Ethnic Minorities In The Media Essay

In Monk-Turner et al (2010) study, building on a previous study of how ethnic minorities are represented on prime time television, they found no real significant changes over the course of ten years in racial representations. African American’s continue to be overly represented in comparison to other minorities, in fact, they are three times more likely than Latinos to appear on prime time television. The study found that overall representation of ethnic minorities continues to be lacking, especially Latinos, who make up five percent, previously two percent, of all actors on prime time television. Still, the representation of African Americans remained the same over the span of ten years, at sixteen percent of all prime time television actors. Monk Turner et al., ended their study
The types of media representations or lack there of, have negative effects on minority groups’ psychological well being, self esteem and self consciousness (Tukachinsky, 2015). As Tukachinsky found, negative or stereotypical representations of ethnic minorities can lead to discrimination, prejudice and hateful behaviour toward the ethnic minority being depicted. In the same notion, audiences who are exposed to negative characterizations of ethnic minorities in the media and are portrayed in a sympathetic way, can lead to positive perceptions of the depicted groups. Lastly, these racial representations or lack of, also influenced the amount of racism or racialization ethnic minorities experienced. The racialization of Asian Americans, for example, is typically negative due to the assumptions and stereotypes placed upon them through media representations (Thakore, 2014). In some respect, audiences perceive such stereotypes as okay or justified, if they are actively promoted in mainstream