The media’s criminalization of blackness The objective of my paper is to do a content analysis regarding the media’s portrayal of black crime, and how crime has become synonymous with blackness. I will explore through how the media effects discourse in society, and how black men are overwhelmingly depicted as “thugs” in television shows. More importantly, I will address how this representation of blackness in the media has direct effects on the lives of individual black people. The media’s criminalization of blackness has created and reinforced structural limitations for black people. Also, how effective is agency when faced with social structure? Black lives and opportunities are directly affected by the media’s representation of blackness.
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The media’s portrayal of black crime has resulted in black people fearing to walk late at night with a hoodie on, as they may be mistaken for a thug and shot by police! This is hegemony in its purest form. The media has ingrained ideas in our minds that blackness is synonymous with violence, robberies, crime, and delinquency. Society’s dominant views of blackness are negative because of the way the media has portrayed criminal activity. By addressing the issue, we can analyze the causes of this normalization of modern racism, and eventually tackle the forces which reinforced racist mentalities in our society.
A content analysis showed that in American news reports, blacks accounted for 93% of the robbery suspects reported in New Orleans newspapers, and in television channels, blacks accounted for over 80% of robbery suspects in New Orleans ( Oliver 1993 ). This overrepresentation of black crime inevitably results in innocent black people being perceived as criminals by society. As they are constantly shown clips and images of black people perpetrating malicious acts. The media’s coverage reinforces negative discourse within society, and limits black people’s
The media’s portrayal of black crime has resulted in black people fearing to walk late at night with a hoodie on, as they may be mistaken for a thug and shot by police! This is hegemony in its purest form. The media has ingrained ideas in our minds that blackness is synonymous with violence, robberies, crime, and delinquency. Society’s dominant views of blackness are negative because of the way the media has portrayed criminal activity. By addressing the issue, we can analyze the causes of this normalization of modern racism, and eventually tackle the forces which reinforced racist mentalities in our society.
A content analysis showed that in American news reports, blacks accounted for 93% of the robbery suspects reported in New Orleans newspapers, and in television channels, blacks accounted for over 80% of robbery suspects in New Orleans ( Oliver 1993 ). This overrepresentation of black crime inevitably results in innocent black people being perceived as criminals by society. As they are constantly shown clips and images of black people perpetrating malicious acts. The media’s coverage reinforces negative discourse within society, and limits black people’s