Television and Societal Effects: An Analysis of Media Images of African-Americans in Historical Context

Authors

Sherri L. Burr, University of New Mexico - School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2001

Abstract

This paper takes a historical approach to the depictions of African-Americans in television in the five decades since the 1950s and links those images to the changing roles and perceptions of African-Americans in society. Part I discusses the various television shows from the 1950s to the 1990s that featured African-Americans and have had a societal impact. Part II analyzes the chicken/egg relationship between networks and advertisers and asks whether television, given the economic forces affecting it, can be used as a force for change. Part III explores how these television images have affected foreigners and children. Television remains "without a doubt the world's most popular leisure activity." When network television is so widely available, its status increases as an important vehicle for depicting cultural images of our population to virtually everyone in society.

Publication Title

Journal of Gender, Race and Justice

Volume

4

Issue

2

First Page

159

Last Page

182

Recommended Citation

Sherri L. Burr, Television and Societal Effects: An Analysis of Media Images of African-Americans in Historical Context, 4 Journal of Gender, Race and Justice 159 (2001).
Available at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/law_facultyscholarship/633