Keywords
College students -- Attitudes, Popular culture, Race relations, Television
Abstract
Race is a potent discourse within the world of pop culture, particularly in television where viewers are witnessing more racial diversity in scripted shows. However, show creators must maintain standards that emphasize distinct social roles among characters in order to appeal to large heterogeneous audiences. These roles tend to be characterizations of racial stereotypes that often lead to biased opinions and inaccurate perceptions of minority groups. Previous studies detail that racial biases in media adversely shape public opinions about African Americans and depress the desire for racial integration. This seems somewhat confounding since the shift in programming towards racial diversity presumes increased affirmation, importance, and validity of African Americans and other minority groups. This study investigates the affective response of Black and White college students to cross-race relationships on TV and the perceived realism of these media depictions. Since these relationship forms are now becoming part of television's pop culture, and pop culture reflects co-existing attitudes and values in society, it is important that they be examined. Additionally, examining cross-racial relationships may help in understanding larger race relations in the United States.
Notes
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Graduation Date
2012
Semester
Spring
Advisor
Wright, James
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Sciences
Department
Sociology
Degree Program
Sociology
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0004268
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0004268
Language
English
Release Date
May 2012
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)
Subjects
Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences;Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic
STARS Citation
Mowatt, Earl S., "Affective Response of African American and European American Students to Portrayals of Cross-racial Relationships on Television" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4481.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/4481