This is my research assignment from my previous semester. I got a good grade on it (16.8/20) so I'm posting it here :)
1.0: Introduction
In recent years, there hasn’t been an increment of an artist of colour to be showcased on television specifically in America. Even if there is, the roles played by minorities are based on stereotypes. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether American shows are biased towards the majority, aka, Caucasians.
1.2: Background of Study
According to Wang.N (2019), it was stated that due to the fact that stereotypes were often portrayed in the media, it has affected media audiences. This is because majority of American shows portray minorities to be violent and cunning according to stereotypes. Hence, affecting audiences to believe that people of the minority group are more likely to become a law breaker and they wish to be as pleasing as the Whites.
In the same study, she has suggested that Hollywood should hire more people of colour to curb racism and enhance diversity in different fields, such as screenwriting, directing, audio areas, and so on.
Apart from that, according to Minkel, J.R (2019) the blacks were deemed to be displeasing, and repulsive, whereas compared the whites who tend to appear as kind, understanding, and wonderfully breathtaking. Therefore, this goes to show that when an artist of colour appears on the screen, they are representing stereotypes of their race in an abject way.
1.3: Common Limitation
Some of the limitations and difficulties of conducting this research are opinions from America because this study is conducted by a Malaysian student. Therefore, obtaining information from Americans was a struggle.
2.0: Definition of Bias
According to the Cambridge dictionary, the definition of ‘bias’ is an action of giving support or opposing a certain person, object, or issue in a discriminatory way because one allows their personal thoughts to influence their judgement. Hence, the following subheadings will provide evidence of how American media excludes people of colour and other minorities in the media.
2.1: Biasness in News media
According to Aljazeera (2017), Newsleaders.org (2019), and Desert News (2015) it was stated that there is lack of diversity in the journalism field. Specifically, news. It was stated that employees of colour were hired at 12.7 percent in 2015 at US Daily Newspapers. Moreover, in the same study, it was stated that according to The Washington Post (2013), stated that whenever press conferences in the White House were held, there is a large amount of white people and you can hardly see a journalist of colour conducting interviews or being in the White House apart from Barack Obama in 2015.
Due to the fact that there are very few minorities, it is usually arduous to create weighty and valid stories to the society that would change the public’s perspective towards people of colour. As a matter of fact, since white people dominates the newsroom, they often report about citizens of colour who commit crimes which puts them in a bad spotlight in order to show that the other party is bad, which could also influence others to think that stereotypes are real.
Johnson from Desert News (2015) claims that they have to try their best to include minorities in order to create a better future for aspiring journalists because most of the youngsters of colour felt lost and perplexed by what they see on the media.
2.2: Biasness in Films
According to Coyle,J. (2016), it has been stated that Hollywood does not only have a problem with including artists of colour, but also other minorities, such as individuals from the LGBTQ community.
He also stated that according to a study from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, well-known film companies like Disney and Netflix has an issue of including everyone of different kind on media. Hence, this causes Hollywood to seem “White-washed” or how white America is which does not seem realistic.
2.3: Biasness in the Behind The Scenes
According to Coyle’s study, he mentioned that in the Comprehensive Annenedberg Report on Diversity, after examining more than 100 films that were released by popular television studios and art-house divisions in 2014, they found that the whites dominated the entire film. Even when it comes to staffs behind the scenes, majority of them were white as well.
In the same study, it was also stated that in a study by UCLA, Time Warner had the worst reviews compared to other television studios like Disney, Sony, Fox etc because they still dominate the media with mostly white males who are straight. The research suggested that if filmmakers can include more minorities, it will improve the viewers statistics and might even increase their revenue because it will make America seem more realistic.
3.0: Research Methodology
3.1: Research Method
This research uses quantitative data collection methods. This method will collect data from more than one person. Hence, due to the fact that collected data is proceeded, it will make the results more accurate.
3.2: Subject of Study
The respondents who participated in this study were between the age of 16 to 49 and above and chose to participate in this study when they a Google Form is shared to them via social media networks like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter. All respondents are active users of social media and often watch American shows.
3.3: Research Instrument
Since this research uses quantitative data collection methods, all data will be collected through a survey questionnaire via Google Forms. The questionnaire includes nine questions in total. The questionnaires will provide multiple choice questions, some questions will be provided an additional option named “others” for respondents to provide other answers from their own opinion, and as well as an open-ended question for them to voice out their own opinions.
3.4: Data Gathering Procedure
As mentioned above, the survey questionnaire will be created using Google Forms. All respondents have access to the questionnaire by clicking on the link shared on social media such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter. The survey will take respondents 3-5 minutes to complete. The collected data will be presented in table and pie chart forms.
4.0: Data Analysis
An online survey was conducted for respondents of the age 16 to 49 and above and it has reached 80 people. The subtopics below are the results.
4.1: What is your favourite genre of movies
Figure 1: Favourite genre of movies
The chart indicates that 35% of the respondents preferred comedy and rom-com movies, 21.3% of them preferred fantasy and sci-fi movies, whereas only 17.5% of them fancy horror movies.
4.2: Do you think that there is a lack of diversity in American media?
Figure 2: Is there a lack of diversity in American media?
Majority of the respondents agreed that there is a lack of diversity in American media as the results shows that 67.9% of them saying “yes” and only 32.1% of the respondents think otherwise.
4.3: Do you think that most of the situations portrayed in the media are based on stereotypes?
Figure 3: Are American shows based on stereotypes?
The chart shows that 79% of respondents think that American shows are based on stereotypes, whereas only 21% of them disagree. With the vast majority of respondents think that the shows are based on stereotypes, it would mean that most of the information displayed in the media are false.
4.4: How accurate are the information displayed in American media?
Figure 4: How accurate is the information displayed in the media?
With 1 being the least accurate, 10 being very accurate, the chart shows that most of the respondents believe that the information is accurate. Although many respondents think that American shows are based on stereotypes, 29.6% of them think that the information are accurate, whereas only 9.9% of them think that it is not highly accurate.
4.5: Should more artist of colour appear on the screen?
Figure 5: Should more artist of colour appear on the screen?
The chart depicts that 95.1% of respondents agree that more artist of colour should appear on the screen to show diversity.
4.6: Why do you think more artist of colour should appear on screen?
As mentioned in 3.3 that there will be one open-ended question for respondents to voice their own opinions. Many of the respondents who voted “yes” in 4.5 explained that by having more artist of colour in the media, it could curb racism as it would show a more diverse America. In addition to that, some of the respondents have also mentioned that if the audiences outside of America saw how diverse the country is, it would also reduce the beliefs of stereotypes and they will not think that America is only home to white people.
4.7: Do you see more white artists compared to artists of colour?
Figure 6: Are there more white artists compared to an artist of colour?
With figure 5 shows that most respondents agree that more artist of colour should appear on screen, 88.9% of them thinks that there are more white artists compared to an artist of colour, whereas 11.1% of them think otherwise.
4.8: Age group and gender
Figure 7: Gender group
Out of 80 respondents, 61.7% of them are female, and 33.3% of the respondents are male.
Figure 8: Age group
This chart shows that out of the 80 respondents, majority of them are within the age of 16-22, at the statistic of 59.3%, and the second large group of respondents are between the age of 49 and above.
5.0: Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations
5.1: Summary of Findings and Studies
After gathering data from 80 respondents and conducting studies, it is evident that American media are biased towards the majority, as the whites were able to obtain better opportunities and roles in the media industry. Moreover, after receiving data from 80 respondents, many of them claimed that they rarely see diversity on screen, and more people of colour should be hired in order to give everyone a fair opportunity and to curb racism.
5.2: Conclusion
It is evident that the American media is bias towards the whites after finding studies and conducting a survey that consists personal opinions of non-Americans. This research has highlighted that the media industry in America should start hiring and involving other minorities to curb racism by giving everyone a chance to be involve. Afterall, they are part of America.
5.3: Recommendations
This survey was conducted online by sharing a participatory link via WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter. On that account, further study could be expanded by conducting a wider survey through other social media platforms and emails, as it would be able to receive more data and information. In addition to that, since most of the respondents are Malaysians, it would be beneficial if further research could be conducted with foreigners as each opinions differ. In addition to that, further research can be done by reading articles and news written, regarding the media industry.
References:
1) Cambridge Dictionary (2020). BIAS | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. [online] Cambridge.org. Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bias [Accessed 13 Oct. 2020].
2) Coyle, J. (2016). #HollywoodSoWhite: Study confirms racial and gender bias in TV and movies. [online] The Christian Science Monitor. Available at: https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2016/0222/HollywoodSoWhite-Study-confirms-racial-and-gender-bias-in-TV-and-movies [Accessed 13 Oct. 2020].
3) Deseret News. Available at: https://www.deseret.com/2015/5/27/20565538/why-aren-t-there-more-african-american-journalists#a-new-pew-research-center-survey-found-that-in-a-shaky-industry-the-number-of-african-american-journalists-has-held-steady-but-experts-say-more-could-be-done-to-make-journalism-a-more-diverse-field [Accessed 13 Oct. 2020]
4) Encyclopedia.com. (2020). Television’s Impact on American Society and Culture | Encyclopedia.com. [online] Available at: https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/televisions-impact-american-society-and-culture [Accessed 20 Sep. 2020]
5) Frantzman, S.J. (2017). Where is diversity in American newsrooms? [online] Aljazeera.com. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/2/23/where-is-diversity-in-american-newsrooms/ [Accessed 13 Oct. 2020].
6) Johnson, C. (2015). Why aren’t there more African-American journalists? [online] Deseret News. Available at: https://www.deseret.com/2015/5/27/20565538/why-aren-t-there-more-african-american-journalists#a-new-pew-research-center-survey-found-that-in-a-shaky-industry-the-number-of-african-american-journalists-has-held-steady-but-experts-say-more-could-be-done-to-make-journalism-a-more-diverse-field [Accessed 8 Nov. 2020].
7) Minkel, J.R. (2019). Black-and-White TV: Nonverbal Racial Bias Found in Popular Television Shows. [online] Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/black-and-white-tv-nonver/ [Accessed 20 Sep. 2020]
8) Nancy Wang Yuen (2019). How Racial Stereotypes in Popular Media Affect People — and What Hollywood Can Do to Become More Inclusive. [online] Scholars Strategy Network. Available at: https://scholars.org/contribution/how-racial-stereotypes-popular-media-affect-people-and-what-hollywood-can-do-become [Accessed 8 Nov. 2020].
Comments