Visualizing Microaggressions in Primetime Television

Through an examination of pilot episodes from two primetime television shows told from the perspective of people of color, this study looks closely at how microaggressions are displayed and engaged with. Through a discourse analysis in combination with critical race theory, the way in which microaggressions are made visual help legitimize the impact these microaggressions have for people of color in everyday life. By looking at Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat, the study showed how people of color silently react to this silent form of racism. There is a depicted struggle prevalent in both shows as the characters of color must assimilate to predominantly white environments. These television shows provide counternarratives to the common, mainstream narrative seen through a white lens as depicted on most primetime television shows

Drug Users in Fall 2009 Television Dramas: Character Profiles

How do narrative structures inform us about our own world? This study was conducted to discover the implications of drug content depicted in primetime television through the evaluation of contemporary and stereotypical characterization trends. This study examines drug content in two medical dramas and two crime dramas: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘House’, ‘Law & Order SVU’, and ‘CSI’

Gender Representation and Occupational Portrayals in Primetime Television

This study examined gender representation and occupational portrayals on primetime television, in order to determine if gender-role stereotypes are still present throughout programming, and what progress, if any, has been made in comparison to previous studies. A content analysis was done on primetime programming airing during the fall of 2013 on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and the CW, and analyzed gender, major and minor character, genre, occupation, and marital status. The findings of this study reveal that women are still underrepresented on-screen, as well as in prestigious occupations, especially when compared to their real world representation. This study also examined the five broadcast networks individually and found gender representation and occupational portrayal differences between the networks, revealing which networks have made progress towards equal and accurate representation, and which have not. The results of this content analysis suggest that stereotypical representations of men and women are still frequent on primetime television. Furthermore, these findings were examined in relation to Social cognitive theory to determine the potential effect these portrayals could be having on viewers’ gender role beliefs. While some improvements have been made in comparison to previous studies, progress still needs to be made among all primetime programming to represent female characters in a wide variety of occupations and roles that are more consistent with reality

Popular Television’s Health and Safety Message: What Has Changed in the Past Generation?

The assertion that television has an impact on viewers is well-supported in theory and empirical research. Hundreds of researchers have conducted hundreds of studies focused on limited, specific programming content or specific effects to contribute to this evidence. However, far fewer researchers have conducted broad, comprehensive programming content analysis. One exception is a 2005 study from Will et al. examining multiple health and safety behaviors including sexual activity, driving behaviors, intoxicating and unhealthy substance use, and violence depicted in the 1997/1998 primetime television season. Results of their research showed overall that primetime television promoted the perception that the observed health- and safety-compromising behaviors were more common than in reality, and that they were largely inconsequential. Their unique research contribution was an inventory and analysis of popular television programming content that influenced viewers’ attitudes and behaviors in multiple health- and safety-related ways. The current study expounded upon Will et al. using 2017 popular television programming as a sample. The same observations were conducted on this updated content, using the same methods, but adding streaming video to the sample to better reflect modern television viewing. Furthermore, observations related to sleep, diet, and exercise habits, diversity, and sexual harassment were also added, reflecting expanding knowledge about factors affecting health outcomes

Communicating Health Risks Via the Media

Understanding the viewer impact of the primetime television cooking show, MasterChef Australia, may help us to communicate more positively received messages about food and eating

Documenting Portrayals of Race/Ethnicity on Primetime Television over a 20-Year Span and Their Association with National-Level Racial/Ethnic Attitudes

The current study content analyzes the 345 most viewed U.S. television shows within 12 separate television seasons spanning the years 1987 to 2009. Using multilevel modeling, the results from this comprehensive content analysis then are used to predict national-level racial/ethnic perceptions (between the years 1988 and 2008) with data from the American National Election Studies (ANES). Content analysis results reveal severe underrepresentation of Latinos, AsianAmericans, and NativeAmericans, and a tendency to depict ethnic minorities stereotypically (e.g., overrepresentation of hyper-sexualized Latino characters). Multilevel-modeling analysis indicates that both the quantity and quality of ethnic media representations contributes to Whites’ racial attitudes

Latino Representation On Primetime Television In English and Spanish Media: A Framing Analysis

The purpose of this study was to provide updated data on the Latino portrayals on primetime English and Spanish-language television. Three major contributions of this study are baseline data on the percentage of white actors as well as all racial and ethnic minorities on English-language television, the portrayal of Latinos on both English and Spanish-language television, and the development of five frames that measure the representation of Latino characters. The results of this framing study showed that only 7.4% of the characters in primetime TV on ABC and CBS were Latino. Although the Latino representation in primetime American television was a bit higher in this study as compared to that in previous research, it still does not represent the 17% of Latinos in the U.S. population as a whole. The researcher analyzed weekday primetime television programs—dramas, crime and comedy series—of both English and Spanish-language TV in the first week of May 2016, which was randomly selected. A total of 403 characters were identified from English-language TV and 115 from Spanish-language TV. The different characters in the television shows were coded by ethnicity or race, gender, and their role in the shows. The five frames that were developed to show how Latinos were portrayed are professional, criminal, domestic workers, Latin lover, and Latina threat. The most prevalent frame on ABC and CBS was the criminal frame, and on Univision and Telemundo it was the domestic worker frame

Analysis of the Progression of the Representation of Female Protagonists in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Shows Orphan Black and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Girl Power, Appropriated “Masculinity” in Conjunction with Femininity, Empowered Sexuality, and the Heterosexual Script

Buffy Summers goes from urban Los Angeles to Sunnydale, California after she is expelled from her previous high school on the grounds of an assortment of Slayer-related incidents. Chosen as the Slayer, Buffy is fated to fight against the forces of darkness, although this responsibility is not always conducive to leading the life of an average teenage girl. Upon moving to Sunnydale, Buffy quickly learns that Sunnydale High School sits directly above a “Hellmouth,” a hub for demon activity. Specifically, the entrance to the Hellmouth is located directly beneath the Sunnydale High School library, home to a curious collection of occult literature and Rupert Giles, the librarian, who Buffy soon discovers is her Watcher. Buffy befriends Xander Harris, a dorky boy who is often teased for his sense of style and lack of stereotypically masculine qualities, and Willow Rosenberg, a shy and awkward computer geek who spurs Buffy to accept her duties as the Slayer. Cordelia, the typical soap bitch of Sunnydale High School, often finds herself entangled with the “Scooby Gang’s” affairs, as the trio are aptly labeled (Jowett 30)

Portrayal of organ donation and transplantation on American primetime television

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86819/1/j.1399-0012.2011.01427.x.pd