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Tokenism in Law Enforcement

I think it would be a good example and likely an area of interest for readers to discuss the influence of tokenism in police (particularly in the US) and the tactics used by those forces to appear more beneficial or kind by showing a more diverse public image via propaganda or spin tactics. -- 74.111.179.221 (talk) 20:09, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

Article Draft--Proposed Additions to "Tokenism in Television" and "Tokenism in Media"

Tokenism in Television:

Ethnic and racial representation in television has been proven as an educational basis to inform mass audiences. However, tokenism leads to a narrow representation of minority groups, and this trend often leads to minority characters being exposed in negative or stereotypical fashions[1]. Research done as early as the 1970’s suggests an early recognition and disapproval of tokenism and its effects on perceptions of minority groups—specifically, perceptions of African Americans. Tokenism seemed to be used as a quick fix for the complete void of major/recurring minority roles in television, but its skewed representation lacked room for thoroughly independent and positive roles. Throughout that decade, major cable networks including NBC and ABC held a collective 10:1 ratio of white characters to black characters, a much smaller margin of which had recurring African American characters. At that, the representation of African American women was much slimmer. The use of these token characters often portrayed African American people to stand in sidekick positions to their white counterparts[2]. Research completed on token ethnic characters into the new millennium has found that the representation of males has grown in numbers, but has not improved in negative portrayal. Statistics on token ethnic characters still suggest toxic masculinity in African American males; threateningly powerful stereotypes of African American women; hyper-sexuality of African American and Asian women; and effeminate characteristics in Asian men and men of other racial minorities[3].

Tokenism in Media:

Tokenism appears in advertising as well as other subdivisions of major media. Tokenism is interpreted as reinforcing subtle representations of minorities in commercials. Studies have shown that, among other racial minorities, Asian Americans are targeted by advertising companies to fulfill casting diversity, but are the most likely ethnic minority to be placed in the backgrounds of advertisements[4]. Leslie boudreau (talk) 01:15, 2 March 2019 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ Williamson, Andy; DeSouza, Ruth (June 2006). [Representing Ethnic Communities in the Media "Representing Ethnic Communities in the Media"]. Aotearoa Ethnic Network Journal. 1 (1): 20. {{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help)
  2. ^ Hinton, James L.; Seggar, John F.; Northcott, Herbert C.; Fontes, Brian F. (1974). "Tokenism and improving imagery of blacks in TV drama and comedy: 1973". Journal of Broadcasting. 18 (4): 423. doi:10.1080/08838157409363756.
  3. ^ Brooks, Dwight; Hebert, Lisa (2006). Gender, Race, and Media Representation. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.
  4. ^ Taylor, Charles R.; Stern, Barbara B. (1997). [www.jstor.org/stable/4189033. "Asian-Americans: Television Advertising and the 'Model Minority' Stereotype"]. Journal of Advertising. 26 (2): 47. {{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help)

Tokenism in Film

The Disney's Star Wars universe is one franchise which has its fair share of raised eyebrows concerning tokenism.[1][2][3][4] Even though the story takes place in a "galaxy far, far away," this cinematic universe can't avoid topics of racial representation.[3] The only two human characters of racial minority who appear on screen in more than just a handful of scenes are Lando Calrissian (portrayed by Billy Dee Williams) and Mace Windu (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson).[1][3] Though these two characters are recurring over several films, they are certainly not headliners; Star Wars is "utterly dominate[d]" by heterosexual White men.[1] The character of Lando Calrissian is simultaneously one of Han Solo's best friends and most feared criminal adversaries. When fans talk about Lando, however, more often than not it is not about his developed character arc or his skill as a pilot, but his hyper-sexualization and scary "brand of masculinity."[3] Though, some defense for Star Wars and LucasFilms with William's character is that Lando was one of the first developed Black characters in a si-fi film at the time.[2] Though the introduction of this character was a quick way to get racial representation on the big screen, Lando's character is "a form of tokenism that placed one of the most optimistic faces on racial inclusion in a genre that had historically excluded Black representation."[2]

Since the release of the original six Star Wars movies, there was much talk of this use of tokenism. When the first film of the newest installment of the franchise, The Force Awakens, was released in 2015 the conversation shifted.[4] In a series which has such a strong focus on white men[1], The Force Awakens flips the script. Where in the past the main three characters have consistently been two white men and a White woman, in the new trilogy the main trio consists of a Black man (John Boyega), a Hispanic man (Oscar Isaac), and a White woman (Daisy Ridley).[4] Though the canon representation was considerably better, there was fan backlash at the cast of a main Black storm-trooper.[4]

((( please help me with any edits or suggestions, thank you! Amanda.vitello (talk) 18:17, 26 March 2020 (UTC) )))

References

  1. ^ a b c d [1]
  2. ^ a b c [2]
  3. ^ a b c d [3]
  4. ^ a b c d [4]
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