Echoes of ideas
Aug. 28th, 2007 02:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novapsycheIn trying to find a specific reference to a comment in ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
willshetterly's journal, I leafed through some of my old college papers. Funny, the stuff that drifts up at two a.m.
Here's a paper that garnered me an A (though I admit at the start that my methods could be better: I could have done my observations through an entire week):
Mass Media and the Social Construction of Whiteness
Ethnographic Project #3
April 4, 1997
INTRODUCTION
In her book White Women, Race Matters, Ruth Frankenberg defines whiteness as "a location of structural advantage . . . a place from which which people look at [themselves]" and that it refers to "a set of cultural practices that are usually unmarked and unnamed" (1). Later in the book, Frankenberg states that whiteness was often associated with commodities and brand names by the women she interviewed (199). This seemed to imply that images in the mass media shape and reinforce popular images of whiteness and white women.
To further examine this phenomenon, I viewed fifty commercials shown in the Des Moines area between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. I observed the commercials on various stations and chose them by chance (I never remained on one station but instead continuously switched stations, watching as much of a commercial segment as I could that I came across). I evaluated the commercials differently, some in terms of their products and others in terms of the actions of the actors and the situations in which said actors were found. I also noted whether the commercials either contained only white actors or had blacks as well, and what types of interactions, if any, occurred between the whites and blacks involved.
BEAUTY AND HEALTH PRODUCTS
By and large, the majority of commercials for beauty products, including those for hair, face, nail, skin and dental products, as well as diet and clothing advertisements, used white actors exclusively. Of those commercials noted for their products (N=30), 16 were for beauty products (53%) and 10 were for health products (33%). Black actors were noted in only 13% of the beauty commercials (N=2) and 30% of the health commercials (N=3). Most notable was that only one commercial, Geritol Complete, featured no white actors at all; this accounts for less than one-third of a percent of the health and beauty commercials viewed.
Many beauty commercials primarily concerned hair and eye color and care. This pointed to a privilege afforded to whites only: products formulated for their hair type, for example, will be readily available. Nonwhites, and especially blacks (since their hair type is fairly different from whites'), must find ways to "make do" with the products on the market for whites. Eye color advertisements are often targeted to whites, since they can "get away" with changing the color of their eyes to blue, hazel, green, or brown (and even some exotic shades such as violet). Many nonwhites, due to general genetic markers, do not naturally have eye colors in such varied shades; they then are assumed to not want these types of contacts. Nonwhites are often seen in commercials for clear contact lenses but not colored ones. As for eye care, I observed the commercial for one product, OcuHist, which can be used by all people. For its illustration, however, it used a blue eye, definitely targeting white consumers, instead of a brown eye, which can cover a broader base of buyers.
The health commercials dealt mainly with sanitary and pain medications as well as weight loss and body maintenance. Although one product (Tampax) had both black and white actors, most sanitary product commercials only showed white women as the consumers, as did most of the weight loss (Slim-Fast) and body maintenance (AbWorks, NordicTrack Leg Shaper) advertisements. The pain medication commercials were better on the whole, with better ratios of whites and blacks consuming their products. Only one product, Tylenol, showed a black woman and a white woman in the same scene of a commercial, in which the actors interacted and spoke with each other. This was the only commercial in all fifty that I viewed in which this phenomenon occurred. This accounts for one-fifth of one percent of the commercials viewed.
My analysis, after taking all of this into consideration, is that the overemphasis of "white" products—products marketed specifically for and targeting whites—not only reinforces the idea that the products are acceptable (for example, accepting flesh-colored bandages as "normal") but also implies that nonwhites are not good consumers (which ties into the definition of American, since all good Americans are consumers who help stimulate the economy). The absence of nonwhite actors (and the divorce of whites and blacks in interpersonal space in these commercials) promotes the idea that white people do not need to interact with blacks, thus signaling that recognizing (or even noticing) race is not something that whites need to think about or consider on a daily basis.
FOOD PRODUCTS
I began to notice a trend: many commercials with black actors promoted food products. Of the ten brand-name product commercials observed to contain black actors, 4 (40%) were specifically about food; the other commercials were about body soap (20%), detergent (10%), make-up (10%), sanitary products (10%), and health products (20%). Conversely, only four brand-name commercials featuring whites dealt primarily with food products; this accounts for only 13% of brand-name products observed.
It seems that the media is still tied to and playing into cultural stereotypes: blacks have traditionally been seen as close to the land and in love with food and other fruits of their labor. Whites, on the other hand, seem to be above food, beyond the instinctual cravings of their bodies. They have far more important things to accomplish, as the relative lack of "white" food commercials implies (this will be further explored in the next section). And if whites have more control over their instincts than blacks, then they must be more civilized than blacks and therefore can feel superior to them.
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER
Perhaps more important than what white and black Americans consumed were the actions each did in the commercials. I classified the other commercials (N=20) by situational characteristics: what the actors were doing and what occupations their characters held. I thought that perhaps the commercials reinforced popular notions about what types of behaviors were acceptable by those of certain races and served to maintain cultural barriers.
Because there were so few commercials which had black actors (N=12), observing certain behaviors or practices was difficult. However, I believe that cultural barriers still are reinforced, since people do learn to define themselves by what other cultures do not do. Thus, I feel that a focus on the types of behaviors displayed by whites will not introduce a bad analysis.
Many commercials had white actors doing things that all Americans do, such as shop, eat, and sleep. However, many commercials selectively had some whites doing and attending things that others seemingly did not do. For example, whites attended or participated in the ballet 100% more often than nonwhites (N=2). Also, only whites, particularly white women, grew "prize-winning roses." As both of these behaviors are associated with "civilized" culture, these again can be used to strengthen the idea that whites are more civilized than nonwhites. Another commercial marketed retirement plans and featured only white actors. This sends the signal that nonwhites are not employed in the types of jobs where they would need to worry about retirement benefits (thus bringing in the idea of class stratification). Lastly, only whites were seen living on ranches and wearing country-styled clothing (such as cowboy hats or boots). This seemed to suggest a definite cultural barrier wherein only whites have access to a certain style of dress, residence, and living.
CONCLUSION
In a random sample of commercials, blacks were represented in higher proportions than their actual ratios in the United States (24% as opposed to 19%); nevertheless, they must still be seen as a minority, even in the media. Nonwhites hardly ever interact or have personal contact with whites, and blacks specifically are never seen doing activities that signify "high culture." The lack of nonwhite participation in "civilized" activities only serves to reinforce cultural stereotypes and to perpetuate ideas of racial superiority.
My prof's notes: "Very good discussion & analysis of material; original"
willshetterly's journal, I leafed through some of my old college papers. Funny, the stuff that drifts up at two a.m.Here's a paper that garnered me an A (though I admit at the start that my methods could be better: I could have done my observations through an entire week):
Mass Media and the Social Construction of Whiteness
Ethnographic Project #3
April 4, 1997
INTRODUCTION
In her book White Women, Race Matters, Ruth Frankenberg defines whiteness as "a location of structural advantage . . . a place from which which people look at [themselves]" and that it refers to "a set of cultural practices that are usually unmarked and unnamed" (1). Later in the book, Frankenberg states that whiteness was often associated with commodities and brand names by the women she interviewed (199). This seemed to imply that images in the mass media shape and reinforce popular images of whiteness and white women.
To further examine this phenomenon, I viewed fifty commercials shown in the Des Moines area between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. I observed the commercials on various stations and chose them by chance (I never remained on one station but instead continuously switched stations, watching as much of a commercial segment as I could that I came across). I evaluated the commercials differently, some in terms of their products and others in terms of the actions of the actors and the situations in which said actors were found. I also noted whether the commercials either contained only white actors or had blacks as well, and what types of interactions, if any, occurred between the whites and blacks involved.
BEAUTY AND HEALTH PRODUCTS
By and large, the majority of commercials for beauty products, including those for hair, face, nail, skin and dental products, as well as diet and clothing advertisements, used white actors exclusively. Of those commercials noted for their products (N=30), 16 were for beauty products (53%) and 10 were for health products (33%). Black actors were noted in only 13% of the beauty commercials (N=2) and 30% of the health commercials (N=3). Most notable was that only one commercial, Geritol Complete, featured no white actors at all; this accounts for less than one-third of a percent of the health and beauty commercials viewed.
Many beauty commercials primarily concerned hair and eye color and care. This pointed to a privilege afforded to whites only: products formulated for their hair type, for example, will be readily available. Nonwhites, and especially blacks (since their hair type is fairly different from whites'), must find ways to "make do" with the products on the market for whites. Eye color advertisements are often targeted to whites, since they can "get away" with changing the color of their eyes to blue, hazel, green, or brown (and even some exotic shades such as violet). Many nonwhites, due to general genetic markers, do not naturally have eye colors in such varied shades; they then are assumed to not want these types of contacts. Nonwhites are often seen in commercials for clear contact lenses but not colored ones. As for eye care, I observed the commercial for one product, OcuHist, which can be used by all people. For its illustration, however, it used a blue eye, definitely targeting white consumers, instead of a brown eye, which can cover a broader base of buyers.
The health commercials dealt mainly with sanitary and pain medications as well as weight loss and body maintenance. Although one product (Tampax) had both black and white actors, most sanitary product commercials only showed white women as the consumers, as did most of the weight loss (Slim-Fast) and body maintenance (AbWorks, NordicTrack Leg Shaper) advertisements. The pain medication commercials were better on the whole, with better ratios of whites and blacks consuming their products. Only one product, Tylenol, showed a black woman and a white woman in the same scene of a commercial, in which the actors interacted and spoke with each other. This was the only commercial in all fifty that I viewed in which this phenomenon occurred. This accounts for one-fifth of one percent of the commercials viewed.
My analysis, after taking all of this into consideration, is that the overemphasis of "white" products—products marketed specifically for and targeting whites—not only reinforces the idea that the products are acceptable (for example, accepting flesh-colored bandages as "normal") but also implies that nonwhites are not good consumers (which ties into the definition of American, since all good Americans are consumers who help stimulate the economy). The absence of nonwhite actors (and the divorce of whites and blacks in interpersonal space in these commercials) promotes the idea that white people do not need to interact with blacks, thus signaling that recognizing (or even noticing) race is not something that whites need to think about or consider on a daily basis.
FOOD PRODUCTS
I began to notice a trend: many commercials with black actors promoted food products. Of the ten brand-name product commercials observed to contain black actors, 4 (40%) were specifically about food; the other commercials were about body soap (20%), detergent (10%), make-up (10%), sanitary products (10%), and health products (20%). Conversely, only four brand-name commercials featuring whites dealt primarily with food products; this accounts for only 13% of brand-name products observed.
It seems that the media is still tied to and playing into cultural stereotypes: blacks have traditionally been seen as close to the land and in love with food and other fruits of their labor. Whites, on the other hand, seem to be above food, beyond the instinctual cravings of their bodies. They have far more important things to accomplish, as the relative lack of "white" food commercials implies (this will be further explored in the next section). And if whites have more control over their instincts than blacks, then they must be more civilized than blacks and therefore can feel superior to them.
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER
Perhaps more important than what white and black Americans consumed were the actions each did in the commercials. I classified the other commercials (N=20) by situational characteristics: what the actors were doing and what occupations their characters held. I thought that perhaps the commercials reinforced popular notions about what types of behaviors were acceptable by those of certain races and served to maintain cultural barriers.
Because there were so few commercials which had black actors (N=12), observing certain behaviors or practices was difficult. However, I believe that cultural barriers still are reinforced, since people do learn to define themselves by what other cultures do not do. Thus, I feel that a focus on the types of behaviors displayed by whites will not introduce a bad analysis.
Many commercials had white actors doing things that all Americans do, such as shop, eat, and sleep. However, many commercials selectively had some whites doing and attending things that others seemingly did not do. For example, whites attended or participated in the ballet 100% more often than nonwhites (N=2). Also, only whites, particularly white women, grew "prize-winning roses." As both of these behaviors are associated with "civilized" culture, these again can be used to strengthen the idea that whites are more civilized than nonwhites. Another commercial marketed retirement plans and featured only white actors. This sends the signal that nonwhites are not employed in the types of jobs where they would need to worry about retirement benefits (thus bringing in the idea of class stratification). Lastly, only whites were seen living on ranches and wearing country-styled clothing (such as cowboy hats or boots). This seemed to suggest a definite cultural barrier wherein only whites have access to a certain style of dress, residence, and living.
CONCLUSION
In a random sample of commercials, blacks were represented in higher proportions than their actual ratios in the United States (24% as opposed to 19%); nevertheless, they must still be seen as a minority, even in the media. Nonwhites hardly ever interact or have personal contact with whites, and blacks specifically are never seen doing activities that signify "high culture." The lack of nonwhite participation in "civilized" activities only serves to reinforce cultural stereotypes and to perpetuate ideas of racial superiority.
My prof's notes: "Very good discussion & analysis of material; original"