Page 71 - Middle Georgia State University - Knighted 2019

Differences Portrayed
Tyler Meister

This study’s aim is to discover how the prime-time television show This Is Us portrays its
many characters by the race and character type given to that character, as well as how this
portrayal reflects the reality of society. The goal of any screenwriter or director is to have their
audience engulfed in the world that has been sown together for them, whether it is the riveting
drama that kept you on the edge of your seat or the fantastical world of dragons and dwarves.
Creators of media rely on their audiences believing that whatever they are seeing is real, even if
they know it isn’t. However, when it comes to race, representation is often skewed from reality,
and even when certain cultures are being displayed on prime-time television, it is often in a
negative or ill-favored light. For the purpose of this study, we will be using This is Us, a prime-
time television show with a healthy amount of diversity, to break down the character types and
demographic each character is used to fill so that we may analyze how this show reflects the real
world. By analyzing each character, their race and character type, the content itself should
clearly show how this program in particular portrays race, and how that portrayal reflects on
reality and media.

Ellithorpe (2016) suggests that “Media are one source for adolescent identity
development and social identity gratifications” (1). In other words, adolescents use media such
as television and music to come to an understanding of who they are. Ellithorpe (2016) also
states that while women are underrepresented, the amount of black characters is relatively
representative. The television that black adolescents tend to watch has more racial diversity, and
television that female adolescents tend to watch has more gender diversity. Ellithorpe (2016)
goes on to say that these results support the idea that adolescents seek out media that has groups

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