Colorism in Media Content: A Qualitative Study Focusing on Film and Perception

摘要

The phenomenon of colorism, especially among Blacks, has been researched minimally by scholars within various disciplines. Prior studies have focused primarily on its impact in such areas as education, advertising, employment, television, and the judicial system. However, there has been a prominent void in terms of film, specifically among those that have colorism-themed storylines. The overall purpose of this study was to first explore in what ways viewing colorism, as depicted and symbolized in the highly-acclaimed film, Imitation of Life (1959), may affect adults' awareness and understanding of colorism. Next, the focus was to determine generally how media and media content, particularly films and their content, may have shaped adults' perceptions regarding colorism. The study used a qualitative research methodology with an exploratory approach to examine in-depth transcriptions from four focus groups: two mixed, one White, and the other Black. The findings revealed that the majority of adult viewer perceptions regarding colorism were negative. Participants were able to glean specific instances from Imitation of Life that mirrored negativity associated with colorism in our 21st century society. Other areas of media content were also explored in relation to colorism and viewer perceptions. These robust exchanges yielded immense dialogue, encouraging Hollywood and the film industry, in general, to take a closer look at this pressing issue. Baudrillard's (1994) semiotics of media and Orbe's (1998) co-cultural theory were used to interpret and explain the results and major findings of this study.