Many factors underpin our perceptions of immigrants in modern society. For the Define American organization, the depiction of immigrants on television is a major contributory factor, and they want to improve that depiction to create a more realistic and accurate portrayal of immigrants today.
In the organization’s second-annual report, they highlight the influence television has in cultivating our perceptions, beliefs, and understanding of immigrants and immigration. The research analyzes 129 different immigrant characters featuring in 97 episodes from 59 different television shows broadcast between August 2018 and July 2019. The researchers also spoke to viewers of three of these shows where immigrant storylines were extremely prominent.
For each of these three shows, the exposure to immigration-related storylines was hugely influential, with viewers developing more inclusive attitudes towards immigrants. This included greater comfort should they meet undocumented people, and indeed greater opposition towards the criminalization of undocumented immigrants. Viewers of these episodes were also more likely to speak to a friend about immigration issues or attend immigration-related community events.
“This new data shows how the power of storytelling can engage audiences, shift mindsets, and move people into action,” the researchers say. “We’re calling on creators in the entertainment industry to continue to better develop authentic immigrant characters and storylines, which not only broaden representation, but empower viewers to take action on immigration-related issues.”
Changing the narrative
Despite this clear impact, the authors believe that a lot still needs to be done to ensure an accurate representation of immigrants and immigration across the entertainment industry.
For instance, 22% of immigrant characters were associated with some kind of crime, with 10% incarcerated. While this represents a fall from the 34% who were depicted as criminals in 2018, it still portrays a wholly unrealistic portrayal of immigrants and reinforces negative stereotypes, as immigrants are actually less likely to commit crime than native-born Americans.
What’s more, of immigrants that are depicted on television, 63% were portrayed as undocumented or asylum seekers. The reality is that just 24% of immigrants in the US are unauthorized. Similarly, at-risk immigrant communities were practically invisible, including immigrants with disabilities or undocumented Black immigrants.
This misrepresentation of the issue continued, with 29% of episodes featuring deportation in some way, 25% encounters with ICE, and 22% the explicit use of phrases such as “illegal” and “undocumented”.
“Television and movies can expand our minds and expose us to people and experiences we may not have access to in real life,” the researchers say. “This is why it is so important that content creators include diverse and nuanced representations of immigrants, even in content that doesn’t directly address immigration. The attachments that audiences form with series regular immigrant characters on TV, like Superstore’s Mateo, can actually compensate for the absence of real-life contact with immigrants.”
The report also includes specific recommendations for show creators on how to better represent immigrants and integrate immigration-related storylines into their content, including hiring more immigrant show writers, consulting with immigrant communities, and seeking out compelling stories about underrepresented communities such as LGBTQ+ immigrants, older immigrants, immigrants with disabilities, and undocumented Black immigrants.
