DOCUMENT RESUME ED 481 271 CS 512 496 TITLE Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (86th, Kansas City, Missouri, July 30-August 2,2003) .Entertainment Studies Interest Group. PUB DATE 2003-07-00 NOTE 263p.; For other sections of these proceedings, sPP CS 480-498. PUB TYPE Collected Works Proceedings (021) Reports Research (143) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Audience Analysis; *Cable Television; *Characterization; Comedy; *Females; Films; Higher Education; *Homosexuality; *Journalism Education; Marriage; Novels; Presidents of the United States; Racial Bias; Television Viewing IDENTIFIERS Framing (Communication Behavior); Identity (Psychological); Television News; Weddings ABSTRACT The Entertainment Studies Interest Group of the proceedings contains the following 9 papers: "Beyond Modern Racism: Backlash and Brutality on 'The Shield'" (John D. Richardson); "Big Brother and the T- Group: How We Might Learn from Reality Television" (Rod Allen and Nod Miller); "Hegemony and Counterhegemony in Bravo's 'Gay Weddings'" (Erika Engstrom); "Narrative Structure in 'Sex and the City':'I Couldn't Help But Wonder...'" (Cindy Royal); "The Elements of 'Weekend Update': Informing and Influencing through Late-Night Comedy" (Aaron Reincheld); "Crime, Romance and Sex: Washington Women Journalists in Recent Popular Fiction" (Stacy L. Spaulding and Maurine H. Beasley); "Television Viewing and Attitude Toward Marriage: Does Program Genre Make a Difference? (Sara Baker Netzley); "Partisan Politics in Popular American Political Movies: An Analysis of the Framing of Republican Villains in 'Dave','The American President' and 'The Contender'" (Julie Yioutas); and "Queer as Folk Audience Study: Gay Males, Social Support and Para-Social Involvement in Identity Construction or Reinforcement" (Laetitia J. Baehr) . (RS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication 86th, Kansas City, MO July 30-August 2, 2003 Entertainment Studies Interest Group Beyond Modern Racism: Backlash and Brutality on The Shield...John D. Richardson Big Brother and the T-Group: How We Might Learn from Reality Television...Rod Allen, Nod Miller Hegemony and Counterhegemony in Bravo's Gay Weddings, Erika Engstrom Narrative Structure in Sex in the City: "I Couldn't Help But Wonder..."...Cindy Royal The Elements of "Weekend Update": Informing and Influencing Through Late-Night Comedy...Aaron Reincheld Crime, Romance and Sex: Washington Women Journalists in Recent Popular Fiction...Stacy L. Spaulding, Maurine H. Beasley Television Viewing and Attitude Toward Marriage: Does Program Genre Make a Difference?...Sara Baker Netzley Partisan Politics in Popular American Political Movies: An Analysis of the Framing of Republican Villains in Dave, The American President and The Contender...Julie Yioutas Queer as Folk Audience Study: Gay Males, Social Support and Para-social Involvement in Identity Construction or Reinforcement...Laetitia J. Baehr U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY O This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 1 2 BEST COPYAVAILABLE Beyond Modern Racism Running Head: BEYOND MODERN RACISM squJA.3,-) Beyond Modern Racism: Backlash and Brutality on The Shield John D. Richardson Michigan State University Address Correspondence to: John D. Richardson 419 Communication Arts & Science Bldg. Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1212 Tel: 517-432-1334 [email protected] Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Kansas City, MO (July, 2003). t Beyond Modern Racism2 Abstract This paper examines representations of race in popular U.S. culture through a textual analysis of the cable television series, The Shield. Significations of modern racism and hegemonic racial ideology are examined. Focusing on the construction of white, black and Latino identities, and relationships among them, ways in which The Shield promotes overt racism, including backlash and police brutality against racial minorities, are also considered. Theoretical implications for popular conceptions concerning race and crime are discussed. Key Words: MASS MEDIA, TELEVISION, RACE, RACISM, BACKLASH, CRIME 4 Beyond Modern Racism3 Beyond Modern Racism: Backlash and Brutality on The Shield Introduction Over time, media representations of race exert considerable influence over popular conceptions. Hall (2003) observed that: "...the media construct for us a definition of what race is, what meaning the imagery of race carries, and what the 'problem of race' is understood to be. They help to classify out the world in terms of the categories of race" (p. 90). Studies also suggest that belief systems concerning race influence attitudes concerning crime and punishment (see, e.g., Gilliam et al., 1997). In popular American culture, television is the dominant medium. Portrayals of police and criminals are a television staple. Therefore, television portrayals of police officers interacting with members of different racial groups presents a particularly useful site for exploring popular conceptions of race and crime. Against the backdrop of modern racism and portrayals of race in other contemporary media, this paper presents a textual analysis of the cable television police drama, The Shield. Finding that The Shield goes well beyond modern racism, overtly promoting backlash and police brutality against racial minorities, theoretical implications of this lurch away from civil rights and diversity are discussed. Theoretical Background Attitudes toward Race Modern Racism For some time now in American society, public expression of racist beliefs has been socially unacceptable (Sears, 1988). Blatantly racist remarks nearly disappeared from the popular media more than three decades ago (Entman, 1992). To many people, facts such as these suggest 5 Beyond Modern Racism4 that racism may be all but eliminated: "Present talk about race is dominated by debates about the very nature of racism's existence and about what evidence sufficiently proves its persistence in our day" (Dyson, 1993, p. 148). Nevertheless, there are indications many white people continue to harbor racist attitudes. For instance, in a study that cleverly worked around social presentational concerns, Kuklinski and colleagues (1997) determined that 42% of southern whites, and about 10% of non-southern whites get angry at the mere thought of a black family moving in next door. Modern racism (or symbolic racism) refers to an "updated and somewhat veiled" form of negative sentiment against racial minorities (McConahay, 1986; see also, Entman, 1990, 1992; Sears, 1988). Modern racism is characterized by: (1) a diffuse emotional hostility toward racial minorities, (2) resistance to the political demands of racial minorities, and (3) belief that racism has been eliminatedno longer inhibiting achievement by racial minorities. Evidence supports the psychometric validity of McConahay's measure of modern racism and the construct has been accepted widely, albeit not universally (see, e.g., Bobo, 1988; Roth, 1990). Unlike older forms of racism, modern racism tends to be expressed inferentially, rather than overtly. Overt expressions of racism include the use of racial slurs, suggestions that racial minority groups are inherently inferior and/or deserving of lesser treatment, and support for racial segregation. In contrast, modern racist representations are embedded with premises that reinforce antagonism against racial minorities more subtly. For instance, news accounts exaggerating the frequency of black-on-white crime heighten anti-black hostility; portrayals of successful racial minorities may suggest that affirmative action is unnecessary because racism no longer exists (Entman, 1990; Gray, 1989). Backlash Beyond Modern Racism 5 In the context of race relations, backlash refers to an exaggerated, hostile overreaction (possibly including violence) by a dominant ethnic group in response to influx or demands by a suppressed ethnic group. Backlash is an overt manifestation extending beyond modern racism. Backlash entered the public discourse in the 1960s to describe resistance by southern whites to anti-segregation policies. Alabama Governor George Wallace's strident defiance of school desegregation efforts by federal authorities is an archetypal symbol of backlash (Sears, 1988). However, backlash is neither so recent a phenomenon nor is it restricted to whites. A review by Bergessen and Herman (1998) described backlash by Anglos against Irish immigrants in the 1840s, by whites against blacks in midwestern cities between 1915 and 1925, and by blacks against Latinos and Asians in south central Los Angeles, manifesting in riots in 1992. Backlash is, of course, a supremely ugly and unreasonable phenomenon, especially when rising to the level of actual violence. The cause(s) of backlash are not yet fully understood. Bergessen and Herman's (1998) hyper-ethnic