AED 225 Blog Post 5-Challenging the Story of Race on TV

The story of race on television has always been centered on the oppression and dominance of white people versus all other races. White people are more widely represented on TV by a vast margin and when people of other races are cast on a television show, they are rarely cast as a leader or influential figure except in cases where there is a large proportion of their race. In a way the television norm is to allow minorities to be in power only when they are in power over others of their own race such as Philip Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Curtis Payne in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.

  

One example that challenges this story of race on television today is in the USA Network show “Suits”. This example goes against the traditional story of race on TV in order to show that the story of race is now misrepresented. The relationship that I wish to explore in this show is the role of the head of the law firm, Jessica Pearson, a black woman, who is the managing partner and in charge of mostly white men. This character challenges the traditional story of race on television because not only is she a black woman in a leadership role, she is also in charge of well-educated, white men. I believe one would be hard-pressed to find another example of this kind of relationship on TV. Dr. Michael Morgan asserts that “television exaggerates the extent to which blacks have made it in society”, in the film The Electronic Storyteller. However, I believe that this statement, made in 1997, is now outdated and “Suits” is beginning to show how minorities are beginning to land more and more leadership roles. In fact, Harvard Law School’s website states that 39% of their students are “people of color”, a fact that contributes to this notion. What makes the show so good is that this role works well and is believable. This character is a prime example of not only how far minorities, such as black women, have come to this point in time in terms of workplace success, but also projects toward the future of minorities in the workplace as I believe relationships like this one portrayed in “Suits” will become increasingly pervasive throughout television in years to come.

Sources

1. The Electronic Storyteller. Perf. George Gerbner and Michael Morgan. 1997. DVD.

2. "HLS Profile and Facts." HLS Profile and Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012.     <http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/apply/classprofile.html>.

Analyzing a Single Story--A ED Blog Post 4

Jeremy Todd

November 13, 2012

A ED Blog Post 4

            The film that I chose to analyze in this post is one of my all-time favorites, The Shawshank Redemption. The 1994 film starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman is a story about a wrongly accused banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife. While in prison he meets Red (Morgan Freeman) who befriends him and together they brave the corrupt world behind bars. With an ingenious plan, Andy outsmarts the warden and escapes from prison and exposes the corruption that was ever-present inside the walls of Shawshank Prison.

            I chose this film to analyze an example of a single story because throughout the film Andy is grouped with all the other criminals and treated as a murder even though he never killed anyone. In addition, the other characters in the movie all show remorse and personal change after being in prison, but the warden and guards fail to recognize the strides that most of the prisoners have made since being locked up. The single story that applies to Andy perpetuates the stereotype of criminals that in no way applies to the shy, mild-mannered Andy Dufresne. This single story provides a limiting view of Andy’s life, only the view of him as a vicious criminal. However, the film creates the plot in such a way that challenges this single story and shows that there is much more to Andy Dufresne than is described by this single story.

Gender roles and identity and their intended purpose-A ED Blog Post 3

   

            Following our visit to the Palmer Museum of Art, I carefully chose a place downtown in which I could similarly analyze the gender identities and representation and expand upon the ways in which the ideas of gender are both produced and reproduced in the chosen setting. The location I chose was the Starbucks Coffee store on the corner of College Avenue and Burrowes Street. I chose this location because of the abundance of artwork and advertisements, which contribute to the distinct visual culture associated with Starbucks, their featured product—coffee, and the appeal to women associated with each and every element of the store.

            The theme of the visual culture in the store aims to attract women and provide them with an environment that is comfortable and cozy for them to enjoy. Upon entering Starbucks, I noticed the logo that features a woman in the center. As I continued to look around and observe the many visuals that are presented to the customers after entering the store, I noticed that all of the advertisements for their current specials appeal to women. The ads all show women smiling while enjoying a sweet drink in a small cup.  These printed ads are in the form of tall, skinny posters with smooth thin fonts and they depict tall skinny women as if to market the ideal female shape. These colorful ads are for their featured seasonal drinks and pastries that are both sweet and are advertised in small portions. Along the same lines, the other products that are for sale are thermoses and bags of coffee to brew at home. Like the posters that I mentioned noticing when I first walked in, all of these products are tall and skinny shapes. As I went to place my order I notice the roles of the employees behind the counter. There were three employees working—two women, one man. The two women worked together to make the coffee and take the orders of the customers. I noticed that they were both friendly to me in an effort to make me feel comfortable and welcome, but I noticed that they were especially adept at conversing with the line of customers around me which were nearly all college aged women. They engaged in gossip and talked about their favorite drinks as they waited for the lone male employee to churn out their complicated order. The lone man behind the counter was assigned the role of making all of the specialty drinks which were primarily the orders placed by women. It struck me that, whether consciously or not; the employees were fulfilling the stereotypical mother/father roles. The man was the hard-worker, the provider while the two women were the comforting presence that made you feel comfortable and right at home. The last aspect of female oriented visual culture that I noticed was the specific effort put forth by Starbucks to make their store a cozy atmosphere like that of one’s own home. The tables were almost all two-seaters creating a private, intimate atmosphere. The music playing was smooth jazz or other soft music and one of the distinguishing factors of Starbucks is their free Wi-Fi Internet access. Nearly everyone in the store was on his or her laptop computer (including me). 

            All of this evidence clearly makes Starbucks a store geared toward women. The skinny cups, posters, and bags of coffee appeal to the idea that women are trying to maintain their healthy, ideal shape. The advertisements for their sweet drinks and pastries masterfully persuade women that it is acceptable for them to have, because all of the portions shown in the ads are very small although no option that small is available once you reach the register. The employees working also reproduce the feminine vibe to the customers by emulating the typical mother and father roles, consequently making the customer feel comfortable. And finally, the intimate seating, user-friendly technology, and the soft music all contribute to the cozy feeling that is meant to make women feel comfortable. While analyzing the visual culture in Starbucks to support the conclusion that gender roles are strictly followed in an effort to market their product to women I tried to think of a place where the opposite is true and the goal is clearly to appeal to men. The store I though of was 7-11. These convenience stores are famous for their large soda cups, their sugary frozen treats, and their blatantly unhealthy food choices. A place like 7-11, when juxtaposed with a place like Starbucks makes the gender roles, visual culture, and intent in marketing of each store easy to see.

White Privilege at PSU

            In addition to the twenty-six examples that Peggy McIntosh delineates in her anti-racism article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, another example that I notice in my everyday life applies to our school, Penn State. The university is often hailed as a “world-class university” and ever since the scandal that rocked State College last November, this phrase has been used even more as a sort of qualifying phrase when talking about the scandal and the school in a negative light or as an unwavering approval from alumni and other supporters of the school. So this got me thinking about what constitutes a world-class university and then how white privilege applies in my situation as a student who currently attends a world-renowned, world-class university.

            The condition that I would add to McIntosh’s list of white privilege advantages would be that I can attend a prolific, world-class university anywhere in the United States and be sure that people of my race will be widely represented across all areas of study, both students and faculty. This is an example of white privilege, because although there are some historically and predominantly black schools in the U.S. such as Alcorn State and Morgan State, they pale in comparison to the major universities like Penn State and others of its kind. Young, black college-bound students find themselves at a disadvantage that white students never have to face. As McIntosh states in her article, “My skin color was an asset for any move I was educated to want to make.” For me and for other white students like me, this couldn’t be more true, for no black or Asian or Indian or any other person of a race other than white could look at their race as an asset for a move like going to college. That is why this condition represents white privilege.