The positive and historic impact of POC (people of colour) representation in media.
First, let us discuss why POC representation is very much needed in the media. In 2015, the average US resident consumed traditional and digital media for about 15.5 hours each and 8-12-year-olds consumed an average of 6 hours of media a day and teens consumed 9 hours. The amount of media consumption shapes and is representative of how people view the world as racial imagery in media has a direct effect on society. In a 2012 study, researchers found that prolonged television exposure predicts a self-esteem decrease for all girls and for black boys, native Americans, however, have an increase in self-esteem for white boys. This is because of the way different genders and races are depicted - other races are commonly cast as villains, sidekicks and sexual objects whereas the white men are predominantly heroes.
Racial images disguised as ‘entertainment’ can also alter the ways viewers understand and categorise people. Popular media can have negative impacts on whites’ perception of people of colour and racial stereotypes in movies and television increase preexisting racial fears. Especially, when there is a lack of contact between racial groups, people tend to rely on the media stereotype to provide ideas about people outside of their own race. For example, the long-lasting stereotype depiction of African-Americans in media has led to audiences perceiving the community as uneducated, lower class and associated with criminal activities. This coupled with the media’s tendency to fuel racial misperceptions means harsher punishments for people of colour.
However, the entertainment industry is slowly but surely changing this narrative with an increase of POC leading actors, directors, writers, producers and overall cast members. We can discuss for example the effects of one of the most iconic films to date for Marvel and Disney, ‘Black Panther’. The record-breaking response at the box office with the movie earning $1.35 billion USD just within the first month it was released, being the 33rd movie to ever do so joining the ranks of historic movie classics such as Jurassic Park, Avatar and Titanic. This caused a social media flurry revealing just how desperate POC audiences were to see a story in mass main media with people who look like them and stem from the same cultures as them.
The effects of seeing POC representation in main media impacts greatly not only the POC audiences themselves but also the majority who have been represented, white people, it allows them to be more open-minded and stray away from old stereotypes to create new positive perceptions of the POC population. It also has drastic impacts on the way the young POC generation will see themselves; having positive role models that are so prevalent in their everyday lives will reduce the negative perceptions the older generations mistakenly believed of themselves. Since they will eventually be equally heard and seen, their self-esteem improves which will have a domino effect on several other aspects of their life, personality and mental health.
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