WWDTD Movement Representation

After watching several videos on different media productions, some of the stories could be portrayed as a bad representation for their social movements. For instance, when watching the video "Black Lives Matters & Bernie Sanders," two African American young women interrupted Bernie Sander's speech in order to get their voices heard. The two young women from the Lives Matter Movement expressed their feelings towards the injustice that people of color face every day. The young women speaking had great points and addressed important issues of police brutality and violence. However, when reading the comments on the web, we see that many people disagree with the two young women approach and behavior. Many said that interrupting a candidate like Bernie Sanders who’s been active on equal rights and freedom should not be treated disrespectfully. Others said that the two young women are a bad representation of the "Black Live Matters" movement and that maybe they were paid to misrepresent the movement. This behavior caused viewers to see the movement as disrespectful and many were embarrass to be associated with the movement.

Another video that caused controversy was the “Commentary on Students Protest" and the "Yale Confrontation" video. Many disagreed with the extreme and aggressive reaction that Jerelyn Luther had towards Yale Master Nicholas Christakis views of freedom of speech and expression. The controversy started when Yale's Dean Burgwell Howard sent an email to all the undergraduate student body and cultural centers. The email pleaded students to be thoughtful of any offensive, cultural and inappropriate Halloween costumes. However, Christakis wife (Associate master) sent students a separate email letting students know that it was OK for them to express themselves and basically wear whatever they wanted. This made Jerelyn and several students uncomfortable and unsafe. Jeralyn and a group of students confronted the master without holding back. This event caused anger and criticism of the way Jerelyn approached the situations giving her the title of “The Shrieking Girl" by social media. Many responded that her approach was disrespectful and that she had lost her mind. Others treated the situation as mental illness and saw the situation as a bad representation of colored women. Heather Stuart will disagree with the audience portrayal of mental illness as she mentions on his reading that "empirical studies show that the majority of people with a mental illness never commit a violent act or are more likely to be victims" (Stuart 102). Based on Stuart's reading, it is clear that Jeralyn does not have a mental condition but she's expressing her feelings towards the master’s views on Halloween costumes. Some can agree that she was standing up for those whose voices are never heard but at the same time she's being criticized by her strong approach and behavior. 

Another video that is also being criticized is the "Cesar Chavez" day video. Many viewers on the comments were upset of the idea of “Cesar Chavez" day on Easter day. Others were criticizing Chavez movement and did not want to recognize all the efforts that he did for the Hispanic community. Another issue was that women were not fully represented on this video. On the video we do see some women in the background picking grapes and other fruits. We also see a brief comment made by Dolores Huerta regards the movement. However, we don’t see the media recognizing Dolores Huerta even though she was also an activist and labor leader that had a big impact in the movement. 
“Pussy Riots” was another controversial video, as the two young women were portrayed by the media as loud, crazy and violent. Many commentators had negative comments towards the two young women who started the movement. Others, had very disrespectful, vulgar and sexual comments directed to them, making others very uncomfortable. Once again, women are being portrayed as crazy, loud and treated as objects. Both women stood up to the Government and were brutally abused publicly. However, this did not stop people from criticizing the movement and disrespecting the two young women.

Another movement is the “Anonymous” movement which caused many controversies in social media. This movement is portrayed as revolutionary, insane and bias. Many commentators expressed their negative feelings towards the movement calling it a conspiracy movement funded by the Obama Administration. Many viewers sees this movement as over the top due to the graphic images and mysterious music. Some due recognize and support the movement as it contains valuable information that social media can benefit from. I do agree that the images and videos that the movement showcases can be a bit disturbing for many, however, the movement purpose is to shock the masses by providing scary, controversial and political information. 
Lastly is the “Iran Rise Up” video. Many commentators had mixed emotions of the video. Some responded with positive and inspirational comments but others left hurtful and disrespectful comments directed to Iranian culture and believes.

Overall, the representation of Movements in the Media have always been criticized, praised and disrespected for many years now. Many viewers can identify and agree with each movement approach and realness. Other viewers in the other hand, can become intimidated, offended and opposed the views that each movement projects. Some of the stories portrayed in the media focus on the negative aspects of the movements without looking at the positive side and purpose of each movement. 

Underrepresented Families

Have underrepresented families achieved success on television?  In what ways has the medium of television challenged and/or reproduced stereotypes of the American family?

Television programming has changed throughout the years. We now see a diversity of entertaining programming related to the American culture. Television shows have introduced the concept of the “American Family.” Portraying the American family as a middle or upper class white family with a husband, wife and children. However, family television has slowly started introducing families with different ethnicity and cultures. For instance, “I love Lucy"  became one of the first TV show that showcased a biracial couple, a white wife and a Cuban husband. Later on television shows introduced “The Fresh Prince of Bell Air” and the “Cosby show,” representing African American families for the first time on television. Although, television shows started emphasizing families from different backgrounds and culture, each show became a re-production of the same story. The so called the “American family” portrayed similar characteristics and situations. For instance, the men are portrayed as the breadwinner and the women are portrayed as the caretakers. Not all shows however, follow the same family patterns. For instance, Clair Hanks Huxtable (the Cosby show) was not a stay at home mother in fact, she is a successful layer. However, the Cosby show show cases of under representation through gender roles. On the Cosby show,  Clair is underrepresented by not giving the audience the opportunity to see her in action. Clair is a successful lawyer, and when watching the show we don't see her working on a law case or in her work environment. Instead, Dr. Huxtable takes the leading role and is seen on his work element at all times. But have all these stereotypes and gender roles portrayed on family shows changed today?

Today, we see television shows such as Modern Family, Empire, Fresh out the Boat and Blackish showcasing nontraditional blended families with a diversity of age, class, gender, and standards. However, when analyzing closely we notice that some of these shows are continuing to be a re-production of an upper,middle class families with not enough cultural diversity. Some of these shows are also portrayed with stereotypical behavior and culture. There is a lack of authenticity and truth behind these family shows. The American family continues to be underrepresented. Sadly, the majority of the viewers who enjoys these shows cannot relate with the families portrayed on the shows. When we think of the American family we don’t automatically think of our family but the white American family. Not being able to identify or relate with these television shows displays a lack of diversity, culture, values and principals. The show Blackish however, is one of the fewest shows that bring a new take of the African American family on television. These types of television shows can provide a massive audience support (Danish 306). But even though Blackish is changing the stereotypical American family, it is still lacking educational programming on the real struggle that African Americans, Latinos and Asian cultures experience on a daily basis. Reason being is that “all media, newspapers, film, radio, television, magazines and books, are controlled under strict censorship, that a nation can be forced to be uplifted or to conform to a predetermined ideological or cultural mold” (Danish 306). Until television shows provide a good representation of culture and ethnicity, viewers would be able to identify and relate to television shows rather than the typical "American family" that is portrayed on television today.