Contemporary- Removing Racists Portrayals in Pop Culture
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to remove racist portrayals from popular media. This has been seen in various forms, from the removal of racially insensitive characters to the re-editing of classic films to remove offensive content. One prominent example of this is the removal of racist portrayals in the television show 30 Rock. In 2020, the show's creator, Tina Fey, made the decision to remove several episodes from streaming platforms due to their use of blackface. These episodes faced extreme backlash for their offensive stereotyping of African-American individuals and were harmful at deeper than surface value. Scholars report qualitative data that suggests “Television portrayals of African- Americans and other minoritized groups by White Americans have been shown to influence whites’ perceptions of those groups” (Ford et al., 266). All in all, this move was praised by many as a step in the right direction toward ending the normalization of racist portrayals in media.
Similarly, the 2021 remake of West Side Story faced criticism for its portrayal of Puerto Rican characters. While the 2021 film made significant strides from the original, primarily not featuring brownface, it was still criticized for its use of insensitive lyrics and the perpetuation of negative stereotypes about Puerto Ricans. The controversy led to a discussion about the importance of accurate representation and the need to move away from outdated and harmful stereotypes. The criticism of this film can be connected to Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's book "Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States." In this book, the author argues that color-blind racism, a form of racism that is subtle and indirect, perpetuates racial inequalities in the United States (Bonilla-Silva). While removing glaringly obvious features of racism in the movie, the producer failed to reflect on their own positionality and address other problems that may have been wrong with the readoption of the script.
Another example of this push for change can be seen in the recasting of racially insensitive characters in popular animated shows. The Simpsons' character Apu, who had been criticized for perpetuating harmful stereotypes about South Asians, was voiced by a white man for nearly 30 years. This voice actor, Hank Azaria, stepped down after he realized he was in a position where he was hurting individuals. This depiction of Southeast Asians, especially by a white man, "characterizes an America that makes fun of immigrants and anyone who is not white" (Kondabolu, 20). Similarly, the white voice actors for Cleveland Brown and Missy Foreman-Greenwald, black characters from Family Guy and Big Mouth, respectively, have both stepped down for similar reasons. All three voice actors did so voluntarily, in an introspective act where they acknowledge the wrong they were doing. For the most part, these portrayals came at a time when "[people of color] were underrepresented in the acting space", and rather than searching out voice actors who brought proper representations, white actors were celebrated for their "flexibility" (Kondabolu, 8).
Overall, these examples demonstrate a growing awareness and concern about the impact of racist portrayals in media. While progress has been made in removing these portrayals, there is still much work to be done to ensure that media is inclusive and representative of all people. It is important to continue to push for change and hold the media accountable for the harmful impact of these portrayals.
Works Cited
Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013.
Ford, Thomas E. “Effects of Stereotypical Television Portrayals of African-Americans 65 On Person Perception.” Social Psychology Quarterly 60.3 (1997): 266-75. JSTOR. Web. 15 May 2013.
Melamedoff, M., & Cargill, M. J. (2017). The Problem with Apu. Retrieved from https://www.scripts.com/script-pdf/21117.