Comments on: Which one is better?

By: Hannah Weinstein

Hannah Weinstein — Fri, 13 May 2016 01:54:09 +0000

Throughout this class, I have been fascinated about how media portrays people of color. In terms of the acting world, whether it be on Broadway, TV, the movies, etc., White people seem to be cast way more often than people of color. Despite this fact, there have been relatively new shows that feature people of color, mostly in the family setting such as Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat… two comedy shows that are highly problematic, but seem to be successful. These shows focus on families of color, but poke fun at Black and Asian stereotypes, which allows for people to laugh at the characters and does’t fix systemic or individual racism at all. Like you said, it worsens it. So in my opinion, bad representation does not serve any good purpose because it further perpetuates racism through comedy or other genres.

By: Julisa Fabian

Julisa Fabian — Thu, 12 May 2016 16:06:44 +0000

I feel like this can apply to any representation, gender, sexual orientation. But the different lies in the power and privilege that is attached to the identity. So i feel like it will affect different identities differently, but i definitely think it’s applicable to most oppressed identities. if that makes any sense?

By: Brendan O'Hara

Brendan O'Hara — Thu, 12 May 2016 13:44:15 +0000

This is a topic that I find to be very interesting and somewhat confusing to unpack as well. I really liked when you pointed out that people of color may not be in a position to turn down bad roles. The disparity in acting opportunities across racial groups is truly staggering. I found it really interesting when you said that the only people who would believe the stereotype put forward by a poorly represented character would be the people who are not part of that specific demographic. I wonder, though, how that works with people internalizing stereotypes. Could a woman, for example, have stereotypes of woman reinforced by bad media representation?