The Black Male Throughout the History of Television

Throughout this semester our analysis of media has shown that television and media can be both a reflection of society but also contributes to progressive and regressive social change. The representations of races, cultures, and other groups in media not only has an effect on those being represented in the media but also those who are not included in these groups, causing an opinion to be determined by those who may not be familiar with a represented group. The public will begin to treat those that they see on TV based on the depiction of the group that is represented. This can be observed through the portrayal of black men throughout the history of television.

Amos and Andy was a sitcom/comedy that ran from the 1920s to the 50s and was set in Harlem starring two black men named Amos and Andy who would go through typical problems in the time period. The men were depicted essentially as dysfunctional doofuses that dealt with simple issues and turned them into huge issues. The significance of a show like this is that two conclusions can be drawn about society at the time. Obviously, during this time period there was still segregation and racial tensions were very high so if the show is a reflection of what society is, there is the implication that black men are simply not functional enough to even handle the everyday issues that come with being a person, which then causes a stereotype that all black men are like this. Secondly, if the show is proposing that black men are all like this, the stereotype begins to reside in the viewers that maybe are not exposed to diversity in their communities, leading to assumptions made about the race that are simply not true or at the very least representative of the whole culture.

The Cosby Show was an Brooklyn based African American sitcom that lasted from 1984 to 1992 starring comedian Bill Cosby. The shows features a very "well off" family at a time period in the United States where known as the "crack epidemic" which happened to be very ramped in cities like Brooklyn, New York. Bill Cosby (Cliff Huxtable) is shown as a doctor in the show and is accompanied by a lawyer wife (Clair Huxtable). The show is very misleading to it's viewers because of the rarity of the family situation at the time of the show's airing. Even nowadays, for a black family to have a doctor and a lawyer generating income in a household is a very rare occasion. In this situation, if one is to look at the show as a reflection of society, they would flat out be wrong. Anyone who would  classify this show to represent what is common in society at this time would be saying that most blacks are not in the streets either dealing drugs, doing them, or in some form affected by the drug trade. To make this assertion is simply false. If one is to look at this show as a projection of what society should turn into, they would be partially correct except that there is no indication of what a black person has to overcome to reach these levels of success.