Representation

Representation of ethnicity in the media:

Ethnicity is based on social groups that share the same history and cultural roots.

It is seen as more social than biological, and refers to

·         Heritage

·         Culture

·         Ancestry

Within media different ethnic groups can often be overlooked and therefore the use of ethnic minority actors is known as tokenism.

Tokenism can be seen in the media by having either:

1.      A reduced amount of ethnical background actors or characters.

2.      The difference between ethnic groups over emphasized, such as exaggerated accents.

Often ethnic minority characters are secondary to white protagonists such as friends or sidekicks.  

For example

It has been said that the TV show Friends fails to explore different ethnic groups with all six main characters being white, from America and living in New York and the only ethnic minority actors being colleagues or love interests.