Dismantling the Stereotypes of Black Male Imagery in Television

Abstract

This paper is a analysis of dismantling the imagery of black men on television. It discusses the history of black men in media starting with books, film, and on television. It covers the studies, analysis, and conclusive experiments on how audiences perceive black men on television. There is data that shows the percentage of people of color leads,women and minority cable and scripted cable show writers. There is an analysis of the show Black-ish giving examples of episodes where black male imagery on the show confronts, challenges, and dismantles the traditional imagery of black men on television. The paper concludes with an explanation of how and why Black-ish dismantles traditional black male imagery and the implication it can have on the genre in television moving forward.