Cinema and Television as a Gauge for Race Politics
Date
2002
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Abstract
The salience of race in American society is a topic of current debate among some scholars of political science. Some research suggests that race is more influential than class in determining the political behavior of African Americans. Other research argues that bridging the racial divide require?? a movement from confrontation and blaming to a more positive view uf the successes of race relations. In other words, the construct of race is not as important in the U.S. as it was during Reconstruction. This study examines the influence of exposure to black cinema and black television on an individual's sense of linked fate. In summary, exposure to black cinema is related to levels of racial group consciousness for some African Americans. Broader implications from this study call for the inclusion of additional concepts (i.e., cultural concepts like cinema) along with survey data and feeling thermometers to examine issues related to race.