Truth-less Television

In the article “Black Sitcom Portrayals”, author Robin Means Coleman uses several viewer’s opinions to convey the message that people are sensitive about the way black families are portrayed in television sitcoms. One of the main themes seen in the article is the incorrect portrayal of Black people and families. “…some of the participants related that Black situation comedies present characters and situations that are so dissimilar from Blackness, that is, African American culture and communities, that they find the images, and the inherent messages incongruent to their lived experiences, beliefs, and values…” (84). This concept of inaccuracy of portrayal can be seen in any race or culture represented in t.v. and the media. Television is a misrepresentation of society, an escape from reality. These falsities take place in shows such as Grey’s Anatomy or Desperate Housewives. Not all Caucasian people are doctors, nor do they live in seemingly perfect suburban communities, and not every family depicted in television is perfect or ideal (there are several examples of this). This is even exhibited in reality television, not all Italian-Americans or people who live on the Jersey Shore are consumed by their appearance or hair. Television is not meant to be politically correct or precise, nor is it necessarily accurate in its portrayals, as fictional television is not real.