Race in Film, Theatre, and Television: Starting with the Basics

"[E]ven the most seemingly benign TV programs articulate the relationship between race and power, either explicitly or through implication."

-Hamamoto (Holtzman, 209)

The representation of races in film, television, and theatre, among other forms of media, has been a topic of much discussion for decades. More recently, however, the worry of misrepresenting or offending certain races is a relevant topic in popular culture, for hundreds of movies, plays, and television shows are produced a year with all sorts of different races "represented." For movies, it is particularly easy to spread masses of information (be it true or false or somewhere in between). They are influential pieces of media because “the expansive reach of movies makes them a particularly important site for examining popular constructions of race relation in U.S. society." (Hughey, 546) Because of this outreach, the way a race is represented in a film or TV show can give different perspectives/insights/knowledge that have questionable amounts of fact or history surrounding them. Not only considering the power of providing said information, but how a race is portrayed can be beneficial or detrimental to the race outside the film, in the real world.

The question that arises is how does one tactfully and truthfully represent an entire race as a whole in the media without the performance being presumptuous, crass, quoting a race or even reinforcing stereotypical representations? Due to it's nature and outreach as mentioned before, it is particularly difficult when considering the making of movies, for "the popularity of movies as a source of entertainment and cultural expression means that they reach further than many other discursive movies." (Hughey, 547) Movies and television shows spread all over the world nowadays thanks to the wonders of technology. Each form of media can be heard in a different language so that it's not remaining only for those who speak one certain language. The problem with this availability of media is that sometimes when races are misrepresented, people who don't know any better, including children can fall into the trap of believing that these representations are reflections of real life.

What makes media that is watched so different from literature and radio, is that there are actual beings set to portray characters and people. Doctor Felix-Lois Regnault believed " not only that film could furnish documents for the study of race, but also that by capturing the physical form in motion, film [as well as live theatre and television programs] could serve as an unimpeachable scientific index of race." (Rony, 74) What the Doctor claimed was that in having people actually represent a race or person of a particular race, you are essentially providing the audience with a scientific representation in the flesh. This brings us to the start of adding race in film.

"Cinema appears to bring the past and that which is culturally distant closer"

-Fatimah Rony (Rony, 9)

This quote from above highlights an enormous issue with the cinema. Just because a film is set in the past or is a history-based film, does not in any way ensure that hard facts are coming out of it's content when considering race. Film when it first came out, was primarily designed to appeal to white, middle-class families. Going to the movies was an enjoyable outing, where one could have the potential of learning something new about people from other lands, or from a time long ago. Not only that, however, but these white middle-classed families went to see representations of themselves. As Fatimah Rony said in her book entitled The Third Eye: Race, Cinema, and Ethnographic Spectacle, "We turn to the movies to find images of ourselves and find ourselves reflected in the eyes of others." (Rony, 4) If this is so, then how on earth do people feel when their race is wrongly portrayed? Shouldn't every race be able to see themselves in film without the portrayal skewing how a race truly is? And how can one justifiably quote an entire race in one human being?  

This topic of how to approach race in film, television, and theatre is one that ties heavily into our work in class. Stereotypes need to be broken, and the blindness in which we broach the subject of race in film a lot of the time needs to be brought to light. Different races have every right and deserve to be represented in a way that they are proud of, or at least in a way that is truthful. When looking at the race and ethnicity of an actor/actress and their portrayal of a race, hundreds of questions can come up, but the question at the foreground of the portrayal should be, "Does this representation speak the truth." I look to further my research on the subject by examining recent films and television shows, as well as comparing them to past works. I also look to answer the question of "Is there a way that film-makers, directors, writers, etc. can approach the production of a form of visual media where race is represented correctly?"

Hughey, Matthew W. "Cinethetic Racism: White Redemption and Black Stereotypes In" Magical Negro" Films." Academia.edu. Mississippi State University, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.

Holtzman, Linda. Media messages : what film, television, and popular music teach us about race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe, 2000. Print.

Gormley, Paul. The New-Brutality Film: Race and Affect in Contemporary Hollywood Cinema. Intellect Books, UK 2005. Print.

Rony, Fatimah T. The third eye : race, cinema, and ethnographic spectacle. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1996. Print.