Thesis Ideas

Rochelle Ballantyne

Thesis Introduction

As society evolves media becomes more and more engrained in our daily lives. From Twitter to CNN, BET to People Magazine, the media plays the role of informer and connector. On the other hand, aside from reporting on the latest hash tag, or domestic crisis, there are adverse effects to the media’s scope. Specifically, the media has the ability to shape opinion and mainstream culture, it is actually fascinating how susceptive we are to the opinions of popular news outlets. However, this becomes dangerous when we consider the role the media plays in shaping public perception about communities of color. There is a noticeable trend of news outlets perpetuating the idea that people of color are a threat. Not only does the media report mainly on crime pertaining to people of color, but they also tend to over exaggerate and misrepresent the victim. Thus, the media, by distorting reality through its broadcasts, creates its own reality which in turn has an effect on policy making that disproportionately affects communities of color.

When I was younger, I watched an average amount of TV; the lack of diversity or the portrayal of black people in a certain demeanor resulted in me being ashamed of my blackness. I began to wonder if everyone else is as impressionable and how that could affect one’s actions towards certain communities. After further research I learned that the media goes further than impress ideas onto people; these ideas can turn into policy. If the public thinks crime is a major issue in their community because of what they see on TV, it could result in their representatives justifying pushing for harsher anti-crime laws. Further, if news stations consistently show a specific group of people committing these crimes, you are more likely to make general unfounded and negative assumptions about that group. Overall I’m interested in the psychological effects of the images and ideas released by the media on its viewers, but also, the history of how we got to a point where negative pervasive ideas of people of color have become normalized. How has media become such a pivotal role in our everyday lives but also has it always been like this? By this I mean, has the media always portrayed people of color in a negative light? I would imagine so because of slavery and Jim Crow but what allows for the continuation of the use of negative portrayals of communities of color?  In addition, how do other social media outlets such as “Black Twitter” resist these narratives and create their own to push for black liberation and the decriminalization of black people? How do we end the cycle?

One of the problems I’m struggling with is making my thesis unique. I don’t want to say what’s already been said. Further I have been thinking a lot about the idea of writing for service, I want my thesis to be informative and have an impact. In terms of sources, I’m not sure yet where or how I can find this information or what information I’m looking for necessary but some articles I found related to the topic include:

Busselle, Rick, and Heather Crandall. "Television Viewing and Perceptions About Race Differences in Socioeconomic Success." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 46.2 (2002): 265-82. Web.

Geis, F.l., Virginia Brown, Joyce (Walstedt) Jennings, and Natalie Porter. "TV Commercials as Achievement Scripts for Women." Sex Roles 10.7-8 (1984): n. pag. Web.

Ward, L. Monique. “Wading Through the Stereotypes: Positive and Negative Associations Between Media Use and Black Adolescents’ Conceptions of Self.” Developmental Psychology 40.2 (2004): 284-294. Web

Bandura, Albert. "Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication." Media Psychology 3.3 (2001): 265-99. Web.

Dixon, Travis L., and Cristina Azocar L. "Priming Crime and Activating Blackness: Understanding the Psychological Impact of the Overrepresentation of Blacks as Lawbreakers on Television News." J Communication Journal of Communication 57.2 (2007): 229-53. Web.

Ford, Thomas E. "Effects of Stereotypical Television Portrayals of African-Americans on Person Perception." Social Psychology Quarterly 60.3 (1997): 266. Web.

Mastro, Dana E., and Bradley Greenberg S. "The Portrayal of Racial Minorities on Prime Time Television." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media44.4 (2000): 690-703. Web.

Oliver, Mary Beth. "African American Men as “criminal and Dangerous”: Implications of Media Portrayals of Crime on the “criminalization” of African American Men." Journal of African American Studies 7.2 (2003): 3-18. Web.

Libby Lewis, The Myth of Post-Racialism in Television News  (New York: Routledge Taylor &

Francis Group, 2016)

Entman and Rojecki, eds., The Black Image in the White Mind: Race and the Media

Travis L. Dixon and Daniel Linz, “Overrepresentation and Underrepresentation of African Americans and Latinos as Lawbreakers on Television News,” Journal of Communication, June 2000.

Steven Macek, Urban Nightmares

Franklin D. Gilliam Jr., Nicholas A. Valentino and Matthew N. Beckmann, “Where You Live and What You Watch: The Impact of Racial Proximity and Local Television News on Attitudes about Race and Crime,” Political Research Quarterly, December 2002.

Franklin D. Gilliam Jr. and Shanto Iyengar, “Prime Suspects: The Influence of Local Television News on the Viewing Public,” American Journal of Political Science, July 2000.

Michael Hanchard, “You Shall Have the Body: On Trayvon Martin’s Slaughter,” Theory & Event, 2012.

Anna Marie Smith, “Deadly Force and Public Reason,” Theory & Event, 2012.