Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media

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Screening Race: Constructions and Reconstructions in Twenty-first Century Media

Editorial

Loretta Goff and Caroline V. Schroeter

 

Abstract: Racial minorities have long been excluded, marginalised and misrepresented on the big and the small screen. Often, the representation of ethnic minorities is lacking authenticity and is still characterised by decades-old stereotypes. Our increasingly diverse global society is still not reflected in the shows and films we see on TV or in the cinema. However, the representation of race has changed over the last decade. The shifting global political and societal milieu has contributed to a slow rise and an increased presence of minorities on screen, which has generally been greeted by a wave of enthusiasm. Social concerns such as the accumulation of frustrations and racial tension on an international level, Donald Trump’s presidency and the exhausting election campaigns in the US and Europe have characterised 2016–17. In a time of police brutality and resurging white nationalism, new films and TV shows ignite public discussion about race and the role of minority groups in the twenty-first century.

 

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