Introduction
Introduction
African American Television Trade
This introductory chapter looks at media globalization not as a restrictive or liberating force, but as productive of certain kinds of representational outcomes. In some ways, globalization has expanded the diversity of African American television, while in other ways it has restricted that diversity. Globalization has resulted in more diverse portrayals of African American men in terms of class, politics, and professions. For African American women, however, it has helped narrow the diversity of portrayals or eliminate them altogether, largely because African American characters are most frequently used to attract male demographics. The chapter also explains how the globalization of the media industries shapes the representational politics of African American television. Drawing on Michel Foucault's theory that power produces both social realities and forms of resistance, the chapter argues that media globalization is an exercise in corporate capitalist power.
Keywords: media globalization, African American television, diversity, African American men, African American women, media industries, corporate capitalism
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