Black Sitcom Portrayals written by Robin Coleman, examines the way African American’s are depicted in TV shows anything from That’s My Mama, The Jeffersons to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Coleman’s essay is very strong because he backs up his points via opinions from African American’s about their own personal feelings towards these TV Shows (J.C. Lonette, and Freddie). Blacks in TV shows are more often portrayed in a negative light and linked to a lower working class because wealth is often depicted with “whiteness.” Henry Louis Gates argues that, “television has failed to represent the full economic spectrum of African Americans. Yet they also seem to believe that all economically ascended Blacks have their immediate roots in the underclass and/or ghetto…” (81). Stereotypes of blacks and whites seem to affect TV shows a lot, White’s are not always super rich and unappreciative of money as shown in 90210 or Gossip Girl and African American’s do not always live in poor neighborhoods full of crime and gangs as shown in Lincoln Heights. J.C argues how even sometimes in TV shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air when the good kid is black and he possesses good values and behaviors he is picked on for that. In many predominately black TV shows the kids are either trouble makers or come from a troubled household, or else have been “rescued”/cleaned up and adopted by a white family. Below is a video of the teen TV show 90210, 90210 consists predominately of extremely rich white teenagers who go to high school and constantly throw huge parties, drive ridiculously expensive cars, and live in million dollar homes in Beverly Hills, California. The only kid in the TV show who is African American happens to also be the only one who is adopted in the show by a wealthy white family. Even though he talks with a “slang” he dresses like many would say a “white boy.”
Another part of this article I found really interesting that I personally can relate a lot to through a friend of mine is the argument Coleman and his participants explain, “Hollywood’s preference for lighter-skinned African Americans....the participants saw television communicating that African Americans with White features are better (84). I find this to be really interesting and obvious in many TV shows and even in magazines. Models used are often very light skinned African Americans (who almost look ethnically ambiguous) it is not often that you see a really dark-skinned African American used. As the participants explain they feel this brings back their feelings of segregation they used to experience and still sometimes do presently. The lighter skinned African American’s are used for more beauty and can show more richness. Automatically I connected this to my best friend Meghna who is Indian and from Gujarat, India (North India). She has always told me, “I hate my skin getting dark.” Through curiosity five years ago I asked why? I really wanted to know. As she explained to me, the darker you are the less beautiful it is seen in her Indian culture, lighter is beauty and richness, it sort of shows their class in society. They would say, “The lighter, the better, and the more beautiful.” I found that to be really interesting. I never would have connected the lighter skin to beauty or class, but when Meghna looks at pictures of her and all her friends on Facebook she proudly likes to see she is the “white-est” Indian in the picture.
The last point I would like to make regarding this essay is Coleman’s participant, Billie’s argument about the misrepresentation of the Black church. Whenever I see the representation of the Black church in movies it is true that I see it as this happy, choir singing, dancing place, as Billie states, “[The Black church is seen] only in a derogatory way. Just jumpin’ around, dancing’, Black people’s roots are in the church, but they never see us as Catholics or Presbyterians. Just [as] rockin’ and dancin’ and jumpin’ up and down.” (85). Take a look at the end of the movie Big Mamma’s House, unfortunately I agree with Billie that the church is not really represented properly it is not seen as a place engaged in worship, but rather a place to “jump around.”
90210
Big Mamma's House
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