The second screening of the semester, Color Adjustment, was really quite interesting. One of the most significant things that stuck with me after watching the documentary was the subtle nature in which many shows managed to work certain stereotypes into their storylines that, had they not been pointed out specifically, I never would have noticed. Things such as the portrayal of African American men as goofy, nonsensical characters, or the tendency to refrain from portraying African American women in careers that strayed too far from domestic duties.
The documentary made me think a lot about some of the shows that I grew up with and the ways in which characters of different ethnicities were portrayed. More current television programs seem to be pretty diverse and tend to portray characters of different backgrounds equally. Shows like The Office, Grey's Anatomy and plenty of others are culturally diverse programs that do not typecast characters based on ethnicity. However, I can't say the same for the shows that I used to watch growing up. Having been made more aware of some of the racial stereotypes present in television, I can recall many occasions where such stereotypes came into play. Looking back, I can see plenty of examples in Family Matters, which I used to watch all the time. Whether it be through clumsy Steve Urkel causing trouble, or Harriet and Rachel struggling to establish successful careers, some of the stereotypes are clearly present. Watching Color Adjustment has made me more consciously aware of such stereotypes that I probably wouldn't have picked up on otherwise.
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it's funny how something can be so obvious, yet we as the public can be so obvlivious until someone points it out. maybe we need more people to point our noses in the right direction. it is always easier to ignore problems, but maybe once they are identified it will become easier to change them.
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