1. Race/Ethnicity
Representation in TV drama
Objectives:
•To be able to identify ethnic stereotypes;
•To explore some of the issues surrounding representation
of race/ethnicity in the media;
•To analyse representations of ethnicity in a TV drama
extract.
Arrange yourselves thusly, with plenty of space around you...
Nicole Conor Charlie N Sean Thabo Charlie L
Daisy Molly Dan Kerry Rebecca Ceren
Harry
2. Task
On your sugar paper:
•draw what you would consider to be a STEREOTYPICAL
representation of a man/woman of your given ethnic group
•give him/her a stereotypical name
•add words to describe their character and background
If you can:
•add possible occupations they would have
•add possible storylines they might feature in
IMPORTANT: TRY TO KEEP YOUR DISCUSSIONS QUIET SO THAT
OTHER GROUPS DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP TO...
3. Ethnic Stereotypes
Black - criminal boys/men (gang culture), patriarchal/religious
system (African), relaxed /joker (West Indian)
Asian (Indian/Pakistani etc) - often linked with religion (Muslim),
corner shop-owners/restaurant workers, poor, large families, fiercely
Patriarchal - strict, sometimes aggressive/violent men, subservient
disempowered women
East Asian (Chinese/Japanese etc) - generally under-represented,
restaurant owners/workers, prodigious children, intelligent, nerdy,
submissive, interested in technology
Eastern European (Polish etc) - strong work ethic, family-oriented,
tradesmen/cleaners, illegal immigrants, bad for Britain
Middle Eastern – terrorists, violent, aggressive etc
Hispanic – lower class, menial jobs, unintelligent/poorly educated etc
Following the earlier activity, what other qualities could you add?
4. Theory
Alvarado's 'stereotypes'/key themes in racial representations:
w Exotic
w Humourous Check these against the
w Dangerous stereotypical features of
w Pitied each ethnic group...
w (recently added) Sexualised
How could you apply (or not) Alvarado to these characters:
6. Ethnicity and Power
•Britain is increasingly multicultural and representations have
changed in recent years as a result BUT it's important to
remember that the dominant ideology in our society is still a
white, western one. How about the US?
•Anything non-white is often constructed in terms of 'otherness'
(binary opposition = 'us' and 'them').
•When considering race/ethnicity in TV drama you should also
remember that the majority of programme-makers are white
and so the representations of minority groups have been
constructed largely from a point of ignorance, and rarely from
actual personal experience. Representations of the dominant
white culture, however, are part of their own identity.
How might this impact on the representations of minority groups?
7. General 'Rules'
•Often positioned as outsiders
•Often working menial jobs
•Often stereotypical and/or underdeveloped characters
•'Otherness' is often highlighted through clothing,
accent/language, religious beliefs and other cultural
indicators
•Where positively represented, often seen as in need of
pity/help
•SOCIALLY, ECONOMICALLY SUBSERVIENT TO WHITE WESTERNS
IN KEEPING WITH WHITE WESTERN DOMINANT IDEOLOGY
•Ethnicity often portrayed as being an important part of
their identity as well as featuring heavily in their storylines
8. Analysis
Explore the ways in which Ethnicity is represented in the
following extract from Hotel Babylon. You should consider:
•Cinematography
•Mise-en-scene
•Sound
•Editing
Remember: As with all questions of representation, it is
important to consider the interactions between characters
(minority/white), to ascertain the power structure and to
consider whether ethnicity is being shown as important to
characters' identities.
