THE REPRESENTATION OF
FEMALE AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLEGE
STUDENTS ON TELEVISION: A
CONTENT ANALYSIS OF A DIFFERENT
WORLD AND GROWN-ISH
M O N E J A H B L A C K
N AT H A N I E L F R E D E R I C K , P H D , F A C U LT Y M E N T O R
E M M A N U E L N W A C H U K W U , F A C U LT Y M E N T O R
D E P A R T M E N T O F M A S S C O M M U N I C AT I O N
W I N T H R O P U N I V E R S I T Y
INTRODUCTION
•1987-1993•Spin-off of The Cosby Show: black female daughter (Denise Huxtable) attends Hillman College (HBCU)
• 2018-present• Spin-off of Black-ish:
black female daughter (Zoey Johnson) attends California University (PWI)
• College experience of the female African American lead character
Source: Fan Art TV Source: Wikipedia Commons
Source: HBCU Buzz Source: TV Over Mind
Historically Black College or University
Predominantly White Institution
W H Y I T M A T T E R S The representation of the female
AA college student
The representation of the college experience
Who’s watching? What are they learning?
PWI non-minority students who have limited first-hand experience with AAs prior to/during college
High school students who have limited knowledge of what to
expect in college
LITERATURE REVIEW
The Social Construction of the African American Family on Television
Sitcoms and African American Portrayal on Television
Television as a Vicarious Experience Perceived Realism
THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY ON TELEVISION: A
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE COSBY SHOW AND BLACK-ISH
Textual analysis on The Cosby Show and
Black-ish
How AA family is constructed on
television, evolved over time
Similarities in family demographics (well-rounded, educated,
suburban)
Differences in willingness to address certain topics such as
racial issues and stereotypes
Stamps (2008) Source: NPRSource: Amazon
SITCOMS AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PORTRAYAL ON TELEVISION
Tells us how to run our lives
Characters with traits the audience
relate to
Enact realistic life occurrences
Provides perspective on certain aspects of
life
Berman (1987)
• Comical, yet expected to be moral• “The producers seem to have
forgotten that you can’t raise a moral issue and play with it—people expect you to solve it. …it exploits social issues without making sense of them”
Berman (1987)
Situational Comedy
SITCOMS…CONTINUED
(Means Coleman, 2005)
African American Portrayal on Television
Minstrelsy Era (1950 to 1953)Amos ‘N’ Andy,
Beulah
Nonrecognition Era
(1954 to 1967)Car 54, Where
Are You?, Hogan’s Heroes
Assimilation Era
(1968 to 1971)The Bill Cosby Show*, Julia
Source: Slate Magazine Source: YouTube Source: IMDb
(Means Coleman, 2005)
African American Portrayal on Television
Lear Era(1972 to 1983)Sanford and Son, Good Times, The
Jeffersons
Black Family Diversity (Cosby
Years)(1984 to 1989)
The Cosby Show, A Different World,
227
Neo-Minstrelsy Era(1990 to 1998)
Martin, The Wayans Bros.
Source: Fame Focus Source: TV Series Finale Source: CliqueClack
SITCOMS…CONTINUED
African American Portrayal on Television
Source: Sim International
Source: One News Now
SITCOMS…CONTINUED
Source: AmazonSource: Wikipedia
Source: ShareTV Source: DirecTV
TELEVISION AS A VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE
• Vicarious experience: Knowledge gained through means other than direct experience• Television is a “window on the world” for
providing children, families, and communities information otherwise not available to them (Graves 1999)• Televised role portrayals can lead to stereotypes,
prejudice, and discrimination (Graves 1999)• Viewers are likely to believe TV as true to form,
serves as knowledge gap for viewers without first-hand experience with another race (Ford 1997)
PERCEIVED REALISM
Narrative Persuasion
Plausibility(Possible)
Typicality(Similar to real life)
Factuality(Made up or
not) Narrative Consistency
(Without contradictions)
Perceptual Quality
(Convincing audio and visuals)
Five factors that contribute to narrative persuasion, which can then influence individual behavior and societal action (Cho et al. 2012)
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
How was the lead female AA character portrayed?
What is the predominant theme of each episode?
How realistic were the portrayals of the events in each episode?
Did the episode resolve the conflict?
What is the tone of the episode?
Source: Fan Art TV
Source: Wikipedia Commons
METHOD
• Content analysis of first season of A Different World (22 episodes) and Grown-ish (13 episodes)
• Unit of analysis: Each episode = one unit
• Coding for:– a set of character traits
– overall theme
– perceived realism
– conflict resolution
– tone
• Analyzed using SPSS Chi Squared Fisher’s Exact Test
Source: VarietySource: FreeForm
Source: The Agony BoothSource: Black Girl Nerds
METHOD
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONSA Different World Grown-ish P-Value
# of total occurrences
Y/N Y/N % # of total occurrences
Y/N Y/N%
Anxious 17 12 (5) 71%(30%) 6 6 (0) 100% n.s.
Enthusiastic 16 13 (3) 81% (19%) 10 8 (2) 80% (20%) n.s.
Friendly 18 16 (2) 89% (11%) 10 9 (1) 90% (10%) n.s.
Imaginative 12 11 (1) 92% (8%) 3 1 (2) 33% (67%)n.s.*marginally sig.
Motivated 17 9 (8) 53% (47%) 7 5 (2) 71% (29%) n.s.
Open-minded 18 15 (3) 83%(17%) 5 3 (2) 60% (40%) n.s.
Organized 13 7 (6) 54% (46%) 3 1 (2) 33% (67%) n.s.
Responsible 18 12 (6) 67% (33%) 11 4 (7) 36% (64%) n.s.
Smart 17 12 (5) 70% (30%) 9 4 (5) 44% (56%) n.s.
Sympathetic 18 16 (2) 89% (11%) 9 9 (0) 100% n.s.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Friendship Academics Drugs/Alcohol Money RomanticRelationships
Race Other
A Different World 27% 9% 0 9% 31% 0 22%Grown-ish 7% 0 15% 0 46% 14% 23%
Predominant Theme of Episodes
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Consistent Narrative
Plausible
Quality Perception
100%
95%
100%
100%
92%
100%
Quality Perception, Plausible, Consistent Narrative
Grown-ish A Different World0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Factual
Typical
82%
73%
61%
38%
Typical, Factual
Grown-ish A Different World
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Positive Neutral Negative
100%
0% 0%
70%
30%
0%
A Different World Grownish
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
A Different World Grown-ish
86%
39%
14%
61%
Conflict Resolution
Yes No
Tone
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Grown-ish overall more culturally aware and established than A Different World
More provocative and suggestive content in Grown-ish
Grown-ish displays as more imaginative and fictional
A Different World feels more in tune with the real world, with real problems
IMPLICATIONS“…you can’t raise a moral issue and play
with it.” (Berman 1987)
The portrayal of drugs/alcohol, race relations,
academics, romantic
relationships
What is the tone in the
discussion of these topics?
Are the resolutions to the conflicts sound and reasonable?
Perceived Realism
Narrative Persuasion
Individual behavior and
societal action
LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Small sample size of only 35 total episodes analyzed
-Insufficient size to show statistical
significance-Expand sample size
to encompass several seasons
Content analysis emphasizes quantitative rather than qualitative data
-Multiple methods suitable for television
analysis-Textual analysis for
more in-depth qualitative results
Research not exhaustive in data available in the shows
-Some characteristics and themes
unaccounted for or not emphasized
-Implementing an approach that
captures full data
SELECTED REFERENCES• Berman, R. (1987). Sitcoms. Journal of Aesthetic Education,21(1), 5-19. doi:10.2307/3332810• Chatmon, P., & Biermann, T. (Directors). (2018). Grown-ish [Television series]. Burbank, California: Freeform.• Cho, H., Shen, L., & Wilson, K. (2014). Perceived Realism: Dimensions and Roles in Narrative Persuasion.
Communication Research, 41(6), 828–851. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650212450585• Coleman, R. R. M., & McIlwain, C. (2005).The hidden truths in black sitcoms. In The Sitcom Reader: America Viewed and
Skewed (pp. 125-137). State University of New York Press.• Graves, S. B. (1999). Television and Prejudice Reduction: When Does Television as a Vicarious Experience Make a
Difference. Journal of Social Issues, 55(4), 707–727. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.winthropuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=3067677
• Punyanunt-Carter, N. (2008). The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television. Howard Journal of Communications, 19(3), 241–257. https://doi-org.winthropuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10646170802218263
• Stamps, D. (2017). The Social Construction of the African American Family on Broadcast Television: A Comparative Analysis of The Cosby Show and Blackish. Howard Journal of Communications, 28(4), 405–420. https://doi-org.winthropuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10646175.2017.1315688
• Werner, T. (Producer). (1987). A Different World [Television series]. New York City, New York: NBC.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSDr. Cheryl Fortner-Wood
Dr. Nathaniel Frederick
Professor Emmanuel Nwachukwu
Winthrop McNair Scholars Program
Fellow McNair Cohort
Winthrop University
QUESTIONS?
E M A I L B L A C K M 1 2 @ W I N T H R O P. E D U
H Y P O T H E S I SGrown-ish will portray more diverse character traits and episode themes
Less perceived realism, resolution of conflict, and serious tone
A Different World has more perceived realism, more conflict resolution, and more serious tone
Less diverse character traits and episode themes
CODING WORKSHEETCategory Yes No N/A
Anxious
Enthusiastic
Friendly
Imaginative
Motivated
Open-minded
Organized
Responsible
Smart
Sympathetic
Other
Category Yes No N/A
Consistent Narrative
Factual
Plausible
Quality Perception
Typical
CODING WORKSHEET
CODING WORKSHEET ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
• a) Friendship b) Academics c) Drugs/Alcohol d) Money e) Romantic Relationships f) Race e) Other
What is the predominant theme of the episode?
• Yes or No
Did the episode help resolve the conflict?
• a) Positive b) Neutral c) Negative
What is the tone of the episode?