For this Project please discuss how “normal” is going to change once we are able to return to daily life outside our homes. Using examples and the three perspectives (functionalism, conflict, and interaction) discuss, how the “new normal” will change our society or if we will return to what we always did. This will require you to look at social institutions before and during the pandemic and discuss the after.

Race and the media How Society develops racial identities through visual media In U.S society the term race is used in many different ways as to describe the population. In our textbook race is defined in the following way: A race is a group treated distinctly based on certain traits, some biological, that have been assigned social importance., Based on presumed inferior traits a race is often singled out for unfair treatment, Biological characteristics do not define racial groups, and How groups have been treated historically and socially defines them(Anderson, et al, 2013, pg 229) Research Question Symbolic Interaction theories state that “Race is based on social construction that assigns groups of people to diverse racial and ethnic categories”(Anderson, et al, 2013, pg 240) The media uses stereotypes as a shorthand method of defining characters in ways that are easy for people to identify and categorize. What these stereotypes all have in common is that they reduce to a one-sided, superficial and exaggerated depiction the real variety, depth and complexity of a people. The media today is more sensitive to issues of culture and gender than it once was, but the creation and perpetuation of common misconceptions about groups of people continues. Oversimplified and inaccurate portrayals have profoundly affected how we perceive one another, how we relate to one another and how we value ourselves.(racist-stereotypes.com, 2015) For this exploration, we will explore how visual media perpetuates racial identities and how society uses these images in daily interactions and the framing of racism and prejudice. Why is there so much legitimacy given to media sources by U.S. society, how did this power evolve and who allows it to continue? There have been various tools used to research media and race. The use of these tools has lead to results that both support and negate medias use of images. For the purposes of this exploration, I am using content analysis to collect and analyze data. As discussed in the text: Research Design Content Analysis is frequently used to measure cultural change and to study different aspects of culture(Lamont1992, in Anderson, et al 2013) Sociologists also use Content Analysis as an indirect way to determine how social groups are perceived.(Anderson, et al, 2013, pg66) For the purpose of this exploration, I will analyze the content of news programs from various markets in the U.S.. I will be selecting keywords such and those which describe race and gender. I will count how many times a word is used in a story as to show how repetition is used to reinforce stereotypes and how socialization is reinforced by such means. For this exploration the following news agencies were selected: ABC News-New York, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Oregon, and California Fox News-New York, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Oregon, and California CNN News-New York, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Oregon, and California NBC News-New York, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Oregon, and California Data Collection and Analysis By selecting these markets, I feel that I may develop both regional and national identities of minority images in media. Using content analysis software, I am able to extract and count the following words: Race(by color stated), Gender(by male or female), Crime(by race), Sport(by race and gender), Accomplishments(by race and gender) Using these variables will allow me to uncover patterns of language that media finds useful in creating and perpetuating stereotypes. The results can then be tested for significance and be used to generalize to the population. Not all stereotyping is bad. Stereotyping arises out of the need to generalize in order to make sense out of a very complicated environment. It allows people to easily categorize new things into comfortable spaces already defined by their experiences. This process was described in 1922 by Walter Lippmann, who first coined the term “stereotyping.” Lipmann wrote, “the attempt to see all things freshly and in detail, rather than as types and generalities, is exhausting, and … practically out of the question.”(in Racial-racist stereotypes 2015) Conclusion Gilens noted that, long ago, the journalist Walter Lippmann wrote that societal feelings, beliefs, opinions and actions are responses to “pictures in our heads,” not to the world itself. Mass media now provide most of these pictures, giving news outlets a substantial responsibility for shaping discourse and the context for policy — and a strong ethical imperative to ground their reporting in the best available knowledge(in Racial bias and News media,2015) With this idea in mind and through the use of socialization, visual media has picked up on cues that allows it to maintain stereotypical racial and gender specific identities of society. Having completed a content analysis of news programs from various markets in the U.S., I discovered that when Crime is reported, it usually is reported early in the program and the suspected perpetrator is often racialized. This is problematic in a society where white is often seen as the unmarked category and society is seen as “color blind”(Anderson, et al, 2013, pg 10) Children are socialized predominately by their parents and immediate family. When families sit and watch the news, they are affected by the images they are exposed to and then pass these on to children, often with harsh remarks about minorities and crime, minorities taking jobs, etc. Children internalize these images and then they in turn pass on to their groups etc. This effect legitimates how news media is then the “authority” and voice of difference in U.S. Society. Racial and Racist Stereotypes in Media, (2015) http://racist-stereotypes.com/ References Racial bias and news media reporting: New research trends, (2015) http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-media/racial-bias-reporting-researchtrends#sthash.dS5uB2Vd.dpuf Andersen, T. L. (2015). Sociology the Essentials. Stamford, Cengage. …
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