Black Sitcom Portrayals

I found Coleman's essay "Black Sitcom Portrayals" very interesting and informative. It thought it was personal (based on the opinions/ viewpoints coming from Lonette, J.C., and Freddie), eye-opening, and therefore, beneficial to the people reading this because it points out little things that the media portrays in its black characters that would be good to see compared to reality and considered based on impact towards the real black community as well as to other demographics.
This whole time, I've been watching shows like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and My Wife And Kids (watching it because it was funny and thinking nothing wrong was intentionally happening) and never thought to realize perhaps little things depicted in these comical shows introduce controversial issues (depending on what is being said, done, or presented etc.). It is no surprise that having black characters on the shows appear more "white" black with European features annoys real black people watching these shows (black sitcoms) because it is not representative of the true community and it is obvious the media favors a certain portrayal of black. What really surprised me was when Robert shared that as a child he was picked on by his own race because he was so dark is pretty shocking - this shows how much the media constructs the minds of its viewers.
Also, the fact that certain shows like Good Times target a lower-class black family struggling trying to make it, shows that blacks have a reputation of making up the majority of the lower/poor class. In reality, this is not the case. There are many black families moving up the ladder of success and making up a majority of the middle class. What is good is that other shows like the Fresh Prince and My Wife And Kids show a more realistic view of reality. On the other hand, there are other minor messages out there that upset the black community. Little things like negativity, religion, gender roles, exaggerations of "hyper-racial"characters etc. As offensive or unnecessary as these details are in black sitcoms, I also think that is addresses an honest part of reality. That these issues the characters face in the shows are also in existence in real life. So in part, the media is only mimicking what is going on in the real world in order to construct a more realistic setting/ story-line and allow its viewers to relate better. Although the actual representation of the Black people is not always true in the media, the personal and social lives can sometimes be accurate. (the stereotypes are wrong - not representative but the issues are real).