The media is playing a big role nowadays in the advancement of racial, gender and ethnic stereotypes. This is taking place through major TV shows, radio hosting, and even the print media has joined the interplay of advancing the stereotypes. Some TV shows in America present this racial and gender stereotypes that have the social and cultural impact on the society. Pozner has come out clearly to give his argument and analysis in some these televisions shows to bring out the reality of the dark side of TV indicates that advance ethnic, racial and gender stereotypes (Pozner 339). Pozner's arguments are used to analyze “The Empires” how a TV show that tries to bring out racial, gender and social stereotypes.
The TV series Empire
The Empire is a drama and soap opera that rotates on a black business baron Lyon Lucious, who runs a music empire. The drama development is around the connive that takes place among relatives, business partners and friends of Lyon Lucious in their struggle to take over the entertainment business on learning that Lyon has a terminal disease. His business partners, friends and relatives who differ with Lyon ethnically come up with the idea to depose him. In the show, Lyon is a black buck who is viewed as animalistic, criminal, destructive and innately savage hence he should not own such a significant and successful business empire. It is seen that she uses sex to conspire against Lyon. This portrays the gender stereotypes that women are just lazy individuals with cunning ways on how to survive in the society. In addition, to that, she brings out the picture of a person who cannot encourage ethnic and racial reconciliation because she partners with her fellow friends and Lyon's business partners who are of white origin to ensure her husband is deposed everything he owns. In the show The Empire, racial stereotype is depicted when business partners and friends of Lyon, who are not of black origin like him try to avoid his music enterprise. Though they have plans to connive, Lyon, the vast business he owns, they discourage their families from visiting the empire on the basis that it is owned by a black person who is currently sick and can be very dangerous to their live. This is encouraged further, more in the show when some of them go ahead to mistreat Lyon's own children whenever they come in company with their children.
Social and cultural impacts of racial and ethnic depiction in “The Empire”
Ethnic and racial representation created by the media play important roles in which we view and understand our society, identity, history, social institutions and everyday life. Race and ethnicity can also be ideologies or ways of seeing and understanding the world around us. In the show, Lyon is viewed as a black and by so doing viewed as a lazy individual who does not need to own the business. The social and cultural impact of this representation is that it gives the viewers the opportunity to see blacks as non-independent people who cannot make any progressive investment as Lyon has done. Socially Lyon is brought out us an individual with no civil influences but rather a rapacious individual. The impact that this portrays to the viewers especially children of the white origin is that blacks are cruel in nature thus interacting with them can be life threatening. as pointed out in study of gender in Canada ((Pozner 343).
In the play the Empire when the friends of Lyon discover his ailment they all begin to connive on how to disposes him of the music empire, the play clearly brings out the marginalization that comes with ethnicity (Daniels and Danny n.p). His friends and business partners who are not of his ethnic origin are in plans to change him shortly. The impact of this representation in the play is that culturally it gives the viewers an opportunity to view other people as lesser in the society. Based on the perceived inferiority that is displayed on Lyon's character, he should not be in possession of the music empire because of his suffering. Then viewers can negatively ingest such understanding and lead to segregation of such individuals in the society gain access to public services such as education, transport and even social joints.
The racial stereotypes depicted in the play on Lyon's family have far-reaching consequences on the viewers of the TV show, especially children. Socially, children can grow up in the society with such mentality, hence encouraging then not interacting with their friend from other ethnic settings and groups. This may encourage isolation, as viewers from one ethnicity may feel deemed as less human and look upon because of the TV show. Culturally the racial discrimination in the play can be misinterpreted. The Viewers of the TV show can find it misleading in that with the young generation watching it they can think that it is a good way of treating their counterparts and carry on with the mentality in their day-to-day life that may in turn erode their cultures. The effects in the TV series implicate the need for families to stay together in hard times. Although, greed and desire for power is reflected the Lyon’s family tend to believe in the strength of a family that is united.
Cookie brings out the gender stereotypes that the society views women as lazy and busybodies. The cultural and social impact of her role in the play gives the young generation especially ladies the impression that they are not supposed to get married to spouses from other ethnic communities and at the same time they are not meant to work hard in life to earn a living for themselves. This at the same time will give the viewers a selective approach in meeting spouses especially the blacks like Lyon may not be encouraged to marry from other races and ethnic groups since the happenings that what befall Lyon in the show may still linger in their minds when they mature. This can culturally cut the links between the young generations from different ethnic and races, and this may encourage wide divisions on how each racial perceives them.
Notably, from the above analysis, it can be noted that the media is rally propagating ethnicity and racial discrimination because of some of the contents aired on TV. The broadcasting cooperation should come up with ways on how to analyze this TV shows to ensure the content they portray to the public does not negatively affect them. Before been aired the TV shows should be taken through analysis and scenes that encourage or carry along stereotypes of ethnicity, racial and gender discrimination are edited to eliminate the dark side of such TV shows.
Work Cited
Daniels, Lee, and Danny Strong. "Empire (TV Series 2015– )." IMDb. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2016. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3228904/>.
Pozner, Jennifer. "Ghetto Bitches, China Dolls, and Cha Cha Divas,”." Gender and women's studies in Canada : critical terrain. Toronto: Women's Press, n.d. 339-347. Print.
