Depiction of Race and Ethnicity Figure in Media - Essay Example

The representation of race and ethnicity figures in media has been a major issue in the media representation even many decades after we had done away with the issue of slavery and race disparity. The effects of race and ethnicity representation are still witnessed in various dimensions; media representation is just but one of the dimensions where the effects of race and ethnic discrimination is still evident. This paper examines the process of writing a research paper based on the analytical essay on the topic race and ethnicity figure representation in media.

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The topic race and ethnicity figure representation in media is a wide topic that examines various media aspects ranging from modeling to film production industries. The disparity between race and ethnicity in the media is evident in most of the media aspects; for example, modeling sector, product marketing sector and even film production. Maybe someone might wonder why most characters in films, TV shows or even modeling stars are whites. Again, maybe someone has ever wondered why some car models or some other products are advertised or marketed in a different way than others. The answers to these questions significantly lie within the topic that I picked for my research about race and ethnicity figure representation in the media. Maybe someone can assume that it does not matter whether certain race or ethnic group is underrepresented in the media than others; however, we cannot deny the fact that this happens. Frequently we witness the representation of a certain class of individuals or racial group in the media. This, however, affects the African-Americans who are represented as a lower class individuals ass compared to their white counterparts who are given all the praise and good qualities. For examples, in most films, you will never find a white character living in a slum or acting as a terrorist. However, the black people are given the qualities that go with the negative perceptions. For example, a black character will be the terrorist and the white character turns out to be the hero to save the day. Most of the TV shows have most of the presenters as whites; therefore, media influence the perception and meaning of race and ethnicity figure representation to many audiences. The way people understand the issue of race and ethnicity as part of their identity, history and their daily lives. In agreement in their book Gender, race, and media representation Brooks and Lisa explain that what comes to pass as important is based often on the stories produced and disseminated by media institutions (297). The issue of race is important when it comes to the socio-cultural aspects of the society. The difference in racial/ethnic backgrounds in the society is created as a result of the desire to meet the dynamic social, political and economic desires of the society (Brooks & Lisa: 297). According to Brooks and Lisa, media plays a significant role in dissemination and construction of racial and gender ideologies (298).

Before I picked the topic that I am discussing now, there are various strategies that I had to consider so as to ensure that the topic that I pick is well explored. In other words, it was important for me to understand the assignment before rushing to answer it; it needed time to understand, therefore, I employed some of the strategies that I believe helped me significantly to pick the right topic for discussion. Considering the length of the assignment was very crucial during my selection of the topic (Addison & Sharon: 148); therefore, I had to pick a topic that can meet the needed length. Since the assignment was long enough; therefore, it needed a topic that would be explored in a length as well. Therefore, the topic race and ethnicity representation in the media qualified for the selection as it met the entire requirement that I needed to begin writing the assignment.

Scholars believe that writing a scholarly paper might be challenging for many writers (Addison & Sharon, 2010); therefore, according to them, they believe that it is better to choose a topic that one finds interesting. The topic should be something that the intended author is well conversant with well. According to scholars, this will greatly assist in the research because one can find what he/she is looking for easily (Addison & Sharon: 164). A difficult topic or something that someone does not have the background information about might be tricky and challenging for the research as it will consume the researchers time and resources looking for the answers to questions that might take the time to get their answers. Therefore, I chose a topic that I had an interest in and conversant with. Race and ethnicity representation is something that is not new even to a five-year-old kid who cannot understand the reasons why things happen the way they do in the world.

My topic was interesting and the whole research process as well. The topic evoked the interest of understanding the reason why there are some people that are treated in a different way than the others. Researching this topic gave me the opportunity to find the answers that have been lingering in mind for many years. Many people sometimes watch movies and TV shows but they have never paid attention to what I am talking about here. Another interested part during this research was its uniqueness. Sometimes it is goo to do something that makes you unique and brings out the uniqueness in you. Therefore, reaching the point of choosing this topic to work on was contributed majorly by the fact that it would bring out the uniqueness in my work. This was further enhanced by the fact that many people have neglected the topic for discussion.

Choosing a suitable topic from the list of the given suggestions might be very easy for anyone; however, as scholars suggest, a good piece of research requires the researcher to narrow down the topic to a simpler and suitable small subtopic that can be specific (Snow, 2010). The topic of race and ethnicity representation is a general and wide area of research. Therefore, narrowing it down into a specific area like what I chose, race and ethnicity figure representation in media is simpler to work with.

The initial planning, investigation, and outlining process were all interesting as well. To ensure that the right planning, investigation, and outlining approaches were picked for this assignment, it needed good strategies of planning, investigation, and outlining. First, understanding the audience of the paper greatly assisted during the planning for this research (Addison & Sharon: 153). The issue of race and ethnic disparity is something that affects everyone; therefore, it was good to choose a topic that does not have a limited audience but to pick one that can have as many limitless audiences as possible. Based on the ideas and information that I have already acquired right from the beginning of schooling, it provided me with the good opportunity to understand the topic and its audience. Secondly, understanding the sources to consult for professional opinion was an excellent strategy during this research that also made every process that is involved in this research possible (Addison & Sharon, 2010). Race and ethnicity representation in media is an issue that can be explored widely through consultation of diverse sources including the media itself.

Sometimes it comes to my attention that the media might not be aware of what is happening; but the reality is that whether they are aware or not, they have a great influence on the way we, the audience perceive things and think as well. America has a long history when it comes to the issues of racial and ethnicity discrimination (Allen, 2010). The whites have the long history of being associated with the superiority figure and the blacks and other races getting treated as inferior or minor groups. Despite the effortless attempts by the US government and other stakeholders in the governorship of the country to fight off and eradicate the influence of racial and ethnic discrimination; the injustices and inequalities are still happening as if no one has ever heard of them. Our society continues to experience the most tragic cases of social discriminations (Guntlett, 2008); however, they are treated with a lot of reluctance that depicts the inability of the country to end the menace of racial and ethnic discrimination that does not seem to end but root deeper into our society. The persistence of this problem is hugely contributed by the media.

As we had mentioned in the previous section that the media has a great influence in the way we think and understand things; it depicts clearly how we can understand the term race and ethnicity. What media brings out is that people can be identified and classified based on their physical traits or even their skin color. Additionally, understanding the groups traits will also help one to understand the social and cultural practices of that group. The media fails to understand that the concept of race and ethnicity is just like any ideology that can be understood differently by different people (Spencer, 2014). The way the media depicts the topic of discussion is not the way that the audience understands it. Many people watch movies and TV shows but I am confidently sure that not everyone gets the same picture about the concept of race and ethnicity representation in the media.

Some of the major issues that caught my attention during this research include the need to understand the historical aspects of the topic so as to be able to get the wider picture of how various things have changed while some have not changed at all. The discussion of race and ethnicity misrepresentation in the media is not a new topic of discussion. Maybe people have assumed and refused to accept the reality that the truth is that certain groups of people continue to enjoy the cool social environment over the expense of the others. Historically we understand that the black people acted as slaves in America (Spencer, 2014). For many decades during the slavery period, the black or any other minority groups like the Latin Americans, Chinese and Indians had been denied the opportunity to call America their home. The whites have always been the dominant group for many years. Even after the country attained its independence, there are cases of injustices that still lie unsolved in the police stations and no one is doing anything about them. The fact that there is a certain group of race that enjoys more privileges than the other because they are perceived to be dominant has made it impossible to solve the cases that lie within the police departments.

The fact that any other race other than the white was treated with low dignity and as a minority has extended the effects into the society (Brooks & Lisa, 2006). As we can see in the modern society, nothing has changed as far as racial and ethnic discrimination is concerned. Historically, America got its independence but there is nowhere documented that only the whites were the people who fought for the independence. Every race irrespective of their size of population or skin of color fought equally for the freedom that America is now enjoying. Therefore, it would be very wrong to continue denying them the chance to enjoy the privileges that they also fought for. The fact that the minority groups like the African-Americans had little or no power to fight for their rightful privileges does not mean that they should continue enduring the painful experiences of being denied the chance to enjoy being in America and all the social, economic and political benefits that come with it (Spencer, 2014).

Another major issue that was evident in my research was the fact that the issue of race and ethnicity misrepresentation still...