Audiences’ Mediated Contact with Black Characters in Scripted Television and Support for Racialized Social Issues

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21633249
AutoresDavid L Stamps (0000-0001-7435-853X, Information Design and Corporate Communication, Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, autor de correspondencia), Jon Sahlman (Louisiana State University)
Año2021
Volumen72
Número5
Páginas834-849
Fecha de publicación2021-09-03
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCommunication Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1051-0974 • E-ISSN: 1745-1035
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10510974.2021.1975140
OpenAlexW3196560166
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10
Referencias citadas42

Within scripted television programs, portrayals of Black characters have improved in both quantity and quality over the past few years. Research suggests that these various television characterizations may communicate an influential social standing of the group. Using a cross-sectional multicultural sample (N = 206) and applying mediated contact theories, the current research investigates audiences’ consumption of Black scripted television, parasocial relationships with Black television characters, and support for racialized social issues. The results suggest that audiences’ consumption of Black scripted television is positively related to favorable parasocial relationships with Black television characters. Positive parasocial relationships with Black television characters were associated with increased support for racialized social issues, particularly among viewers lacking interpersonal contact with Black individuals

Interpersonal communication · Multiculturalism · Social contact · Sociology · Media Influence and Health · Media Studies and Communication · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology