Tokenism?
I used to watch a lot of TV and read a lot of comic books when I was younger and had more time. Like many blacks and other minorities I lamented the miniscule numbers of characters that looked like me. I am older now and still have the same lament. But . . . as I got older and more analytical, thoughts questioning my long held beliefs begin to pop into my head. Now bear with me on this. As of 2006, the US population broke down like this:
- White alone (including White Hispanic): 74% or 221.3 million
- Black or African American alone: 13.4% or 40.9 million
- American Indian or Alaska Native alone: 0.68% or 2.0 million
- Asian alone: 4.4% or 13.1 million
- Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone: 0.14% or 0.43 million
Now if the purpose of business to appeal to the broadest range of consumers and the largest demographic (74%) happens to be white, wouldn't that do more to determine the makeup of the people we see in tv shows, ads, magazines, comic books, etc. because they are trying maximize their potential? And that other races are represented proportionally to the amount of the population they represent? Its a real simplistic way to look at things and I know there are more market forces that come to bear other than race. I was just curious what others think.
- White alone (including White Hispanic): 74% or 221.3 million
- Black or African American alone: 13.4% or 40.9 million
- American Indian or Alaska Native alone: 0.68% or 2.0 million
- Asian alone: 4.4% or 13.1 million
- Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone: 0.14% or 0.43 million
Now if the purpose of business to appeal to the broadest range of consumers and the largest demographic (74%) happens to be white, wouldn't that do more to determine the makeup of the people we see in tv shows, ads, magazines, comic books, etc. because they are trying maximize their potential? And that other races are represented proportionally to the amount of the population they represent? Its a real simplistic way to look at things and I know there are more market forces that come to bear other than race. I was just curious what others think.
So you are saying the volume of the money spent is more important than the color of the skin? Or is it that, as a company, no matter where the majority of your revenue comes from, at least make my Black money feel wanted? I think all media have an obligation to show the diversity of America but is it a valid rule of thumb (when deciding how much diversity to show) to go by the percentage of the population?