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THE REPRESENTATION OF FEMALE AFRICAN MONEJAH BLACK AMERICAN COLLEGE NATHANIEL FREDERICK, PHD, FACULTY STUDENTS ON MENTOR EMMANUEL NWACHUKWU, FACULTY TELEVISION: A MENTOR CONTENT ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION OF A DIFFERENT WINTHROP UNIVERSITY WORLD AND GROWN-ISH INTRODUCTION Source: Wikipedia Commons Source: Fan Art TV •1987-1993 • 2018-present •Spin-off of The Cosby • College • Spin-off of Black-ish: experience of Show: black female the female black female daughter daughter (Denise African (Zoey Johnson) American lead attends California Huxtable) attends Hillman Predominantly Historically Black character University (PWI) White College (HBCU) College or University Institution Source: HBCU Buzz Source: TV Over Mind WHY IT MATTERS The representation of the female AA college student The representation of the college experience PWI non-minority students who have limited first-hand experience with AAs prior to/during college Who’s watching? What are they learning? High school students who have limited knowledge of what to expect in college LITERATURE REVIEW The Social Construction Sitcoms and African of the African American American Portrayal on Family on Television Television Television as a Vicarious Perceived Realism Experience THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY ON TELEVISION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE COSBY SHOW AND BLACK-ISH Differences in How AA family is Similarities in family Textual analysis on willingness to address constructed on demographics (well- The Cosby Show and certain topics such as television, evolved rounded, educated, Black-ish racial issues and over time suburban) stereotypes Stamps (2008) Source: Amazon Source: NPR SITCOMS AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PORTRAYAL ON TELEVISION Situational Comedy • Comical, yet expected to be Characters with Tells us how to run traits the audience moral our lives relate to • “The producers seem to have forgotten that you can’t raise a Berman moral issue and play with it— (1987) people expect you to solve it. …it exploits social issues Provides perspective Enact realistic life on certain aspects of without making sense of them” occurrences life Berman (1987) SITCOMS…CONTINUED African American Portrayal on Television Source: Slate Magazine Source: YouTube Source: IMDb Minstrelsy Era Nonrecognition Assimilation Era (1950 to 1953) Era (1954 to 1967) Amos ‘N’ Andy, (1968 to 1971) Beulah Car 54, Where Are You?, Hogan’s The Bill Cosby Heroes Show*, Julia (Means Coleman, 2005) SITCOMS…CONTINUED African American Portrayal on Television Source: Fame Focus Source: TV Series Finale Source: CliqueClack Lear Era Black Family Diversity (Cosby Neo- (1972 to 1983) Ye a r s ) Minstrelsy Era Sanford and Son, (1984 to 1989) (1990 to 1998) Good Times, The Jeffersons The Cosby Show, A Martin, The Different World, Wayans Bros. 227 (Means Coleman, 2005) SITCOMS…CONTINUED African American Portrayal on Television Source: One News Now Source: Amazon Source: Wikipedia Source: Sim International Source: ShareTV Source: DirecTV TELEVISION AS A VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE • Vicarious experience: Knowledge gained through means other than direct experience • Television is a “window on the world” for providing children, families, and communities information otherwise not available to them (Graves 1999) • Televised role portrayals can lead to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination (Graves 1999) • Viewers are likely to believe TV as true to form, serves as knowledge gap for viewers without first-hand experience with another race (Ford 1997) PERCEIVED REALISM Five factors that contribute to narrative persuasion, which can then influence individual behavior and societal action (Cho et al. 2012) Factuality (Made up or Typicality not) Narrative Consistency (Similar to (Without real life) contradictions) Perceptual Plausibility Narrative Quality (Possible) Persuasion (Convincing audio and visuals) How was the lead female AA character portrayed? Source: Fan Art TV What is the predominant theme of each episode? RESEARCH How realistic were the portrayals QUESTIONS of the events in each episode? Did the episode resolve the conflict? Source: Wikipedia Commons What is the tone of the episode? • Content analysis of first season of A Different World (22 episodes) and Grown-ish (13 episodes) • Unit of analysis: Each episode = one unit • Coding for: – a set of character traits METHOD – overall theme – perceived realism – conflict resolution – tone • Analyzed using SPSS Chi Squared Fisher’s Exact Test METHOD Source: FreeForm Source: Variety Source: Black Girl Nerds Source: The Agony Booth RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS A Different World Grown-ish P-Value # of total # of total Y/N Y/N % Y/N Y/N% occurrences occurrences Anxious 17 12 (5) 71%(30%) 6 6 (0) 100% n.s. Enthusiastic 16 13 (3) 81% (19%) 10 8 (2) 80% (20%) n.s. Friendly 18 16 (2) 89% (11%) 10 9 (1) 90% (10%) n.s. n.s. Imaginative 12 11 (1) 92% (8%) 3 1 (2) 33% (67%) *marginally sig. Motivated 17 9 (8) 53% (47%) 7 5 (2) 71% (29%) n.s. Open-minded 18 15 (3) 83%(17%) 5 3 (2) 60% (40%) n.s. Organized 13 7 (6) 54% (46%) 3 1 (2) 33% (67%) n.s. Responsible 18 12 (6) 67% (33%) 11 4 (7) 36% (64%) n.s. Smart 17 12 (5) 70% (30%) 9 4 (5) 44% (56%) n.s. Sympathetic 18 16 (2) 89% (11%) 9 9 (0) 100% n.s. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Predominant Theme of Episodes 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Friendship Academics Drugs/Alcohol Money Romantic Race Other Relationships A Different World 27% 9% 0 9% 31% 0 22% Grown-ish 7% 0 15% 0 46% 14% 23% RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Quality Perception, Plausible, Ty p i c a l , F a c t u a l Consistent Narrative 100% 38% Quality Perception 100% Typical 73% 92% Plausible 95% 100% Consistent Narrative 61% 100% Factual 82% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Grown-ish A Different World 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Grown-ish A Different World RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 100% To n e 100% 70% 80% 60% 30% Conflict Resolution 40% 20% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 14% Positive Neutral Negative 80% 61% A Different World Grownish 60% 86% 40% 39% 20% 0% A Different World Grown-ish Yes No Grown-ish overall more culturally aware and established than A Different World More provocative and suggestive content in Grown-ish RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Grown-ish displays as more imaginative and fictional A Different World feels more in tune with the real world, with real problems IMPLICATIONS Perceived The portrayal of “…you can’t drugs/alcohol, Realism raise a moral race relations, issue and play academics, with it.” romantic (Berman 1987) relationships Narrative Persuasion Are the What is the resolutions to tone in the the conflicts discussion of sound and these topics? Individual reasonable? behavior and societal action LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS Small sample size of only 35 total episodes analyzed Content analysis emphasizes quantitative rather than qualitative data -Insufficient size to Research not exhaustive in data show statistical -Multiple methods available in the shows significance suitable for television -Expand sample size -Some characteristics analysis and themes to encompass several -Textual analysis for seasons unaccounted for or more in-depth not emphasized qualitative results -Implementing an approach that captures full data SELECTED REFERENCES • Berman, R. (1987). Sitcoms. Journal of Aesthetic Education,21(1), 5-19. doi:10.2307/3332810 • Chatmon, P., & Biermann, T. (Directors). (2018). Grown-ish [Television series]. Burbank, California: Freeform. • Cho, H., Shen, L., & Wilson, K. (2014). Perceived Realism: Dimensions and Roles in Narrative Persuasion. Communication Research, 41(6), 828–851. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650212450585 • Coleman, R. R. M., & McIlwain, C. (2005).The hidden truths in black sitcoms. In The Sitcom Reader: America Viewed and Skewed (pp. 125-137). State University of New York Press. • Graves, S. B. (1999). Television and Prejudice Reduction: When Does Television as a Vicarious Experience Make a Difference. Journal of Social Issues, 55(4), 707–727. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.winthropuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=3067677 • Punyanunt-Carter, N. (2008). The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television. Howard Journal of Communications, 19(3), 241–257. https://doi-org.winthropuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10646170802218263 • Stamps, D. (2017). The Social Construction of the African American Family on Broadcast Television: A Comparative Analysis of The Cosby Show and Blackish. Howard Journal of Communications, 28(4), 405–420. https://doi- org.winthropuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10646175.2017.1315688 • Werner, T. (Producer). (1987). A Different World [Television series]. New York City, New York: NBC. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr. Cheryl Fortner-Wood Dr. Nathaniel Frederick Professor Emmanuel Nwachukwu Winthrop McNair Scholars Program Fellow McNair Cohort Winthrop University QUESTIONS? EMAIL [email protected] HYPOTHESIS Grown-ish will A Different World portray more has more perceived diverse character realism, more traits and episode conflict resolution, themes and more serious tone Less perceived Less diverse realism, resolution character traits and of conflict, and episode themes serious tone CODING WORKSHEET Category Ye s No N/A Anxious Enthusiastic Friendly Imaginative Motivated Open-minded Organized Responsible Smart Sympathetic Other CODING WORKSHEET Category Yes No N/A Consistent Narrative Factual Plausible Quality Perception Typical CODING WORKSHEET ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS What is the predominant theme of the episode? • a) Friendship b) Academics c) Drugs/Alcohol d) Money e) Romantic Relationships f) Race e) Other Did the episode help resolve the conflict? • Yes or No What is the tone of the episode? • a) Positive b) Neutral c) Negative.
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