Nowadays,
the media isn't just for publicity, gossip, news reports, etc. but a way to take
race to a whole other level. We have found ways to define race through what we
see and hear from the media. The media, in any way, does not favor those who
are minorities/of color. The media has taken race, gripped it end to end, and
ripped it to shreds in ways of practically no fixing. To me, race and the media
is one of biggest problems and is the main blame for why race is at a point of
no return. We have allowed race to play a role in every aspect of our lives,
even in children’s toys (Gallagher, 287).
In Gallagher’s
article, Racism and Popular Culture,
he mentions the idea of “new racism” (Gallagher, 299). Racism has been taken to
great heights through the media, where we accept racial slurs/slander, but do
not advocate for a just society. We are not creating change, but bringing back
the ways of which race was many years back. We like to say, “The past is in the
past” but here we are reliving history all over again. Racism has definitely taken its course for
the worse. We have become so “creative” in the ways in which we “disguise”
racism. Whether we crack jokes, come up
with excuses, displayed it in movies and children cartoons, you name it, we
have done it.
Race in
the media is something we see as acceptable. We can see a black man on the news
for some sort of crime he has committed and have plenty arrogant comments to
come along with it. We can also see a black man president and still find ways
to twist the story to the same arrogance. People can establish their idea of
race equality, but there you are adjusting your story to sound as “non-racist”
as possible. The media has found ways to slip racism into what we see and hear
which is why it is seen acceptable to go about racism in a way that we do not
make it obvious that we are not being racist, even though there is a big fat
finger pointing out that you are. The media has justified these actions and
allow individuals to become susceptible to this new way of being. The media has
acknowledged race in every way possible to the point where we see no racism even
if it slapped us right in the face.
The
media has definitely brought race to our attention. It is something that
impacts our lives every second of every day. Not only are adults consumed by it
every waking moment, but children are now being dragged along for the ride. If
race in the media continues to play such a huge factor in our society, who
knows where the world will be 10 years from now. Next thing you know we will be
back to wiping out individuals because they no longer fit “criteria.” Just as
easy it is to breathe; it is just as easy to make racial remarks after every
other word, commercial, movie scene, cartoon character, and so much more.
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