http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/15/obama.family/index.html
I thought this was a very interesting article, and it certainly brings up some good questions. Is the media still portraying Blacks in a "dark light?"
Thursday, January 22, 2009
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I find this to be extremely interesting. Being multiracial myself, its weird to think of people seeing biracialism as "different". However, i find the last statement of the article to be the most poignant: "The president and his wife and children are not a novelty in the African-American community." This, i feel, brings to light the fact that it just isn't strange to people who are used to it.
Whoever "President" is, i would like to attempt to answer your question. I think that in the past (c. the 50-60's referenced in the article) African-Americans were portrayed in a "dark light" as you put it. However, it seems to me that there has to have been some change over the 4-5 decades that have passed since then. True, here in Fort Collins we don't live in a society that has many African-Americans, which certainly limits our perspective. However, the way African-Americans are portrayed on TV has changed. We don't see many "slapstick" shows featuring African-Americans. The most prominent roles for African-Americans I've seen are the commander on The Unit (which i don't watch...), the recently deceased Warrick on CSI (the original!), and actors including Will Smith and a whole list of others which can be found at http://www.africanamericans.com/Actors.htm. Back to the point. It seems like the most common image of African-Americans in the media is, for the most part, positive. I can't generalize and say this about *all* media, however, as there are sure to be exceptions.
I hope I've at least made sense in this, but I think it is unfair to state that African-Americans are portrayed incorrectly all the time in the media.
As far as the Obama family goes, I congratulate them on the effect they have had, and obviously will have, on us all. Its a step in a new direction, and (although some people, aka my parents, aren't pleased) it seems as though its the will of the people, and we will continue marching forward.
(Although i do wonder--does it matter that Barack is really only 1/2 African? It seems to be of more importance to the media than it deserves.)
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