“Let's Talk About Race”: Exploring Racial Stereotypes Using Popular Culture in Social Studies Classrooms (original) (raw)
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Abstract American perceptions and ideas about race have stemmed from social constructs that have been shaped by various popular cultural artifacts as well as from racist historical discourses (Lemons, 1977; Balkaran, 1991; Franklin & Higginbotham, 2009; Smedley & Smedley, 2005; Ruffner-Caesar, 2012). The article explores how middle and secondary social studies educators can develop a curriculum rooted in national council for the social studies (NCSS) and common core standards (CCS), as well as in a cultural studies theoretical framework that helps students understand how negative ideas about African Americans are often socially constructed through media and popular culture. The essay is grounded in cultural studies research to show how racial stereotypes and perceptions effects youth at school and in society (Johnson 1987; Du Gay, Hall, Janes, Koed Madsen, Mackay & Negus, 2013). Teachers can use popular media and history lessons to facilitate such a critical discourse and develop meaningful lesson plans (Childs, 2014). The goal is to help students become critically aware of popular stereotypes that affect them and society and how to challenge and overcome them. In this way social studies classrooms can be spaces that facilitate discussions about negative social constructs of Black culture, and how to combat those false notions of Blackness or Race in general.
Critical Education, 2018
Critical media literacy approaches to teaching are a pedagogical imperative in twenty-first century education. It is increasingly important educators rethink what constitutes media and extend this conceptualization to Hollywood film as directors and producers also communicate sociopolitical messages. This article explores the intersection of critical media literacy, Hollywood film, and Black males through the lens of Black cultural projection. We use prior research to argue Black males are portrayed as endangered in school curriculum, namely social studies, and this portrayal parallels what students encounter when watching Hollywood films. The significance of this multimodal distortion of Black males is crucial to consider as films are increasingly used in social studies classrooms. We offer a critical analysis of the Hollywood film The Blind Side as an example of Black cultural projection; then conclude with a call for critical media literacy to be applied towards the use of fi...
Critical media literacy approaches to teaching are a pedagogical imperative in twenty-first century education. It is increasingly important educators rethink what constitutes media and extend this conceptualization to Hollywood film as directors and producers also communicate sociopolitical messages. This article explores the intersection of critical media literacy, Hollywood film, and Black males through the lens of Black cultural projection. We use prior research to argue Black males are portrayed as endangered in school curriculum, namely social studies, and this portrayal parallels what students encounter when watching Hollywood films. The significance of this multimodal distortion of Black males is crucial to consider as films are increasingly used in social studies classrooms. We offer a critical analysis of the Hollywood film The Blind Side as an example of Black cultural projection; then conclude with a call for critical media literacy to be applied towards the use of film in social studies classrooms. Keywords: critical media literacy, film, Black males, social studies
Using Popular Music in the Classroom: A Tool for Identifying Issues of Race and Gender
We live in a world where there is a constant power struggle between dominant and subordinate groups. Through the use of popular culture as a window to those unbalanced power relationships and critical literacy as a means for critique, teaching students to utilize critical literacies can help instill activism and advocacy. The question that this inquiry addresses is: How can teaching music students to critically analyze contemporary popular music help them better understand issues of race and gender? Using critical media literacy, this study focuses on how literacy skills can be applied towards examining the construction of popular music and the culturally dominant values conveyed by popular music. In this inquiry, I explain my findings from a qualitative study that focused on having students examine the different elements of popular music such as artwork, lyrics, video and music. Students engaged with popular music of their interest and were able to identify racist and sexist messages. Findings from this study suggest that using popular music as a tool for teaching about issues of race and gender can help students better grasp how culturally dominant ideas are reinforced.
This article provides a review of the research record on the potential for media literacy education to intervene in the media's influence on racial and ethnic stereotypes, and explores the theoretical concepts that underlie these efforts. It situates media literacy theory and practice within particular emphases in the field and synthesizes qualitative and quantitative studies. Quantitative research on the effect of media literacy training and mediated counterstereotypes on reducing racial/ethnic prejudice is described. In addition, we report qualitative data from an ongoing study of early adolescents who took part in a media literacy curriculum on stereotypes. The research record reveals that although the topic is severely understudied, media literacy education holds great promise for its ability to shape media-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors and encourage an active and critical stance toward media. Media have been shown to have the potential to promote or to call into question stereotypical views of social groups, including those defined by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity (Mastro, 2015; Tukachinsky, Mastro, & Yarchi, 2015). Accordingly, there is promise for education efforts addressing the media's role in stereotyping to mitigate the effects of exposure to negative or narrow media depictions of social groups and possibly even enhance the positive media influence of exposure to nonstereotypical and favorable media depictions.
Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, 2019
The post-racial perspective of many millennial college students can make it challenging for faculty to engage students in serious conversations about race in America and the relationships among popular culture, political culture, and race-conscious policies. This article outlines a three-week unit from a course entitled Popular Culture and Politics that uses Gone with the Wind (1939) and 12 Years a Slave (2013) along with academic and popular articles to walk students through three interconnected concepts: (1) the conflicting images of slavery as a system in American political history; (2) the role of popular culture in constructing and disseminating those images; and (3) the connections between the cultural understanding of America's racial history and the contemporary political landscape. This piece provides an overview of the objectives of each section of the unit, including summaries of readings, sample discussion questions, and a summative assignment-all of which can be adapted for a variety of disciplines.
Designed to Fail: Media Representations of Racialized Classrooms and Schools
Canadian Journal of Family and Youth / Le Journal Canadien de Famille et de la Jeunesse
Educational institutions are assumed to be racially neutral. However, media represents the achievement and ability of individual students and schools disparately and gives these attributes racial meaning. The scenes and sets in movies in the background seldom enter our consciousness and are assumed natural and normal in the context of movies and the stories they communicate. However, audiences, media institutions and set designers draw on shared cultural understandings to communicate and interpret the racial implications behind objects, placement of bodies, and scenery (Entman, 1993, pp. 52-53). Negative media portrayals of Black students and their school environments suggest that there is a problem with urban education. These representations and images suggest that the setting and the objects within it have purpose and meaning that is important in relaying the intended message. This study examines physical elements represented in classroom and school spaces in four movies: Akeelah ...
2017
Although the media are believed to be instrumental in transmitting messages about both traditional femininity and Black femininity to Black youth, there is little empirical evidence documenting this process. Accordingly, this study investigated media contributions to Black college students’ endorsement of both traditional gender ideologies and of the Jezebel, Sapphire, and Strong Black woman stereotypes about Black women. The protective nature of ethnic identity was also examined. Participants (N = 404) completed measures assessing media consumption and involvement, endorsement of traditional gender ideologies and stereotypes about Black women, and ethnic identity. Regression analyses revealed support for our hypotheses, with consumption of music videos, movies, and perceived realism contributing most strongly to students’ endorsement of traditional gender ideologies and stereotypes about Black women. However, students with a strong sense of ethnic belonging were buffered from many ...
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education
This qualitative case study utilized critical media literacy to guide the analysis of the depiction of racially and ethnically diverse college students in contemporary popular films. Participants in this study were racially and ethnically diverse undergraduate students enrolled at a private, Predominantly White Institution in the United States. Three primary themes emerged from this study. First, students of color were more apt to recognize stereotypical portrayals of people of color in the films whereas White students' responses were more attuned with colorblind racial ideology (CBRI). Second, media-centered discussions provided an outlet for students of color to share their personal experiences with racism, stereotyping, and prejudice. In doing so, students of color seek to build the cultural competence of peers who may hold CBRI beliefs. Finally, this study presents a need for critical media literacy. Regardless of race and/or ethnicity, the undergraduates who participated in our study communicated an importance to examine media messages, such as stereotypes of people of color, from a critical perspective. For college and university administrators, such as Chief Diversity Officers, this study is significant in presenting a means for engaging students, faculty, and other stakeholders in dialogue about racial issues in the hopes of fostering a more welcoming campus racial climate for students of color.