Perceived educational and entertainment value of positive and negative portrayals of racial minority characters in films

Author

Hallie Filan, Xavier UniversityFollow
Evan F. Edwards, Xavier UniversityFollow
Kate E. Hembree, Xavier UniversityFollow
Tammy Sonnentag, Xavier University - CincinnatiFollow

Volume

30

Number

1

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Date

2024

Abstract

Racial/ethnic minority characters are increasing in films; yet, despite increasing representation, less than half (39.7%) of all films in 2020 cast a main character who was a racial/ethnic minority. Because media representations can perpetuate racial/ethnic stereotypes, the present study examined if negative (compared to positive) racial/ethnic representations of Black and Chinese characters (and their cultures) in films impact individuals’ evaluations of the educational and entertainment value of the content. One hundred and eight undergraduate students were randomly assigned to view scenes portraying African American and Chinese characters (and their cultures) positively or negatively from two popular animated films—The Lion King and Mulan, respectively. Participants then reported their perceptions of the educational and entertainment value of the content. Participants reported greater entertainment value when portrayals were positive compared to negative (regardless of the film). Additionally, participants perceived the portrayals of Chinese characters in Mulan to be more educational when they were positive compared to negative; however, the perceived educational value of portrayals of Black characters in The Lion King did not differ whether the portrayals were positive or negative. Given the value of films in people’s lives, it is important to understand how racial/ethnic representations affect real-world evaluations.

Keyword

minority portrayals, media representations, racial representation, cultural representation

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

article

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Recommended Citation

Filan, Hallie; Edwards, Evan F.; Hembree, Kate E.; and Sonnentag, Tammy (2024) "Perceived educational and entertainment value of positive and negative portrayals of racial minority characters in films," Modern Psychological Studies: Vol. 30: No. 1, Article 13.
Available at: https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol30/iss1/13