Racism In The Entertainment Industry

Something that has been extremely beneficial for me, and I believe it was something I touched on in my last reflection, is looking at the history of everything we’ve been talking about in class. It has made it easier for me to understand just how deeply rooted the construction of race and racism within American entertainment is. I also think it’s been interesting to look at the way the entertainment industry continues to perpetuate these notions about race, even though I had previously believed that this specific institution was be more progressive in it’s way of developing content. After the first assignment, I was shocked to find that commercials and ads are still so racially driven by using both discrete and not so discrete ways of implying
Although I knew there was still a significant deficit in the amount of roles for non-whites in comparison to the roles that white actors receive, I never really thought about the content that these few roles for non-whites entailed. I realize now that it is not necessarily about the amount of non-whites on screen, but the context and development of the roles that non-whites play. It was truly insightful to actually look at the purposes for non-whites in their roles in film. An obvious problem is that the roles of non-whites don’t always have substance, but instead continue the stereotypical depiction of these groups of people. Although it is obvious to me now, it was definitely something that I didn’t necessarily question, or pay attention to. The theme of a non-white being in a somewhat powerful role in a movie seemed like a step in the right direction, but upon analysis in class it was eye-opening for me to realize it was just to help improve the life their white counterpart. My realization out of all of this is that I am guilty of having a colorblind way of seeing things in the entertainment world. Whiteness was a concept that I wasn't aware of, so it wasn’t something that I had ever considered to be a problem. Knowing that whiteness has this way of being invisible on the screen that makes it so hard to find, almost helps me to be more aware of it. I’ve noticed as I watch my favorite shows and movies that these themes of non-whites on screen continue to pop