Digital Deconstructions and Research Reconsiderations: A critical media effects approach to understanding the meaning of race in digital spaces
Omotayo Banjo, University of Cincinnati; Charisse Corsbie-Massay, Syracuse University; Srividya Ramasubramanian, Syracuse University; Rhy’ss Taylor, University of Cincinnati; Evan Torner, University of Cincinnati
Much of the effects literature has explored how representations in digital spaces impact individuals' self-perceptions and group vitality as well as intergroup dynamics with White people as the standard comparison group. Whereas social identity, self-categorization, and priming theories have been used to explain these phenomena, a critical media effects approach might further illuminate the problem and possibilities of studying race in digital spaces beginning with the questions we ask and ending with the conclusions we draw. From social media to gaming and streaming content, racialized minorities have been both bound to stigma and its effects, as well as liberated and empowered to narrate authentic stories of their humanity. Applying the four pillars of the critical media effects framework (i.e. power, intersectionality, context, and agency), this chapter reviews current literature on race and media across different digital platforms and unpacks the ways in which scholars can understand the benefits and constraints of digital environments on the multiple aspects of racial identity. Specifically, we examine how research on racial representation in gaming, streaming, and social media could benefit from taking a critical approach in raising research questions, interpreting data, and drawing conclusions about the performance of race in digital environments. We first explain the distinction of studying digital environments compared to networked and industry produced content. Second, we review the effects scholarship on race and social media, streaming sites, and gaming and entertain the ways in which critical approaches might fill in the gaps or clarify data interpretation. We conclude that there is a trajectory of media effects toward theoretical inclusivity which moderates how we engage our scholarship on the cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes of media impact and audience engagement.
“Abbott Elementary” and the Resilient Black Girl Dork: Reimaging Black Womanhood
Sherella Cupid, Louisiana State University; Tina Maria Harris, Louisiana State University
“Abbott Elementary” is a workplace television comedy about a dedicated group of teachers and an aloof principal in an underfunded Philadelphia public school district. Quinta Brunson is the writer, creator, and executive producer of this mockumentary that aired in 2021 on ABC and is currently in its second season. Brunson, who also stars in the show as the second-grade teacher Janine Teagues, stated that Janine represents, “Oh, resilience. I think she’s a dork who can be perceived as weak or annoying and a lot of different things, but I think that Janine is one of the most resilient characters that comes to mind for me,” (Soto, 2022) This character is a new trope that reflects the importance of representation and telling one’s own stories, namely the stories of Black women, and dispelling the myth of a monolithic collection of Black women who ascribe to antiquated notions of Black femaleness. According to Black feminist theory, not only do Black women possess unique standpoints and realities, but they must also engage in self-definition through owning, creating, and sharing their narratives. These new narratives ultimately pave the way for the creation of new images, such as the Awkward Black Girl. The Awkward Black Girl (ABG) trope is a fairly new counterimage to the control images typically associated with Black women. ABG offers Black women and audiences alternative representations and understandings of what it means to be a Black woman. For our purposes, we contend that ABG is an umbrella term to describe one of many relatable and universal images of Black women not typically seen in mass media.
Mediated Counter-narratives: A Framework for Studying Media Stereotyping and the Reclaiming of Stories by Marginalized Groups
Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, University of Missouri; Dr. Daphne Valerius, North Carolina A&T State University
The lack of representation as well as stereotyping of minoritized and marginalized groups in the media is well established with research providing evidence of negative effects of media consumption on perceptions of these groups. Media effects scholarship has systematically examined the portrayal and effects of such negative representations and has also explored the more positive influence of counter-stereotyping on attitudes and beliefs about minority groups. Although counter-stereotyping provides a fruitful avenue for exploring the effects of portrayals that contradict stereotypes of marginalized groups, this approach centralizes the counter-stereotypical nature of the portrayal and not precisely the production and viewpoint of the marginalized. We offer up a theoretical framework to social scientifically examine media content produced from the vantage point of marginalized groups. Specifically, we propose mediated counter-narratives (MCN) as a lens to examine the use of the contemporary media environment, including digital and social media, to harness narratives to present an alternate world view to mainstream discourses by members of marginalized groups. This framework centers the voices of minoritized populations within media effects scholarship while empowering the act of reclaiming their narratives. Five characteristics of mediated counter-narratives are posited to provide guidance to media effects researchers, and suggestions are made to situate the MCN framework within traditional media effects theories.
