Students examine media’s portrayal of black culture

UCF students aired out their frustrations about black portrayal in the media Wednesday in the African American Student Union's "Where Did We Go Wrong?" forum.

AASU's yearly forum, which is part of its annual Black History Month celebration, was held in the Student Union and addressed the issue of how the media portrayed black people and culture in the U.S.

The consensus in the room and of the six-person panel was that it was a mostly negative portrayal.

But the big question was whether the media reflected the reality of the black community.

"I think it's a selective representation," said JoAnne Stephenson, the director of the African American Studies program. "It's not comprehensive."

Many on the panel agreed.


Jeanene Robinson-Kyles, a psychologist at the Counseling Center, said the media do not depict a large section of black culture.

"They take a small portion and blow it up," she said.

The forum was broken into two segments of media: music, and TV and movies.

Music got some of the biggest complaints, ranging from objectifying women to the portrayal of rappers as "thugs."

The influence of hip-hop stars such as 50 Cent and Lil Wayne on young people was brought up as an example of "thug portrayal."

"All we grew up with was money, cars and clothes," said Mike Rape, a senior health services administration major and panelist. "We grew up with no black leaders, so we idolize the drug dealer who may have listened to that type of music."

Tawanah Reeves, a radio/television major, agreed.

"If all you see is the negative, what else can you fall into if you haven't been shown anything else?" she said.

When it came to TV and movies, students found it was no different from music.

The recent Doritos commercial during the Super Bowl of an over-protective black child was brought up in discussion.

In the commercial, a black man shows up to take out a single black mother on a date.

The woman's child admonishes the courter, strongly telling the man to keep his hands of both his mother and his snack chips.

While many in the room disagreed with the choice to use a single, black mother stereotype, Jake Egdivers, a junior marketing major, said that the commercial was trying to reach a demographic.

"I mean, what person doesn't know a young, single black woman?" Egdivers said.

If these reflections are negative, why have they continued?

Vilbert White, a history professor, said black people have not done their part to change that point of view.

"We walk with the media hand-and-hand to promote these negative thoughts," White said.

But even with the idea that the media can tend to pigeon-hole black people, the question becomes what individuals can do to change that perception.

Stephenson said people should make a collective decision to not support TV shows, movies and other forms of media that portray black people in a negative light.

"It's a mind-set thing," Reeves said. "Until we make the move to do it, our talking about it is not going to do anything."