Hollywood’s Social Construction of Innocence: Entertainment Media’s Deviant Portrayal of Black Children

Abstract

The analysis is a sociohistorical examination of entertainment media’s representation of black children from the 1970s to 2000s. Each decade of media production provides insight into the presentation of black children in regards to the stereotypes and biased messages conveyed. The analysis delineates the narrowly defined yet deviant manner in which black children have been depicted. Examples derived from motion picture films and television shows are set forth to illustrate the manner in which black children have traditionally been included, or perhaps excluded, in the perpetuation of racial stereotypes reflective of the coinciding stereotypes usually projected on to black adults.