Ethnicity and race

Alvarado Theory (1987)

• Key themes in racial representation– Exotic– Dangerous– Humorous– Pitied– Sexualised

Exotic

• Being ‘the other’• Represented as

strange / unusual• Assume point of

view of white people – called ‘white eye’ (Hall, 1990)

Dangerous

• Threat to society• Taking advantage

of society• Underlying

institutionalracism

Humourous

• In 70s race was vehicle for comedy

• Programmes removed threat of races by making them butt of jokes

• Modern programmes made by ethnic minorities laugh at themselves

Pitied

• Deprived groups or victims of natural disasters such as famine, floods, conflicts

• Images of children used to gain sympathy

Sexualised

• Sexually violent –links to own culture

• Threat to our societythrough rape

• Men and womenfrom ethnic groupsseen as sexual objects (gaze theory)

Tokenism

• Limited inclusion or artistic/political representation of traditionally marginalised group, usually creating false impression

• E.g. purposefully including a member of a minority race, such as a black character in an all white cast

Conflict

• Ethnicity characterised by unity and conflict.• Conflict often binary opposition of ethnic

groups and wider society• Difference and diversity emphasised• Stereotypes ethnicity as close knit community• United through religious beliefs, games and

work, as well as culture• Representation of illegal immigrants – us vs

them

Conflict

• Tendency in media to link knife crime and gang culture to young black males

• Stereotypes as ethnic minorities as dangerous, both physically and also to British ideology

• Part of ‘moral panic’