The Impact of African American Roles on Television :: essays research papers

The image of African Americans has been greatly depreciated by the roles they play on television sitcoms. On these shows African Americans are visualised as being maids, clowns, and buffoons. This misrepresentation of African Americans has become common swan through out the media. One of the most controversial sitcoms was the Amos n Andy picture. This sitcom included two black comedic custody and began the creation of the African American stereotypes that most people eat grown accustom to today. The Amos n Andy demonstrate began as a radio show with two white manpower portraying two black comedic men. When the show transferred to television, it consisted of the two black men portraying the two black comedic dummies. They were still performing the slapstick japery as they did on the radio show, but to be able to conform to them visually had a greater effect. The roles that the two black men vie are the typical roles that blacks play in television vanes. The shows portrayi ng blacks as having low self-esteem became very popular among whites and some blacks. The Amos n Andy Show was taken off air after being protested by blacks including the NAACP (Poussaint 1). The Amos n Andy Show Godfrey 2had a profound effect on blacks. From that augur on, blacks believed that in order to be successful in the television network they had to portray themselves as being idiotic and lazy. Stereotypes such as this have been continuously developing in the television network even today. The modernized images played by blacks are drunks, thugs, thieves, gangsters, and other characters that are inferior to whites. By creating these images of blacks, it has caused both blacks and whites to see African Americans as being ignorant and accept that is the only way that they should act. Television networks depict whites as the typical families with no problems, and blacks as the single parents with a long list of problems. The impact of those roles had a great effect on how the African American race, young and elder conceive their selves. Even today, there are very few African American business people. These racist stereotypes has conformed their minds into thinking that less is best. Young African American children watch these televisions shows that portray blacks as being thugs and uneducated. Those children go through school acting that same way, getting into trouble, and making nothing of their selves.