Page 80 - Middle Georgia State University - Knighted 2019

Conclusion
In this study, we conducted a content analysis of the television drama This Is Us in order
to find the answers to two questions: A) How proportional is race in This Is Us? and B) How
does This Is Us depict race through its characters? After filling out surveys and researching
statistics, we have found that with its fifteen-character population, This Is Us is 33 percent black
or African-American, 6 percent Hispanic or Latino, and 60 percent white, while the real-life
counterparts to those averages are, respectively, 13.4 percent, 18.1 percent, and 76.6 percent
These statistics, in a nutshell, mean that This Is Us is disproportionate to real life.
Compared to reality, not only are those numbers incorrect, but there are also many more races
and ethnicities that make up the world. However, compared to shows that do not even recognize
the idea that there is a minority, this is progress. Only within its first three episodes, This Is Us
showcases something relatively close to reality, and due to this study focusing so early in the
show, there is still untapped potential for representation.
100 percent of the black and Hispanic population in This is Us were “Good Guys,” while
66 percent of the white population is good. The other 33 percent are portrayed as bad characters.
In our American society today, 26.9 percent of arrests are of blacks or African-Americans, 18.4
percent of Hispanics or Latinos, and 69.6 percent of whites. Very few characters in This Is Us are
villains. Many times the drama of the show arises from the desires and emotional struggles of its
characters (which sometimes make villains). Because this show is built without the necessity of a
villain, it also manages to go without many of the stereotypical niche characters that each of
these characters would fill, and instead opts to use them to fill more emotional roles. Instead of

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