STORIES ABOUT BLACK MEN IN THE MEDIA

Historically, media have presented black males in a stereotypical and unfavorable light as violence prone, criminal, lazy, unintelligent, and buffoonish (Berkowitz, 2008; Bogle, 2001; Dixon and Linz, 2000; Stroman et al., 1989). It is outside the scope of this article to review a complete history of stereotypes of African Americans in the media. However, one historical example may help put this in context: Entman and Rojecki (2001) reference a historical advertisement published in March 1796 in a newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina: the City Gazette. The advertisement read, “Fifty Prime Negroes for sale on Tuesday the 15th of March.” The ad completed its description by indicating “the wenches are young and improving; the boys, girls and children are remarkably smart. Fitted for either house or plantation work” (Mehlinger, 1970, p. 129). While the descendants of those mentioned in this advertisement are no longer referred to as Negroes and instead are recognized interchangeably as blacks or African Americans, their media portrayals continue to be steeped in symbolic racism, arguably not too different from the image projected in this ad published 200 years ago (Entman and Rojecki, 2001).

MEDIA STEREOTYPES OF BLACK MEN

Although there has been an increase in portrayals of African American men in media stories in present-day contexts, the representations continue to be negative and stereotypical. Within news-reporting contexts, for instance, scholars continue to document ways racial coding impacts racial attitudes and behaviors (Dixon, 2015; Dixon and Linz, 2000; Entman and Rojecki, 2001). News reports often use subtle cues and visual codes that rationalize white superiority and present black men as disruptive and troublesome. Beyond portraying black males in stereotypical ways, news stories also play a role in implicitly influencing audiences' perceptions of why racial inequalities exist in society. Research documents that news stories about black men often attribute their failures to personal deficiencies such as incompetence or lack of motivation rather than to systemic factors such as discrimination or lack of access (Pan and Kosicki, 1993; Ramasubramanian, 2010).

In addition to stories in the news media, negative stories about black men from fictional media such as television, film, and video games continue to distort realities about black men and to exert negative influences (Bogle, 2001; Ford, 1997). In video games, for example, there is a tendency to portray men as aggressive in general; however, even there, the story about white men and black men differs (Burgess et al., 2011). Whereas white men's aggression is presented more often as socially sanctioned (e.g., police and soldiers), black men's aggression is presented as being criminal and dangerous. The reality of black men as policemen and soldiers is a story that's not told here. The story that is told is one of black men as the dangerous minority, brandishing extreme weapons (Burgess et al., 2011). While white males were overrepresented and black males were underrepresented in this study on video games, black men were more likely to be shown as fighting than white men and white men were far more likely to be depicted using technology (implying perhaps intelligence and/or affluence) than black men. Not a single black man was represented as a soldier in this sample, which is not in sync with reality. Interestingly, white men were much more likely than black men to be shown wearing protective armor. Taken together, this is indeed a negative and judgmental story about black men, suggesting that black men are violent, commit crimes, have disproportionately powerful bodies, and do not need armor to protect themselves when compared with whites. It has also been shown that, in video games, mere exposure to black male characters evokes greater aggressive thoughts than does exposure to white male characters among white players (Burgess et al., 2011). The authors interpreted these differences as likely being caused by the idea that black men are seen as threatening and aggressive. The black male body had become symbolic of violence (Dill and Burgess, 2012).

COUNTERSTEREOTYPES AND POSITIVE MEDIA PORTRAYALS

Recent research suggests that while stereotypes in the media can negatively influence audiences, representations that run counter to stereotypes, or “counterstereotypes” (also referred to as “countertypes”), can reduce prejudice (see, e.g., Holt, 2013; Ramasubramanian, 2011, 2015). For example, representations of black men as kind and law abiding in contrast to typical stereotypes of being violence prone and criminal would be counterstereotypes. Research on positive exemplars (prototypical examples of a case) and on countertypes (counterstereotypical images and stories) both indicate the need for change in our portrayal of black men and the positive consequences promised by such change. For example, likely because of the attributions made when one violates expectations positively, positive exemplars of black men have been rated more highly than positive exemplars of white men (Dill and Burgess, 2012). On the other end of the spectrum, negative exemplars of black men are rated less favorably than negative exemplars of black men (Dill and Burgess, 2012).

When white audiences' form emotional bonds through fictional narratives and media stories with admirable black celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, it can lead to favorable attitudes toward blacks in general, an effect known as parasocial contact (Ramasubramanian, 2011, 2015). In another study (Dill and Burgess, 2012), researchers investigated the difference that exposure to stereotypical versus counterstereotypical portrayals of African American men made on pro-black attitudes and on reactions toward either a white or a black male political candidate with the same credentials. After viewing stereotypical images, a black male candidate was rated less favorably than a white male candidate with the same credentials. In contrast, after viewing counterstereotypical images, the black male candidate was rated more favorably than the white male candidate. These differences held for ratings of global favorability, capability, and likability, and even for behavioral intentions to vote for a particular candidate.

The premise of such research, based on the priming paradigm, is that simply bringing to mind a stereotype or a counterstereotype is sufficient to influence subsequent judgments, beliefs, and behavioral intentions. Taken together, these research results indicate that exposure to stereotypes influences beliefs and intentions toward black men negatively while exposure to counterstereotypes influences these same outcomes positively. In the long run, one very important question is the relative availability of stereotypical cultural representations of black men as compared to the availability of counterstereotypes. The hope is that adequate counterstereotypical representation will improve social outcomes and also reduce the effects of dominant cultural stereotypes themselves. This body of scholarship makes a case for the need for diverse and complex portrayals of black men in the media.

MEANING MAKING AND AUDIENCE RESPONSES

Ours is not a hypodermic model of media exposure. In other words, human beings do not react like automatons to the content they view, but bring with them experiences, emotions, and beliefs that shape their perceptions, understanding, and responses to mediated stories. In fact, fictional narratives evoke strong emotions and can be a forum for working out personal social issues (see, e.g., Oatley, 1999). Thus, the experience differs from person to person. We ask: What difference do the stories about black men from our shared culture make to black men and to others?

Because media are often seen as trivial, our exposure to the stories media tell—for example, stories about black men—are also seen as trivial. This is perhaps due, in part, to a common belief that entertainment media are primarily sources of simple, hedonic enjoyment. In simple terms, media viewing is just for fun and therefore not meaningful. However, the latest research in media psychology calls this perspective into question (e.g., Oliver and Bartsch, 2011). While some media experiences are undoubtedly light and fun, others have much more depth and consequence. In the case of the stories we tell about black men, as we have seen here, the stories we entertain in the culture influence not only how black males see themselves, but how others see black males.

In terms of how such stories impact blacks themselves, studies such as those conducted by Parker and Moore (2014) provide important insights. These scholars conducted a qualitative study on African American college males' perceptions of their own representation in the media. Their findings uncovered two relevant themes. One is that the respondents were highly aware of the prevalence of the negative portrayals, particularly of black males, in both digital and traditional media. The second major theme was the idea that America has evolved to a postracial society (an era without racism or discrimination) is a fallacy (Parker and Moore, 2014).

Exposure to negative stereotypes in the media, especially by heavier consumers of media, leads to the formation of entrenched stereotypes by white audiences about black men, which extend from beliefs to policy opinions of viewers (Abraham and Appiah, 2006; Armstrong et al., 1992; Dixon and Azocar, 2007; Tan et al., 2000). Even subtle cues in media that stereotype black men can be sufficient to activate both explicit and implicit biases. Explicit bias refers to conscious endorsement of stereotypes whereas implicit bias refers to subtle judgments that operate at the subconscious level. Such media cues lead to misidentification of criminal suspects as black, and lead to lesser support for pro-minority policies such as affirmative action (Oliver and Fonash, 2002; Ramasubramanian, 2011). These effects are especially strong when direct face-to-face contact is absent between racial groups (Fujioka, 1999; Ramasubramanian, 2013). These negative stories of black males in the media also have detrimental self-stereotyping effects on blacks themselves (Fujioka, 2005). Exposure to these negative portrayals can reduce black men's self-esteem and self-efficacy (Opportunity Agenda, 2012). Furthermore, we know that there are racial differences in criminal sentencing that result in disproportional numbers of black men getting the death penalty. Also, police simulations indicate that black men are disproportionately more likely than white men to be shot in these scenarios (Opportunity Agenda, 2012).

Box 9-1 tells the story of how the image of black men affected the experience of one young black man, Martese Johnson. Johnson experienced firsthand violent treatment and the frustration of others mistaking who they think you are because you are a black man (more on that and on possible solutions in Box 9-1). Now, we turn to the particular topic of black men's health and tie it to cultural stereotypes that are often propagated by the media.

BOX 9-1

On the Need to Amplify Black Male Voices.

MEDIA AND AFRICAN AMERICAN HEALTH OUTCOMES

The stigmatization of black men extends to the health domain because media disseminate stories and ideas about black men that have consequences, as described above. Prejudice and discrimination, which are psychological factors and, in part, born of cultural transmissions, are factors in racial health disparities (Stuber et al., 2008). In the Lancet, Wailoo (2006) details how, historically, media have sent cultural messages about African Americans as disease carriers and as toxic to whites. Cultural messages can foster prejudice, which results in health disparities for the stigmatized group.

It remains vitally important to note that, over time, racial differentiation has been heavily influenced by what has been noticed, processed, interpreted, and remembered and even discarded about blacks in America. The racial status quo exists with whites at the apex of most American institutions and racial minorities at or near the bottom, overrepresented among the poor, and underrepresented in positions within government, higher education, corporate leadership, and health care (Larson, 2006). The infant mortality rate among blacks is twice that of whites. Black men are seven times more likely than whites to be diagnosed with HIV and more than twice as likely to die of prostate cancer (CDC, 2013).

In 1999, Congress requested a study from the Institute of Medicine on disparities in health care based on racial prejudice. The resulting report was entitled Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care (IOM, 2003). The major finding of the report was that racial and ethnic minorities were less likely to get proper medical treatment than nonminorities and that they also received lower-quality health care. Furthermore, a recent study by Anderson and colleagues (2014) concluded that racial discrimination is a major source of stress for black people, and therefore the discrimination experienced by black parents may directly or indirectly affect their parenting skills and ultimately their child's well-being.

A growing number of researchers have argued that pervasive racism, including that fostered by the media, has an adverse impact on the health conditions of blacks and other racial minorities (Williams and Williams-Morris, 2000). Nairn and colleagues (2006) agree that media contribute to marginalizing minorities such as by characterizing groups of people as dangerous and problematic. They argue that, “International literature has established that racism contributes to ill-health of migrants, ethnic minorities, and indigenous peoples. Racism generally negates well-being, adversely affecting physical and psychological health” (Nairn et al., 2006, p. 183). These negative outcomes include mental health deficits (Nairn et al., 2006). Their conclusion is that we should treat racism, including institutional racism fostered by media, as a public health concern. Noting that Canada advocated a movement to change anti-Muslim coverage and that New Zealand called for something similar regarding media coverage of their native Maori people, Nairn and colleagues (2006) called for “media racism” to become its own field of study.

Hodgetts (2006, p. 171) positions media as a source of “shared experience”—in other words, culture. While he, like us, does not construe media effects through a hypodermic model, he postulates that viewers grapple with information they see in the media, including healthy and unhealthy messages, and decide what to do with that information. Hodgetts (2006) discusses the idea that crime and violence reporting and coverage should be considered part of health news, for some of the reasons we have mentioned above. For instance, when we stereotype black men as violent, we not only instill fear in others, but we also evoke stress and resulting negative health outcomes in black men. In other words, when we tell false stories about an entire demographic, we cause stress and ill health and even aggression in not only that demographic, but in others who encounter them. Bottom line: Telling these stories about black men is unhealthy for black men and unhealthy for others in society, both psychologically and physically. Hodgetts and Stolte (2009) cautioned that with regard to race, media deliver both healthy and unhealthy information. This latter conclusion suggests, as we outline here, that media literacy interventions are an important step in healing the physical, mental, and social problems stemming from racism in the media.

On a related note, although media are a part of the problem, they can also be part of the solution. For instance, technology-based, mediated communication is providing improvements in accessing health care information. A 1999 longitudinal study sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation investigated the role of media as a health information source (Brodie et al., 1999). The study, which included white, African American, and Latino participants, found that a large majority of the 3,400 interviewed rely heavily on the media compared with other sources for information about health care, with television being the most preferred among African Americans (>50 percent). African American and white respondents were asked to rate their perceptions of the general market and racial representation, and fairness of minority portrayals in the context of health topics being discussed in the media. Blacks specifically reported dissatisfaction with the manner in which media address health problems that affect them and equal levels of dissatisfaction with the way media represent and portray black people and black families in health care–related information.

USING DIGITAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES FOR SOCIAL GOOD

Overall, 86 percent of all blacks use the Internet, with 73 percent of them using it as a gateway to engage with social media sites. That number grows to 96 percent when measuring 18- to 24-year-olds according to a Pew Research Center study (Smith, 2013). This report provides two important insights: (1) widespread Internet use by blacks provides access to health care information that may have been unavailable to them in the past through traditional media sources, and (2) younger generations of blacks are more likely to use social media sites for purposes that extend beyond health care.

In addition to having the same historical broadcast channels that have moved from analog to digital formats, media proliferation is in full swing with the growth of cable television, satellite radio, and DirecTV, which offers its subscribers over 700 channels of content including in-demand Hollywood movies (Team, 2015). There are also blogs, social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as user-generated content sites such as YouTube and Instagram that all can be accessed using a mobile platform.

With the International Telecommunications Union reporting mobile penetration of 87 percent and a research study conducted by the Pew Research Center (Smith, 2013) indicating that 92 percent of all African Americans own a mobile phone, mobile computing can become a medium of change for reducing racism and improving the health of black Americans. With greater than 56 percent of mobile phones owned by blacks being smartphone devices, and 19 percent of smartphone owners having at least one health-related app on their smartphone, blacks can have virtually unlimited access to fitness information, specifically, blood pressure, physical activity, and stress, effectively equipping them to address health-related problems, especially those that are often attributed to black culture, without interference or false representation (Smith, 2013).

ALTERNATIVE STORYTELLING FOR BLACK VOICES

Apart from encouraging diverse and positive portrayals of black men in mainstream media, it is important to foster alternative media spaces for black voices to be amplified and heard. One such community-based initiative that directly addresses black masculinity is Question Bridge (see Belcher, 2014, and Ramasubramanian, 2015, for more details). This participatory, transmedia, public art project challenges existing stereotypes of black men by providing counternarratives rarely seen in mainstream media. By using over 1,500 microdocumentaries with black men to create a virtual dialogic exchange, Question Bridge provides a rich alternative platform to showcase the complex and fluid identity of black men. Questions range from the everyday mundane to the transcendental and spiritual. This initiative combines the website with other media formats such as geolocation hotspots, mobile applications, live public discussions, museum displays, and virtual street installations to engage audiences in an innovative and interesting way.

When it comes to promoting interracial harmony, another promising method we can harness for improvement is to use new media, including immersive media such as video games and virtual reality, to change hearts and minds. Bachen and colleagues (2012) used a simulation game to enhance intercultural empathy. This game, called REAL LIVES, allows players to choose an identity at the intersection of race and gender—for instance, choosing to be a black boy. Their research indicated that pretending to be a character of another race and witnessing that character's experiences and the reactions he received was enough to enhance empathy as well as an interest in learning more about other cultures.

Others have extended this work to virtual reality realms. For example, Groom and colleagues (2009) found that those who had controlled a black avatar in an immersive virtual environment were less apt to show implicit racial bias outside of that environment than those who had controlled a white avatar. These researchers suggest that virtual racial embodiment be used to heighten racial empathy and decrease negative racial attitudes. In a similar study, Peck and colleagues (2013) found that experiencing compelling embodiment of a dark-skinned avatar by light-skinned participants reduced implicit racial bias as measured by the Implicit Association Test.

MEDIA LITERACY AND ANTIRACISM

As concerned citizens and educators, it is important to learn and teach about the ways media stories shape our ideas about the world and ourselves through media literacy education. Anyone with a smartphone or Internet access in the new digital media context is potentially a media “prosumer” who is simultaneously both a producer and a consumer of media messages. Therefore, media literacy is a crucial lifelong skill to be practiced so we can use media in just, responsible, and inclusive ways. Research shows that media literacy training can reduce racial prejudice and make media users more critical of the ways mainstream media depict racial minorities (Ramasubramanian, 2007; Scharrer and Ramasubramanian, 2015). However, very few media literacy initiatives currently address racial/ethnic stereotypes in their programs.

The role of media in America, and its description and reporting of group action and protest often characterized as movements, has both a complicated past and an even more complex present. Numerous examples exist that demonstrate how various media practices over the years attempt to influence audience opinions about the significance of certain social movements from the antiwar campaign to gender equality protest staged by gay and lesbian organizations to the more recent Black Lives Matter movement (Gamson and Modigliani, 1989; Terkildsen and Schnell, 1977).

Gamson and Wolfsfeld (1993) provide additional context and insight into this phenomenon by positing that while media and the nature of movements are somewhat dependent upon one another, the media enjoy the more powerful position. In fact all movements, social or otherwise, must rely on media in three important ways: (1) mobilization of political support, (2) legitimization in the mainstream discourse, and (3) to broaden the conflict. Although Gamson and Wolfsfeld's ideological construct remains important to the success of most movements, the 21st century may ignite a shift in mainstream media's balance of power, due in part to how new mediums and modalities can be used to aid social movements such as the BLM movement in both media creation and message distribution (Barker, 2008).

RESEARCH AGENDA

Given this review of the state of media racism in the United States and its costs to society, both social and health related, we suggest the following research agenda. As outlined above, because media messages are complex, the solution must include a more educated public. A review of the current problems in the U.S. educational system is beyond the scope of this article. Having said that, it is imperative that we find space in our schools to educate our children in media literacy. Such education is not optional; it is critical to being a healthy and productive citizen in our current media-rich climate. Canada knows this and is far ahead of us in media literacy training (e.g., Media Smart Canada [mediasmart.ca]).

Scharrer and Ramasubramanian (2015) reviewed literature on both quantitative and qualitative studies of media literacy interventions for media racism and found that both types of research are rare, but show promise for each type of intervention. We therefore propose that it will be important, moving forward, to follow up on both quantitative and qualitative investigations of the effects of media literacy interventions on race. One important finding that should be considered in future research is the idea that both factors of the message and factors of the audience should be considered when educating people on media literacy (Ramasubramanian, 2007; Scharrer and Ramasubramanian, 2015). The literature on the effectiveness of such interventions is small, so there is much to learn from new tests of interventions. For instance, what aspects of the message and of audience factors are most helpful in reducing prejudice? What instructional aspects (e.g., peer teachers, active learning, and media-based interventions) of the media literacy training make a difference? What is the role of social media in combating media racism?

Qualitative research on media literacy has tended to focus on ethnic minorities as recipients of the interventions (Scharrer and Ramasubramanian, 2015). Results have indicated that minorities can respond to negative stereotypes about themselves with plans to change their own behaviors, sometimes not questioning white privilege (Scharrer and Ramasubramanian, 2015, p. 177). It is important for future work to target the privileged majority and also to target mixed-race groups of students. This would allow for dialogue about responsibility for messaging and for responding to messaging that is derogatory to any one race. Mixed-race groups could be tasked with working together to address the problem. Furthermore, an exploration of the stereotypes present in the school environment and what students, parents, and teachers can do to combat that will be important.

We also suggest more qualitative interviewing with both majority and minority members to learn more about our individual lived experiences with stories about race. The premise, for example, of narrative inquiry (Josselson, 2013) is that the interviewer forms a relationship with the interviewee and then does her best to get out of the way of the interviewee to learn about her lived experience. Another important assumption of this type of narrative inquiry is that the researcher does not know what the participant will say and must be open to hearing what the participant is saying and be resistant to answering the questions posed as she herself would answer.

Thus far we know more about the nature of the messages in the media, mostly via content analysis, than we know about the lived experiences of those who consume the messages. Though we mentioned that most of the narrative inquiries have used minority participants, it is true that most research studies on media effects generally focus on majority participants and the segments of our population who enjoy more privilege. Therefore, we do call for more research that gives voice to minority participants. Since this paper is about black men in particular, we call for more research that gives voice to the lived experience of black men. Questions asked might focus on the stories about their own group that they have perceived as coming from the media. It also may include any experiences where everyday people cite media stories as justification for racism.

Finally, given that we know a skewed representation of black men in the media exists, and given the evidence that negative stereotypes harm and positive images help black men and our society in general, we call for less stereotypical representations of black men in storytelling. A recent example of counterstereotypes in the media would be the main characters in the latest Star Wars film. Finn (a black man) and Rey (a white woman) are friends, are extremely likeable, and are the primary characters of a major motion picture. While some may trivialize the importance of this kind of storytelling, its importance cannot be underestimated.

CONCLUSIONS

Right now, history has made abundantly clear the fact that shared cultural stereotypes of black men are contributing to brutality and injustice toward black men. The subject of police shootings and disproportional imprisonment of black men are frequently in the news. News and entertainment narratives about black men lead to discrimination, to stress, and to negative psychological and physical health consequences that are also taking a disproportionate toll on black men in America. One hundred and fifty years after the Civil War, our inability to offer real equality to black men in the United States is clearly apparent. But, at the same time, with our first African American male completing a second historic term as president, we see that there is cause for optimism. As challenging and distressing as the current state of race relations in the United States is today, social science research points to media as an avenue of hope and change. These avenues include the shared culture of storytelling, news, entertainment, art, and literature. They also extend to new technologies such as a variety of forms of immersive media including virtual reality and video games. Popular media have been part of the problem in racial understanding for years. As we look for opportunities for positive change, there is evidence to suggest that including popular media in the solution is a viable option.

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