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

Included in

Sociology Commons

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