 characters in 63 prime-time programs, and focuses on both the number of members of each race depicted as well as the context within which their character is placed and the importance of that character to the show.
Findings.
Racial Proportions on Prime-Time TV:
73.9% of all characters were White. 25.1% of all characters were AHANAs. Both Whites and African Americans are found to be overrepresented in TV portrayals. While Whites represent 64.9% of sitcom characters and 78.8% of dramatic characters, 11.1% of African Americans are found in dramas but a staggering 30.9% are found in sitcoms. 46.6% of all African American characters appear on the WB and UPN. 3.7% of drama characters were Hispanic and 1.9% of drama characters were Asian, compared to 1.5% Hispanic in sitcoms and 0.8% in sitcoms. While African American characters are more likely to be found in sitcoms, both Asian and Hispanic characters are more likely to be found in dramas.
Racial Proportions in Major and Minor Roles:
42.9% of White characters were in major roles, with 57.1% in minor roles. African American characters were 37.0% in major roles and 63.0% in minor roles. Although Hispanics are comparatively rare, they are more likely to hold a major role compared to other racial groups, with 45.5% major roles and 54.5% minor roles. Asians rarely held leading roles with only 27.3% as major characters and 72.7% as minor.
Character Race by Portrayal:
48.8% of White characters are portrayed positively, 28.4% neutrally and 22.8% negatively.
50% of Hispanic characters are portrayed positively, 22.7% neutrally and 27.3% negatively.
51.1% of African American characters are portrayed positively, 40.7% neutrally and 8.1% negatively.
45.5% of Asian character are portrayed positively, 45.5% neutrally and 9.1% negatively.
All races studied are more likely to appear in a positive role than a negative one, with Hispanics portraying the highest percentage of negative roles.
Evaluation.
This study finds that parity in diversity has not yet been reached. The unbalanced representation of African Americans in comedic vs. dramatic television suggests a bias towards how African American talent is utilized. Knowing that media shapes the public view, the programming examined suggests African Americans are perceived as comedic as opposed to dramatic, whereas Hispanics and Asians are seen as more dramatic than comedic. This is a problem as it creates a common ideology that places all African Americans as comedians and all Hispanics and Asians as dramatic, simply because their representation is unbalanced.
While the author does not draw many conclusions from the data gathered about racial proportions in major and minor roles or character race by portrayal, the data hints at how parity, while not perfect, has gotten better. Surprisingly, by percentage, Whites have comparatively fewer major roles than Hispanics. While Hispanics are more likely to be depicted as negative compared to other races, all races are depicted favorably more often than negatively. As suggested by the author, the steps networks need to take involve hiring more AHANA’s as producers and writers, and also paying attention to the types of roles depicted.
Discussion.
1.Why is it important for AHANA children to see their race depicted?
2.What opportunity are many television shows with diverse casts missing out on? What is this called?
3.Which groups of AHANA’s are most likely to be found in which types of programming, and why is this an issue?
4.Which two networks contained the majority of African Americans on TV? Why?
5.Besides the actual numbers of AHANA’s found on television, what is an important aspect of their depiction?
6.What inference can be drawn from Table 7.2 illustrating progress in diversity on television?
