ABSTRACT
In recent years, the Hollywood establishment has displayed a relatively unprecedented interest in the inclusion of blacks and other minorities in mainstream films. In Watching America, a content analysis of America's prime time television shows, Lichter and Rothman also found that much larger numbers of minority characters appeared in shows after the mid-1960s. This chapter seeks to measure these trends and to account for the changes in representations of minorities in popular movies. In general, Hollywood is more likely to present minorities as positive characters than to present whites in a positive light, even where they share questionable attributes and behaviors. In the movies of the studio era, the few roles available to minority actors tended to be demeaning and could certainly not be considered in any way 'role model' representations. The percentage of minority characters coded as utilizing rational authority and discipline as a method of achieving their goals also increases as it declines for whites.
