Race & Television
Until the 1980's, whiteness was consistently naturalized in the television industry. "This whiteness has not been culturally monochrome. Irish, Italians, Jews, Poles, British, French, Germans, Russians, whether as ethnic entities or national representatives, have dotted the landscape of TV drama, providing the safe spice of white life, entertaining trills and flourishes over the pattern of social whiteness." ( ) What was consistently projected was the naturalness and normalcy of social whiteness.
For too long television in the US has had slandered view of being a white nation, with some marginal ethnic masses that were at their best when they could simply be ignored, like well-trained and deferential maids and doormen. Racism can stereotype groups differently and in my opinion class is often essential here. Racism in the United States is twofold, you are either a person of color or you are not. People of mixed descent are not permitted to confuse the issue, but belong automatically to a minority group of color.
The televisual hegemony of social whiteness has been critiqued, either on television itself, or on video, or in print, it has most often tended to focus on African-American issues. Yet in reviewing racism and ethnicity in U.S. television we need not downplay four centuries of African-American experience and contribution in order to recognize as well the importance of Native American nations, Chicanos and other Latinos, and Asian-Americans in all their variety. Too often all of these races are serotyped and denounced by social biased views implemented by society.
Source:
Downing , J. (1998). Racism, ethnicity and television. Retrieved from http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=racismethni
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