Reflecting immigrant reality

The landscape of immigrant representation on television has changed substantially since we began our longitudinal research in 2018.

While audiences often go to television to escape into fictional worlds, it is also a place for confronting the issues of our lives. The US saw Black and AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) communities under attack since our 2020 report, and TV started to tell more stories about characters from these communities as well. But immigrant and marginalised communities should always be valued, not just when they are in crisis. It is imperative to our culture and our world that all communities are represented authentically.

Our findings show that nuanced immigrant characters in prominent and/or recurring roles engage audiences on deeply psychological levels, create more understanding of immigrant experiences and foster more positive attitudes towards immigrants and immigration.

Even though we have seen improvements in immigrant representation on TV since our last report, there is still much work to be done to represent the breadth and rich details of immigrant experiences.

As we have seen with the phenomenon of invisibility in media representation, a lack of representation on screen erases the existence of communities from society’s cultural imagination. But increased representation is not always better. When immigrant characters are largely depicted in reductive or stereotypical ways, audiences may develop inaccurate perceptions of immigrants and their experiences.

In addition to continuing to explore the complexities of race, ethnicity and nationality, future research could dig deeper into the prevalence of the ‘good immigrant’ narrative and its impact on attitudes toward immigration policy. For example, to what extent are certain immigrants framed as worthy or deserving by virtue of following the rules, waiting their turn, working hard or being exceptional?

Based on our findings, we see great hope in the ways TV can more accurately reflect our world. We celebrate the creators striving to bring to the small screen the untold truths and authenticity of immigrant lives.

Define American continues to be a resource and thought-partner to creatives, networks and studios. We envision an evolution of the entertainment industry’s storytelling practices – in which fully human and multidimensional immigrant characters can be the heroes of their stories and TV is reflective of the diverse country we live in – creating a better America for immigrants both on and off screen.

Our research highlights a number of opportunities and strategies for storytellers who seek to change the dominant narrative about immigrants and immigration.

Much more work is needed to improve immigrant representation on TV and tell the full breadth of their stories authentically, says Sarah E Lowe, director of research and evaluation at Define American.

A critical step in telling these stories with humanity and nuance is to involve immigrants in the creative process. Hiring writers, cast and crew who reflect the material can bring diverse perspectives and authenticity.

Reflect the diversity and intersectionality of immigrant communities. Immigrants are multidimensional and come from all walks of life; on-screen depictions should reflect this. Consider groups who continue to be underrepresented and stereotyped: Latine immigrant characters are now underrepresented, MENA immigrant characters are overrepresented as dangerous stereotypes and there is still not much visibility for transgender immigrant characters, or immigrants with disabilities. There have been some improvements in representation of AAPI and Black immigrant characters, but there are still groups that get left behind, such as Afro-Latine immigrant characters.

Feature more immigrant characters in prominent, recurring roles. Regular and consistent viewing of humanised immigrant characters allows viewers to build relationships with immigrant characters, which, in turn, is associated with more positive feelings toward immigrants in reality. Additionally, shows featuring prominent immigrant characters can increase viewers’ understanding of immigrant experiences and foster more positive attitudes toward immigrants in the US.

Move away from criminal stereotypes. Immigrant characters associated with crime on TV is at an all-time high, yet immigrants in the US are less likely than native-born US citizens to commit crimes. When harmful stereotypes like these are overrepresented, audiences may develop inaccurate perceptions of immigrants in reality.

Define American is a non-profit narrative change organisation that uses the power of storytelling to humanise conversations about immigrants. The research was conducted by the Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project at USC and is available online.

EDITORIAL

Editorial director Ed Waller ed@c21media.net

Editor of C21Media.net

Jonathan Webdale jonathan@c21media.net

Chief sub-editor Gary Smitherman gary@c21media.net

Chief sub-editor, Drama Quarterly John Winfield john@c21media.net

News editor Clive Whittingham clive@c21media.net

Channel21 International editor Nico Franks nico@c21media.net

DQ editor Michael Pickard michael@c21media.net

Research editor Gün Akyuz gun@c21media.net

C21Kids editor Karolina Kaminska karolina@c21media.net

Senior reporter Neil Batey neil@c21media.net

C21TV

Head of television Jason Olive jason@c21media.net

Video editor/motion designer Adrian Ruiz Martin adrian@c21media.net

FINANCE

Finance director Susan Dean susan@c21media.net

Finance manager Marina Sedra marina@c21media.net

Finance officer Shuhely Mirza shuhely@c21media.net

ADVERTISING

Founding partner and commercial director Odiri Iwuji odiri@c21media.net

Sales director Peter Treacher peter@c21media.net

Business development director Nick Waller nick@c21media.net

Sales Manager Hayley Salt hayley@c21media.net

Senior sales executives Richard Segal richard@c21media.net

Malvina Marque malvina@c21media.net

Telesales executive Yasmin Connolly yasmin@c21media.net

PRODUCTION

Operations director Lucy Scott lucy@c21media.net

Operations manager Milly Aylott Harvey milly@c21media.net

Production manager Eleanore Hayes eleanore@c21media.net

Production and events coordinator Courtney Brewster courtney@c21media.net

EVENTS

Event programming director Ruth Palmer ruth@c21media.net

Head of event programming Adam Webb adam.webb@c21media.net

Head of events Gemma Burt gemma@c21media.net

Events assistant Francesca Bartlett francesca@c21media.net

North American editor Jordan Pinto jordan@c21media.net

Group CFO (consultant) Ravi Ruparel ravi@c21media.net

Editor-in-chief & managing director David Jenkinson david@c21media.net published six times a year by NuPress, Miami. Channel21 International is registered as a newspaper. No part of this publication may be copied, stored or copied on to any electronic system or broadcast via any other medium without prior consent of the publisher. All rights reserved. All trademarks acknowledged. © Channel21 International 2023 ISSN number: 1460-0668