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13.1: Racial and Ethnic Formations in the Mediasphere

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    324971
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    This chapter examines the complex relationship between mass media, popular culture, and the social construction of race and ethnicity in the United States. Media is not a passive mirror reflecting real life, but an active and powerful institution that shapes, reinforces, and sometimes challenges racial hierarchies and ideologies. Applying the foundational sociological theories Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism, this analysis moves beyond traditional broadcast media to encompass the contested terrain of the digital age: social media platforms, algorithmic governance, and artificial intelligence. Through case studies and data on the representation and experiences of African American, Latino, Asian American, and Indigenous communities, the chapter reveals how racialized narratives are produced, circulated, and internalized. It concludes by analyzing contemporary struggles over representation, the political economy of media ownership, and the paradoxical role of digital spaces as both sites of liberation and new forms of racial control, framing these dynamics as central to understanding modern American racism.


    13.1: Racial and Ethnic Formations in the Mediasphere is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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