Cultural diversity in the media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Cultural diversity in the media - Essay Example These include: the ubiquity, infiltration and monotony of mass media in reinforcing the durability of such representations; the problems faced by the highly profit-oriented commercial media in introducing complex representations; and the close association of mass media with the elites in the society, which prevents it from changing its status quo. Ever since the invention of tools of mass-media such as television over a century ago, prominent means of visual media such as films and motion-pictures have used conventional forms of cultural representations, which even after decades, are recycled with little or no changes, and served to the audiences through various genres and outlets. The lack of change in the characterization and cultural depiction of people belonging to a certain ethnic or cultural background (for instance, Asians, Hispanics or African-Americans) can be attributed to the popularity and acceptance of their identity by the masses and their reluctance to accept or percei ve them in non-conventional ways; or the economic pressures which is related to the need to attract the mainstream audiences who are used to the familiar albeit stereotypical depiction of people belonging to culturally diverse backgrounds. Research has shown that television shows which have attempted to break the cultural stereotypes through use of non-conventional portrayal of people belonging to culturally diverse backgrounds, have received negative response and had a limited impact in addressing the issue on hand (Chan-Olmsted & Albarran, 1998; Hollifield, 2001; McChesney, 1999). It can thus be said that television as a medium of mass communication has an intrinsic penchant to fixate on a redundant yet popular concept or ideology... This paper on ‘Cultural diversity in the media’ represents cultural diversity within American media that dates as far back as the early 1950s. The first instances of depiction of culturally diverse people in Hollywood were witnessed during the early 1950s where mixed raced couples, were shown on screen. This was at a time when films and television shows were highly white dominated. Such representations of racial and ethnic minorities in films i.e. popular mass-media, indicated the liberal expressions of sentiments of the majority of white Americans towards and regarding people of different races, thus showing hints of subtle prejudice, bigotry and racism as observed in daily lives during that era. Although these films and television shows largely catered to the majority i.e. white American audience, such representation showed the growing acceptance of cultural diversity in popular media. Today, the cultural diversity in the American films and television shows is more evi dent and there is a high representation of not only African-Americans but also of people belonging to other ethnicities such as Hispanics and Asians as well. Popular television show such as ‘The Big Bang Theory’ (showcasing an Indian, as a part of the core star cast) is telecast at prime time in the U.S. and has rapidly gained popularity. The rising popularity of such shows indicates the changing culture of contemporary America which is essentially a mix of various racially and ethnically diverse populations.