Did I do that?!

Reading Coleman's assessment of Blacks in the media has been a very interesting and sometimes shocking experience. I feel naive to never realize how distorted the images of black people in the media are. Watching that documentary in class about black people in film just added to my dismay. No wonder discrimination and prejudice is still present today! And the sad part is that many people don't even realize that they are engaging in racists behaviors and mindsets, and I myself am guilty of this. I'm sure of it.

I liked the second part of the Coleman reading because it was closer to my lifetime, so I could more easily follow what she was saying. I have watched many of the Black sitcoms she spoke about. Shows Family Matter, the Cosby Show, and Fresh Prince of Bel Air were all watched by a large white audience. I mean, I can't say I know statistics or anything, but mostly all of my white friends enjoyed those shows - in fact, they were some of their favorites (my best friend Leah watched Cosby every day, without fail!). I personally would list Family Matters as one of my favorite TV shows, alongside with Full House, Saved by the Bell, and Step by Step. And interestingly, I never really realized that the Winslows were actually black...

So my question is, is the portrayal of black families as being seemingly exactly like white families helpful or harmful to society? I would assume that it could be helpful in the sense that it may have helped break down barriers between blacks and whites. From a young age, shows like Family Matters showed me that not only are black people just like me, but they're even funnier and more fun than my family is.

But at the same time, do these shows portray reality? I really don't know. I'm sure there black families that are like the Huxtables and the Winslows. But they aren't all like that, in the same way that all white families aren't like the Tanners (from Full House). In that sense, we're never going to get a full portrayal of reality through television shows. *But* I do think that there's a difference between getting a realistic view of white people and black people on TV because, well, have we ever really gotten a realistic portrayal of black people through the media? Once again, I don't know. It's actually very disheartening to realize that as a white person, the majority of my ideas about black people are from the media, which, based on the Coleman reading is very distorted.

I find it really interesting that the character who made Family Matters especially popular, Steve Urkel, was a huge nerd. I could be wrong about this, but aren't nerds usually a white stereotype? It makes me wonder if having the character of Steve the nerd was a purposeful move to draw in a white audience. It sure worked for me, because for some reason I thought Steve Urkel was the funniest character ever! And I remember growing up having "did I do that?" being a humorous term often used by my family members (especially my dad...haha, duh dad!). And embarrassingly enough, I actually wrote a fan letter to Urkel and received this postcard in the mail:

Even more embarrassing is that I actually had that picture uploaded on my computer, haha!

Once again, I kind of feel like I have no right making these assumptions because they are just that...assumptions. And sometimes I feel like all the research and expert opinions in the world couldn't really answer my question(s) about race in the media. But at least I'm trying to learn. That's gotta be a step in the right direction, right?