How does British television
negatively represent Black people?
British television has become more diverse over
the years. There are programmes being broadcasted that include different ethnic
minorities from “Desmond's” to “Top Boy” but has British television challenged
or reinforced negative stereotypes of black people? It can be argued that
British television exaggerates the typical and negative stereotypes of black
people and other ethnic minorities. Von Dijk found that “black people,
especially African-Caribbeans tend to be portrayed as criminals”[1]. In a popular black British
television programme, Top Boy (2011), it mainly focuses on the
typical stereotypes of black people, such as drug dealers and gangsters, in
order to represent black youths' daily life - the director, Ronan Bennett,
wanted to produce something ‘honest’. The representations that are being reinforced and challenged
through ‘Top Boy‘, audiences are highly critical as it ‘continually
misrepresent[s]’[2] ethnic
minorities which may ‘strengthen the lines of division in a community’[3].
But this isn't always the
case, as there is a counter-type black British television programme: Luther
(2010). Luther doesn't fulfil the typical stereotype for black people, as the
main character John Luther, played by Idris Elba, doesn't portray the norm as a
'drug dealer' but a Detective Chief Inspector instead; Hall would describe
Luther as “changing the relations of representation”[4].
British television programmes often use
stereotypes to “give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person
or group of people”[5], so the use of stereotypes
can reinforce the negative representation of black people. In the opening scene
of “Top Boy”, the audience can immediately assume what type of programme Top
Boy is, despite the few glimpses of London's iconic tourist attractions.
As British television regularly uses stereotypes, the main focus on the black
actors and dilapidated council estates shown will give audiences an impression
of crime and drug use. On the other hand, this can be portrayed – from the
director's perspective – to “give audiences an accurate portrayal of growing up
in London”[6]. Barry
(1986) argues that ethnic minorities are labelled in three categories:
troublemakers, entertainers and dependant[7]. Barry’s three categories
of ethnic minorities are evident among British television, “whether the fault
lies with commissioners or writers, the fact remains that the spectrum of
blackness on TV is narrow, and has remained almost stagnant in the last decade
or so”[8]. However, in “Top Boy”, the
character Ra’nell subverts Barry's ‘dependant’ category as he rejects money
from a close family friend in order to help with basic necessities as his mum
is in hospital.
By
contrast, a black lead character on a counter-type drama was introduced to BBC
1 in 2010, “Luther”. Luther deflects the common roles of black
people in British television as he is a Detective Chief Inspector who
works for a Serious Unit Crime which is set in London. It can be said that
Luther is a counter-type British television programme because “if a show
does feature black folks, they are usually one-dimensional, sidekicks of the
lead character or the rapist/murderer/gang-banger on Law & Order”[9]. As the program progresses,
it can be argued that “Luther” may reinforce some of the typical stereotypes
based on the setting of John Luther's appartment, as he lives in a groggy
council estate in London, despite his middle class job as DCI. According to
Barry's theory, John Luther averts 'dependency' as he adapts a father role to a
broken girl called Jenny who he met in a strip club and, who the audience later
find out, has also been neglected by her mother. She has to resolve to stay
with Luther as she has nowhere else to go.
However, Luther’s middle-class profession, as a Detective Chief
Inspector, is ignored by his overpowering strong east London accent. Luther’s
accent may seem more relatable with the working class socio-economical group as
he uses phrases that the working-class audience may be familiar with. Therefore,
“Luther” reinforces the negative stereotypes of black people, as they can be
looked upon as unsophisticated, solely on the way they communicate. So, Luther
seems as if it is trying to steer away from the negative stereotypes – but it
actually refers back to them.
The
negative representations of black people on British television could have a
significant effect on racial prejudice in society according to George Gerbner’s
cultivation theory. Cultivation theorists argue that “television has a long
term effect on the audience which is small, gradual, indirect but cumulative
and significant”[10] and according to research
by Robert Lichter, “about one-third of those with an opinion say that the
ethnic characters they see on television affect their attitudes
toward ethnic groups in real life”[11]. So, the more programs that
constantly misrepresent black people, the more the audience will eventually
have fixed ideas associated with them. This unvarying representation can also stamp an
impression on black people themselves as it was found that “black students
were the heaviest TV watchers and were also the group most likely to use
television as a learning tool”[12], this is because television
“teaches them things they don't learn in
school”[13]. So, the lack of lessons teaching black
children about their culture and background can result in black people turning
to television to help them gather knowledge on information they are not
receiving at school. Therefore, this can suggest
why black people, especially young black people in the UK, can be ‘learning’
attitudes from programmes such as “Top Boy” – for its realistic approach and
it’s reflection of real life. But the exposure of negative labels in violent
programmes has a “small and limited negative effects on the audiences”[14]. The negative
misrepresentations of ethnic minorities shown on television can have a strong
impact on white audiences because “if the audience views certain ethnic and
racial groups in a negative manner and television portrayals confirm those images”[15] this would be unfair on
ethnic groups as “people actually form their opinions of cultures or races
based on what they see on TV”[16]. So, with “Top Boy”, the negative representations
can have either enhance opinions or create fixed interpretations of black
people through the gangs and drug use seen in the programme.
The
media can produce stereotypes which can result in moral panics: “a moral panic refers to the reaction of
a group of people based on the false belief that another sub-culture or a group
poses danger to the society.”[17] In ‘Top Boy’, a moral panic can be
shown by the main characters, Dushane and Sully as they are associated with
gangs and drug-use. The strong emphasis on gangs, crime and drug-use in ‘Top
Boy’ can alter audiences’ opinions, as they are making a generalisation on
black people. Cohen identified three central elements that the media use to
label black people: ‘exaggeration, prediction and symbolisation.’[18] In recent
events such as the London riots in 2011, it has been said that the media
exaggerated violent behaviour of black people, Azumah Titus-Glover adds “how many times have we seen in our daily newspapers and
televisions Black people associated with crime?”[19] We can infer that the
constant labelling of black people being associated with ‘criminals’ amongst
the media reinforces stereotypes, resulting in moral panics.
The
negative representations of black people on television can be explained by
Frantz Fanon's book 'Black Faces, White Masks'. Frantz Fanon “uses
psychoanalysis and psychoanalytical theory to explain the feelings of
dependency and inadequacy that Black people experience in a White world”[20] which means that Fanon
argues that black people don't have a chance in succeeding in this world, due
to their colour of their skin. According to the ethnicity theory by Alvarado et
al (1987)[21], he
describes the four themes in racial representation: exotic, dangerous, humorous
and pitied. In “Top Boy (2011)”, Dushane and Sully represent black people to be
’dangerous’ as they are associated with gangs, violence and drug-use. But,
Ra’nell represents the ‘pity’ category as he is left to provide for himself as
his mother is taken into a mental hospital.
In
1976, television in Britain had changed remarkably. “The Fosters” became
the first British sitcom to contain a solely black cast. Sadly, this sitcom
only lasted a year which shows that it wasn’t very popular with the ‘white audience’ as much as it was
with the ‘black audience’. But despite being unsuccessful for British
television, “The Foster’s” was a stepping stone for other black
British sitcoms such as, “The Real McCoys”, “Desmond’s” and “The
Lenny Henry Show”. It can be argued that the only positive
representation of black people “tends to be found in sports and entertainment -
both of which point "naturally" to Blacks”[22], this links with Alvarado’s
theory of black people being categorized as ‘humorous’ or Barry’s theory as
‘entertainers’ because it’s something that black people find ‘natural’ to do.
In the late-80s, “Desmond’s” became one of the most popular and successful
black British sitcoms – surviving six seasons and broadcasting seventy-one
episodes. The programme appeared on Channel 4 because it was known for ethnic
programming but “Channel 4, had been unable to fulfil original expectations”[23] as
the roles of the characters were very stereotypical. The main character,
Desmond Ambrose, owned a barbershop which was seen to be ‘common’ for many
Afro-Caribbean males; Sean Ambrose (Desmond’s youngest son) inspired to be a
rapper which was popular among black young males and this relates to Barry’s
theory of black people being ‘entertainers’. However, in the late 60s,
“there were more than two dozen programs featuring black actors as leading
characters or in prominent, regular supporting roles”[24] amongst American
television. A popular African-American sitcom in the 80s was “The Cosby
Show”, which Bill Cosby “integrated the show with blacks, whites, Asians
and Latinos to broaden the audience”[25], it can be argued that
Cosby had to put on a ‘white face’ (Frantz Fanon) to relate to a wider audience
in order to succeed. In the 90s, a popular African-American sitcom was “The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” which, in my opinion, the most successful black
sitcom, as it still airs previous episodes on channels like ‘Vivo‘.
However, the lack of positive images surrounding the black community on British
television leads black British actors wanting to pursue a career in America.
For example, Idris Elba (who plays John Luther in “Luther”) started his acting
career on a successful American drama “The Wire”, before he had the opportunity
to star in television programmes in the United Kingdom. So this shows that black actors have to go
abroad in order to succeed as an actor in Britain.
More
recently, young black writers and actors have taken to the internet to upload
videos of their own dramas/sitcoms. With British television, “there really
aren't that many roles for authoritative, strong, black characters in this
country”[26] because “commissioners say:
'Can you make white people laugh?'”[27] So black people’s end
result is the internet, on sites like “YouTube” because they can’t get
television networks interested in the shows they have created. A web-series
called “Brothers with No Game” is about 3 black males, they’re friends
showing their ways of finding love. However, with this particular web-series,
it subverts the typical stereotypes of black men; Theo is a middle aged man who
works as a marketer, Dorien is 25 and works as a sales representative and
Junior is a freelance IT consultant. But, they have a white friend, who in this
particular series represents the unsuccessful, comical individual working with
an internship to create his own designer label. This contrast between the roles
of the black men and white man is significant as it challenges the typical
stereotypes of black people shown on television.
By
analysing the historical and contemporary texts, there is a clear similarity
that British television tends to significantly under-represented ethnic
minorities, as they “are responsible for influencing, sensationalising and
creating stories that play on violence and conflict.”[28] The constant negative
stereotypes of black people in television “and the absence of plausible alternative means that the
values wrapped up in the stereotype come to appear as ‘common sense.’”[29] It can be argued that black people are “marginalised by a
white ideology”[30] as
they seem to be restricted to typical genres, such as, comedy or urban
dramas. Karen Ross (1992) argues that “whites towards non-whites are
influenced by media representation”[31] so even though “Luther”
portrays more of a positive representation, this is ignored by the negative
representations in programmes such as “Top Boy”. The negative representations
create a heavier impact on audiences’ opinions, in comparison to the positive. This
concludes ethnic stereotypes maintain the hegemonic control and reinforces the
status quo and being amplified.
Word
count: 2,088
Work Cited:
Books/Journals
1.
Alia, Valerie, and
Simone Bull. Media and ethnic minorities. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press, 2005. Print.
2.
Alvarado, Manuel,
Robin Gutch, and Tana Wollen. Learning the Media: An Introduction to Media
Teaching. Basingstoke: Macmillan
Education, 1987. Print.
3.
Awan.
F. (2007). Young People, Identity and the Media - Representation [Journal]
4.
Bennett, Peter,
Jerry Slater, and Peter Wall. A2 Media Studies: The Essential
Introduction. London: Routledge, 2006. Print.
5.
Fanon,
Frantz. Black skin, white masks. New York: Grove Press, 1967. Print.
6.
Kwartey
Titus-Glover, A. (2004). An Educational Guide to The History of Black People
Past and Present [Journal]
7.
Ross, K. (1992) Television
Black and White [Journal]
8.
Webb, Rob. A2
Sociology: The Complete Course for the AQA Specification. Brentwood:
Napier, 2009. Print
Moving Text:
1. Top Boy (UK – 2011 presented Channel 4)
2. Luther (UK – 2011 BBC1)
3. Desmond’s (UK – 1994 Channel 4)
4. Brother
With No Game (UK - 2012 YouTube)
Internet:
1. Black people only online - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/black-british-tv-drama-online
2. Black people going to America - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/9051992/Young-black-actors-should-go-to-America.html
3. Not having strong black actors - http://madamenoire.com/104363/the-persistent-issue-of-black-representation-on-television-and-why-more-roles-wont-fix-a-thing/#j3H1eGwYAga1s1Wl.99
5. Top Boy gives an accurate portrayal of London - http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/880078-yann-demange-being-a-teenage-boy-in-london-now-is-scary
9. Black actors as supporting roles, leading roles - http://www.jfredmacdonald.com/bawtv/bawtv10.htm
10. Channel 4 unable to fulfil original expectations - http://web.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/CRER_RC/publications/pdfs/Research%20Papers%20in%20Ethnic%20Relations/RP%20No.19.pdf
17. Example of moral panic http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Donson%20et%20al%20-%20Folkdevils.pdf
Work Consulted:
Internet:
1. Programs only include ethnic minorities because they should -
http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability
2. Stuart Hall - http://beyondproject.wordpress.com/tag/representation-of-black-people-in-television/
7. Failing to reflect modern ethnic minority cultures - http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/passtheremote/2008/07/top-soaps-accused-of-stereotyp.html
8. Media teaches the public about ethnic minorities - http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/long-way-go-minorities-and-media
9. Why is TV so segregated? - http://fun.familyeducation.com/television/african-americans/35259.html
Newspapers:
2. Underachievement representations of black people -http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/05/london-black-children-awards
Moving Text:
1. Empire Road (UK – 1978 to 1979 – Channel 4)
[1] Media representations of African
Caribbeans http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability
[4] Representation,
history and ‘black Britain’ [Internet]. Available from: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/9459_011200ch1.pdf
[9] One dimensional black characters http://madamenoire.com/104363/the-persistent-issue-of-black-representation-on-television-and-why-more-roles-wont-fix-a-thing/
[11] Television affects peoples’
opinions of ethnic minorities http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/does-tv-shape-ethnic-images
[12] Television affects peoples’
opinions of ethnic minorities http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/does-tv-shape-ethnic-images
[13] Television affects peoples’
opinions of ethnic minorities http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/does-tv-shape-ethnic-images
[15] Television affects peoples’
opinions of ethnic minorities http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/does-tv-shape-ethnic-images
[16] People form opinions of cultures http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/does-tv-shape-ethnic-images
[19] A. Titus-Glover. (2004) An
Educational Guide to the History of Black people Past and Present. P.5
[22] Representation, history and ‘black
Britain’ Available from: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/9459_011200ch1.pdf
[24] Prominent regular supporting roles http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/9051992/Young-black-actors-should-go-to-America.html
[28] A. Titus-Glover. (2004) An
Educational Guide to the History of Black people Past and Present. P.5 Representation, history and ‘black Britain’ Available from: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/9459_011200ch1.pdf
[30]
Representation, history and ‘black Britain’ p.14 Available from: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/9459_011200ch1.pdf
