Racism and Harassment in American Animated Sitcoms - Essay Example

? Number> 20 March Racism and Harassment in American Animated Sitcoms It has been more than a decade since animated sitcoms were used to propagate satire and political point of view (Hughey 206). A few examples of American cartoons that have racist and essentialist nature include the following: The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy. It can be observed that these animated sitcoms often describe the Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian nations (AMESA) as “barbaric, untrustworthy, anti-democratic, violent, and filled with religious militants” (206). Not only do these animated sitcoms provide a negative representation of Arabs and Middle Eastern people as being violent and a threat to equality, democracy, and liberty, they also depict a satirical point of view of black Americans and Asians, and even tend to harass women. In the late 90s, two animated sitcoms were launched which based their humor on criticizing U.S. cultures and current events, usually on politics and black comedy. Much of the AMESA related satire started after the 9/11 incident in 2001, wherein the representations of the aforementioned adopted a negative and racist tone (207). This kind of representation was based on the genealogy of “Orientalism” and “Islamophobia” that positions people, places, and ideology conceptualized as Arab, Middle Eastern, South Asian and even of Muslim to be inferior with the “tripartite relationship of Whiteness, Christianity, and U.S. Nationalism” also referred to as the “White Racial Frame” (207). Popular animated television sitcoms in the U.S. adopt its own unique approaches on “hyper-irony and manic-satire” (228). South Park is a U.S. animated television series which is created, written and voiced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone (Hughey 229). “It satirizes many aspects of U.S. culture and current events and challenges deep-seated convictions and taboos, usually employing parody and black comedy” (229). Family Guy, created by Seth MacFarlane, is also a U.S. animated television series which features humor based on popular culture and flashbacks to various points in history and geography (229). In addition, the animated television series uses racial and ethnic stereotypes to produce comedy, biting social and political commentary, and counter-hegemony (208), thus making it an important study point in understanding the relationship between satirical humor and social relationships and interaction, the “forms of irony that involves system of domination and resistance, such as racism and nationalism”(208), and lastly, on the reaffirmation and normalization of social relations through popular media (208). There is great influence in media representations. According to the American Psychological Association, the absence of sufficient materials that provide information of the views of a certain group would result in a blind acceptance of the television representation of the group (214). A psychologist from UCLA suggests that a vast effect of the media on the perception by children of a minority group is highly influenced by the way it is shown in the television (214). An example of a long term effect this kind of shows has is the occurrence of workplace bullying (Fox 439). According to Suzy Fox (439), bullying “is an umbrella concept for these various conceptualizations of ill-treatment and hostile behavior toward people at work, ranging from most subtle, even unconscious incivilities to the most blatant, intentional emotional abuse.” This also includes single incidents and especially those of escalating patterns of behavior (439). Recent studies identified two types of bullying, general bullying and racial/ethnic bullying. In general bullying, behaviors happen to anyone with no reference to its race or ethnicity while racial/ethnic bullying occurs with reference to race and ethnicity (439). In addition, another aspect of bullying is also introduced which is the particular dynamic of abusive supervision, also known as supervisory bullying, petty tyranny, and social undermining (440). This results in more negative emotions at work and counterproductive work behavior (452). The cartoon shows use symbolic objects and practices to convey its satire over different cultures (Hughey 217). For instance, it made use of AK-47s, kneeling on prayer rugs, illiterate and uneducated interactions, and furrowed brows and angry demeanor which depicts the term “evil Arab” (217). One episode of Family Guy “PTV” showed a scene where the viewers entered a cave and were introduced to a man with a full, long beard and dark skin, dressed in white tunic and wearing a turban, which is a stereotyped cartoon version of Osama bin Laden, creating a video meant for U.S. audience (217). This clearly establishes white supremacy and superiority views to the viewers of the sitcom. Another example of harassment is seen in an episode of South Park “The Snuke,” where a Muslim child is transferred to their school and is targeted for being a terrorist. A character in the series, Kyle, then does a profile check of their new classmate on Myspace.com. This segment satirically comments on the insecurity in the U.S. as well as giving ridicule to racial profiling (217). American animated television sitcoms present different media presentations that depict racism and culture. Female black Americans have always been targets of feminist media that usually favors white women (Brooks 299). The objectification of black women in hip-hop music videos, which was reproduced on some episodes of animated series, is disturbing since it develops a notion of black women as a sexual object (301). Multicultural feminist includes Asian and Latina. There are very few Asian women in the media and most of the time they are represented as oversexed seductresses (302). Latinas are usually depicted as maids and also they are taking scene in the music industry, however their sex appeal is played up heavily in their music videos (302). One of the most influential debates as regards feminism is the inequality and difference among women (Knapp 253). The concept of intersectionality was introduced to address the issues of work experiences of black women and violence against women of color (255). The concept was used in different ways and provided a stand on legislation that benefited the multiple races in promoting equality (255). Media representations of racial masculinity of black men and Asians have always been satirized by cartoon shows in the U.S. Apart from the traditional studies on gender and media that focus on feminism, studies on men and masculinities have been popular in the recent years (Brooks 304). “In the 1970s, the Critical Race Theory (CRT) emerged from the critical legal studies as a response to the slow pace of racial reform in the United States.” (304). But this protection against racism was not employed by media institutions and in their representations (304). One of the popular media representations of racism over black men is the porn magazine “Hustler” which portrays an ideology claim that “failure to contain black masculinity will result in the collapse of the economic and social fabric of white society” (306). It also shows a representation constructs of black men having bodies not minds (306). Asian and Asian Americans are often regarded as threatening foreigners, American detectives, laborers and laundry men, and business men and martial artists (307). Schools are usually the venue where white and black Americans develop their sense of race and ethnic identities (Andersen 434). This occurs during the process when teenagers sort their beliefs and behaviors taken from their family and consider how these can affect the individual personality in terms of interacting with people who are different in terms of their ethnicity, class, religion, and race (434). Thus, it results in the creation of groups of similar beliefs and traditions in schools that can sometimes lead to racial disputes among groups of different ideology and beliefs (435). In the context of Gender and Sexuality, Lois Weis provided a picture of how the system tends to silence the voice of homosexuals (Weis 210). The school was intended to be a place of democracy; however, it has been reproducing and promoting inequity among other sexual orientations (210). There is a rich heterosexism culture in schools and also a great deal of homophobia exists that makes the life and learning of young people with a different sexual orientation difficult (211). Many school curricula promote the values of superiority of heterosexuality over homosexuality, which often results in fear and dislike over lesbians, gays and bisexuals leading to feelings of discomfort among them which is a form of violence and harassment (212). As cited in the article of Weis (213), the feeling of growing up gay in the family was like being Jewish in a Nazi home. To further understand the diversities of race and ethnicity in the U.S., different cultural groups are analyzed. The ethnic and racial groups include African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. African Americans comprise 12 percent of the U.S. population (Sokoloff 159). Many of them are still affected by the legacy of slavery and discrimination of their social and economic standing (159). Hispanic Americans constitute approximately 13 percent of the population. They are categorized as the Latinos and Latinas. Much of them became part of the country after Mexican War (160) and the need for laborers in the U.S. has increased the flow of Mexican immigrants in the country. Asian Americans originated from three major geographical locations, namely: East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. It comprises 3.6 percent of the U.S. population. “Asians value: family relationships, respect for authority and elders as well as responsibility, self control, and educational achievement” (161). Last are the Native Americans which constitute 1.5 percent of the total population and include the Alaskan natives (161). Animated shows also depict domestic violence and in some cases provide images of harassment of women and children. Though these reproductions have a factual cultural reference, it can still be offensive to different cultures. Domestic violence can be seen at times among the African Americans, and reports have showed that homicide of intimate partners is the leading cause of death for African American women between ages fifteen to twenty four (Sokoloff 163). Reports of violence among Hispanic Americans are higher as compared with white Americans. However, Central American women and Cuban American women were more likely prone to abuse with Mexican women next (164). Asian Americans were not likely to experience violence with only a small portion of the population reporting suffering from any abuse. This can be mainly attributed to their high educational level. Lastly, Native American women report a high incidence of abuse but only one third of it was severe violence (165). Animated television series that depicts satire humor pertaining to race, culture, gender and sexuality exerts vast influence on and plays a vital role in the development of the viewers’ attitude towards other races and cultures. It also strongly imparts an idea of ideology and practices of other cultures and can be misleading to viewers and detrimental to the portrayed culture. Works Cited Andersen, Margareth L., Collins, Patricia H. Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology. United States: Wadsworth, 2001. Print. Brooks, Dwight E. and Hebert, Lisa P. Gender, Race, and Media Representation. Gender and Communication in Mediated Context (2006): 297-318. Print Fox, Suzy and Stallworth, Lamont E. Racial/ethnic bullying: Exploring links between bullying and racism in the US workplace. Journal of Vocational Behavior 66 (2005): 438-56. Print. Hughey, Matthew W., Muradi Sahara. Laughing Matters: Economies of Hyper-Irony and Manic-Satire in South Park & Family Guy. Humanity & Society Vol. 33 (2009): 206- 37. Print. Knapp, Gudrun-Axeli, Race, Class, Gender: Reclaiming the Baggage in Fast Travelling Theories. European Journal of Women’s Studies 12, 3 (2005):249-65. Print. Sokoloff, Natalie J., and Pratt Christina. Domestic Violence at the Margins: Readings on Race, Class, Gender, and Culture. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Print Weis, Lois. and Fine Michelle. Beyond Silenced Voices: Class, Race, and Gender in United States Schools. Albany: State University of New York, 1993. Print. Read More