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BLACKS ON TV.   Term Paper ID:28140 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: 1970s-2000. Discusses stereotyping, economic pressures, sitcoms.... More...

4 Pages / 900 Words 6 sources, 6 Citations, MLA Format $16.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: 1970s-2000. Discusses stereotyping, economic pressures, sitcoms. Paper Introduction: For much of television's early years, the America reflected on the screen was a nation of white faces, with only a few black faces, usually in menial occupations such as janitor, elevator operator, and so on. A look at the range of black roles on television today shows that much has changed and that the America reflected on screen today is more like the real America, with blacks and whites in all walks of life. Some of the changes have been seen as good, and others have been seen as not so good. Even the good changes have been seen as existing within a relatively narrow spectrum that still sets blacks apart on television, relegating them to specific programming niches and even behaviors and not reflecting the life of most blacks in America. The issue has been raised recently by critics who see fewer black roles on network television each year, and they are Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. "'Moesha' Has What Advertisers Want." Electronic Media 19 (22 May 2 ), 14. Fred. Drama has not been ignored entirely. New York: Oxford, 1989."NAACP Pressure on Networks Leads to Talk of Minority Inclusion." University Wire (11 Jan 2 ).Parker, Danielle. Such shows still featured stereotyped portrayals byshowing only one aspect of the black experience as if it wererepresentative. For the most part, minoritiesremain highly under-represented on television overall and very under-represented on dramatic television. Fred MacDonald alsofound that progress stopped in the early 197 s for a time. Cable industry expertssay the subscriber gap is partly the result of limited productdistribution, with companies tending to serve such markets last (McConville5 ). The network wanted ratings and gotthem. He says that inthe 196 s there was a move today a realization of the color-blind promisein television: The promise, however, was not fulfilled. In addition, the roles blacks do have on television fallwithin a relatively narrow range. However, as often happenswith such organizations, within a few years the group had disbanded, unableto maintain an ongoing political presence in Hollywood (Montgomery 151-153). Just as Afro- Americans had been playing the clowns and buffoons of American entertainment since the early nineteenth century, they appeared in the 197 s as the latest embodiment of a format traditionally acceptable to white audiences (MacDonald 176). Recent complaints by the National Association for the Advancement ofColored People, led by its president, Kweisi Mfume, led to promises by thenetworks that more blacks would be hired not just on-camera but asproducers, writers, and directors as well ("NAACP Pressure on NetworksLeads to Talk of Minority Inclusion"). The issue has been raised recently by critics who seefewer black roles on network television each year, and they are correct inthis assessment. In the early days of the show, there was a black familyliving next door, the Jeffersons, who would later spin off into their owntelevision show. Blacks are also under-represented onnewer forms of television delivery, such as cable, and one reason for thisis because minority households lag significantly behind overall TVhouseholds as cable and online service subscribers. The Black Anti-DefamationCoalition continued to monitor television after this failure, however, andmounted campaigns against various television shows it found offensive,notably ABC's Webster for perpetuating the image of the white person assavior of the black child in crisis. The changes have been positive because they have givengreater opportunity to blacks and have broken down barriers so that blacksare accepted in other capacities -- news people and commercialspokespersons, for instance -- but they still do not reflect the diversityof black life. The Cosby Show would do the same thing in a differentdirection, showing a middle --class family that was superior in lifestyleand values in a way that was not realistic to the American experience,black or white. Even thegood changes have been seen as existing within a relatively narrow spectrumthat still sets blacks apart on television, relegating them to specificprogramming niches and even behaviors and not reflecting the life of mostblacks in America. Comedy shows like Moesha survive because they are on broadcasttelevision and reach more black homes than they could on cable. Other black-oriented shows from Lear included Sanford andSon, Good Times, and The Jeffersons, and Bud Yorkin would separatelyproduce such black-oriented shows as What's Happening!! When aired, the show didwell in the ratings. The record of the three major networks has been cited as weakcompared to the newer networks like WB and UPN, though all haveconcentrated more on comedies than dramas: "In more than a half-century ofTV, there has never been a successful black-themed dramatic series" (Justin1F). The situation that prevails today with all shows onbroadcast television is that there is always another sponsor available,which reduces the effectiveness of economic pressure. Moesha isnow going into syndication, and it has been profitable in doing so,reaching a number of national advertisers at an average of $2 , perspot, with the show cleared for syndication currently in only 6 to 7 percent of the country. Some of the changeshave been seen as good, and others have been seen as not so good. The black worldarrived in some form in the 197 s during the era of television relevance,when relevance sold. The show reaches 9 percent of all African-American households (Parker 14). Blacks and White TV. The changes that have come about have occurred because the CivilRights Movement created an awareness of the black community and in theblack community leading to a demand for change. The beginning ofthis series of shows was All in the Family, a program based on a Britishshow and transferred to Queens in New York. Another blackorganization monitoring television in recent years has been the Black Anti-Defamation Coalition, which formed in response to the specific impetus of ashow called Beulah Land produced by NBC in 198 . A lookat the range of black roles on television today shows that much has changedand that the America reflected on screen today is more like the realAmerica, with blacks and whites in all walks of life. For reasons which were political, economic, and social, the role of blacks in TV was refashioned to reflect the popular attitudes and national directions that arose in the 197 s (MacDonald 149). Advocacy groups are made up of people who are not part of the primaryaudience, at least for the most part, and in order to gain the attention ofbroadcasters, they have to prove that they represent a large and desiredconstituency. For much of television's early years, the America reflected on thescreen was a nation of white faces, with only a few black faces, usually inmenial occupations such as janitor, elevator operator, and so on. "Black TV: Moving' On Up?." Minneapolis Star Tribune (2 March 1997), 1F.MacDonald, J. This group protested the showing and tried to keepthe program off the air, to no avail. The group was more successful in thisendeavor and got the network to air a show on the issue of whether or not awhite child should be raised by a black family. These shows had varied success but a similar formula: The comedic formula developed by Lear and Yorkin was a microcosm of that historic synthesis achieved during the 197 s with regard to blacks in TV. The emphasis on black comedies continues on newer networks like theWB and UPN, while the major networks have few such shows on at the presenttime. A number of black shows developed in the 197 s, primarily comedies,and primarily from the production company of Norman Lear. This last season, City ofAngels presented a medical show set in a black area, but the ratings werenot sufficient for the show to survive. The main character was a right-wing bigot who railed against every minority group and who supported everyright-wing cause. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1983.McConville, Jim. As long as there were viewers, shows like Sanford andSon had their place. Target: Prime Time. "Closing the Minority Sub Gap." Broadcasting & Cable 125(39)(September 1995), 5 .Montgomery, Kathryn C. Yet, there was an almost total relegation of blacks to comedies. While admitting that television by the 197 s had started tomove toward a more equitable treatment of blacks, J. Works CitedJustin, Neal. Change was slow, and itwas always limited in the lifestyles it would reflect. and Carter Country. The evolution toward nonprejudicial television came to an abrupt end in the early 197 s. The Coalition announced a plan to conduct a "selective buying"campaign against the sponsors of the show, but by the time this wasorganized it was too late for a boycott. On the one hand, there was exposure of black talent -- more roles, more employment, more black-centered programs than in the past. It remains to be seen how muchdifference this will make, but it is clear that while black-themed showsdeveloped as a specific component of network television programming for atime, it has since subsided, and it never did develop much beyond situationcomedies. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.