Prof criticizes media portrayals of minorities

On television shows like NYPD Blue, minorities and women routinely play high-powered police lieutenants and judges -- but only in supporting roles. Yesterday, Communications Professor Larry Gross, a 1998-1999 Guggenheim Fellow, explored this trend along with related issues of minorities in the media during a lecture entitled "Visibility and Its Discontents: The Politics of Media Representations." The talk, presented by the Provost's Lecture Series, took place in Houston Hall's Benjamin Franklin Room before an audience of about 85 people -- a mixture of students, Annenberg School faculty and other members of the Penn community. The lecture explored the under-representation of minorities in media and their negative characterizations. Specifically, Gross focused on television. "Advertisers know, or at least believe, that the audience wants to see itself reflected on the screen," Gross said. Initially, Gross described the transformation that American media has undergone over the past 50 years. He noted that since television's advent, its appeal to the public has steadily expanded. Gross likened today's world to an "organism" and telecommunications to its "nervous system." Gross added that top media executives -- who are mostly white, heterosexual, Christian, middle-aged men -- often do not encourage accurate depictions of minorities. He said the lack of diversity at the executive level poses a negative influence. "There's a lot of settlement on the right bank of the mainstream," Gross said of the conservatism. He cited that 44 percent of all black actors on broadcast television during prime time are on UPN and the WB, while NBC, CBS and ABC feature predominantly white actors. He said, however, that some cable television programs do represent racial and sexual minorities in a more positive light. But, he said, when CBS developed a show predominantly featuring minorities, it was quickly pulled. "City of Angels," a show with a primarily African-American cast, was canceled in November after averaging only 7.4 million viewers and ranking 80th among prime time dramas. Gross also spoke about sexual minorities in the media, noting that sexual minorities differ from racial or ethnic minorities because they are shown individually, without others who share their minority status. The media often defines lesbian and gay individuals as menacing or threatening, according to Gross, who said that sitcoms and dramas also tend to neglect lesbian and gay characters or depict them in a comical manner. "Being left off the media stage is a form of symbolic annihilation," Gross added. Audience members responded well to Gross' presentation. "I thought the talk was good," College sophomore Amanda Jones said. "It pretty much covered everything I already believed."