18. Race/Ethnicity and Media

Theory Development and Evaluation Within a Critical Media Effects Framework

“…Indeed, there is ample opportunity for social scientists to refine their measurement of “identity in their own research in an effort not only to improve methodological practice but to combat the invisibility and erasure” of these individuals in academic research (Fraser, 2018, p. 12). Mastro and Stamps (2018) assert, “taking an intersectional approach to the study of media […] opens the door to a more nuanced understanding of the complexities within our social and mediated environment” (p. 353).…”

Who Is Marketised in Colour-Blind Sweden? Racial and Ethnic Representation in Swedish Commercials 2008–2017

“…According to research in media psychology and intergroup communication, images and messages associated with racial/ethnic groups in the media contribute to the formation, activation and application of racial/ethnic awareness and bias (Mastro 2017;Mastro and Stamps 2018). The media has the potential to promote or to call into question stereotypical views of social groups such as those defined by race and gender; therefore, efforts have been made for education to address the media's role in this issue (Scharrer and Ramasubramanian 2015;Åkestam 2017).…”

“…Market-based representation has become a crucial aspect to examine in societies characterised by racial and ethnic diversity because 'images serve to convey meaning and help shape social attitudes towards people and cultures' (Davis 2018, p. 145), and as frequent depictions do not necessarily equate with favourable representation, it is important to consider how racial and ethnic groups are portrayed. For example, in the US context, although quantitatively well represented on prime-time television (Mastro and Stamps 2018), Black depictions continue to embody many stereotypes-such as their being unintelligent, athletic, criminal, aggressive and sexual (Dixon et al 2019)-and are often presented in a predominantly Black context (Mastro and Stamps 2018). However, there is limited research on the portrayal of Blacks in advertising outside of the US (Davis 2018).…”

“…Marketers, for example, use Blackness-such as Black culture, speech, style, fashion and music-to sell products (Davis 2018), which calls into question the representation of Blacks as tokenism (Riccucci 2008). Moreover, even though Black portrayal has bettered significantly since the 1980s in the US, the Black character's isolation still raises questions regarding the persistence of stereotypical representation and tokenism (Mastro and Stamps 2018;Crockett 2008). Swedish scholars analysing Swedish films argue that racial and ethnic minorities are more often portrayed in a sympathetic manner with a focus on their 'differences' (Karlsson 2014;Tigervall 2005;Pallas 2011).…”

“…In the US and other countries with a long history of racial diversity (such as South Africa), a lot of attention has been paid to the media's role, including marketing communications, in issues of race and ethnicity (Licsandru and Cui 2019). Studies in the US context consistently reveal the under-and mis-representation of racial and ethnic diversity across different media channels (Mastro and Stamps 2018). Davis (2018) points out that an abundance of research on racial representation and multicultural marketing comes from the US and, to a lesser extent, from Europe (Davis 2018).…”