Minorities in American Society and Their Portrayal in Television Programs
Minorities have not yet infiltrated the American society collectively. Native Americans have racists beliefs and supremacist ideologies that are indoctrinated into the people. The notion is a subtle practice media, entertainment, and film industry. The attitude towards the minority group has caused the minority group to be portrayed in a biased way in television programs, whereby they are treated as the inferior group. The paper will unveil how the minorities are portrayed in television programs and the portrayal of the characters. It will also discuss whether the roles they play reflect their real position in the society and whether the programs deter or enhance the understanding of the minority groups.
Negative Portrayal of Minority Groups in Television Programs
The minority groups are treated as inferiors leading to being negatively portrayed in television programs. Reflecting on history, it shows that the minority group in America are constantly severely disadvantaged whereby they face injustice from time to time (Macionis 76). There is a notion in America that associates the racial/ethnic minority groups with negative actions such as Arabs association with a terrorist attack (Macionis 82). Also, Black Americans are also most likely to be victims in committing of crimes. The notion propels the tendency of the white Americans to portray them negatively in TV programs. In most television programs, the minority group is given the inferior characters which are treated with lack of respect by the other characters in the program. For instance, they are most likely to play a character of people who do not comply with the law and eventually end up in trouble, or rather troublemakers in the society.
The Realistic Positions of Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups
The realistic positions of the racial/ethnic minority groups are lesser equals in the society (Alegría et al. 1270). There are some instances where race guides the operation of social institution in a way that there is a negative impact of how the minority race is portrayed (Macionis 84). Police and other people in power consider ethnicity or race as a sign of possible guilt in America. Sometimes it is the culture and policy of social institutions such as televisions to treat the minority racial and ethnic groups with such attitudes (Macionis 84). The roles given to the minority groups reflect their real positions in society, where they are treated as with inequality as inferiors.
The Aversion of Understanding of Minority Groups
By the certain portrayal of the characters, the television programs avert the understanding of the minority groups. The social department, such as television, has a lot of influence on society and when they take the minority group as an inferior of the American community, bringing about a change of the notion among people can be challenging (Macionis 85). The inferior treatment to the group causes the general population to have the same notion about them. For instance, if multiculturalism would be adopted in America, it would give the ethnic/racial minority groups more visibility and power (Macionis 85). Televisions can promote this if they design their programs right. However, social inequality for the minority groups is constantly reinforced by prejudice and discrimination (Macionis 86). The continued portrayal of these characters as inferior averts the understanding of the groups to the general population.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the racial/ethnic minority groups are portrayed negatively in television programs. The act facilitates their unequal and discriminative treatment in society. They are portrayed as inferior characters by playing characters representing troublemakers in the society. The portrayal dampens the deep understanding of these people to the general population.
Works cited
Alegría, Margarita, et al. "Disparity in depression treatment among racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States." Psychiatric services 59.11 (2008): 1264-1272.
Macionis, John J. "Social Problems, Books a la Carte Edition Plus." (2015).
