Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Analysis Of The Representation Of Black Men In Modern U.S. Television Commercials., Jackson Borman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Throughout the history of media, minority groups have been on the losing end of representation, with racist, stereotypical portrayals, or in many cases, no representation at all. This study analyzes the current representation of black men in modern television commercials. To answer the research questions posed about how black men are represented in commercials, a content analysis was conducted. A systematic sample of television commercials was taken from an online directory of television commercials, and the sample (N = 117) was analyzed using a coding instrument to determine the level of involvement and characterizations of the black male characters featured …