Norman Lear

NEW: Define American Releases Groundbreaking Research on Immigrant Representation in Popular Television Shows

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, December 14, 2022

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Narrative change nonprofit Define American released groundbreaking new research last week with the USC Norman Lear Center's Media Impact Project analyzing how often and how well immigrant characters are represented in scripted television and streaming networks. The report, Change the Narrative, Change the World 2022: The Power of Immigrant Representation on Television, shows improvements, but some depictions of immigrant stories on television continue to be at odds with reality.

Key Points: 
  • Third representation study shows the number of immigrant characters associated with crime on television is at an all-time high.
  • The report, Change the Narrative, Change the World 2022: The Power of Immigrant Representation on Television , shows improvements, but somedepictions of immigrant stories on television continue to be at odds with reality.
  • Key findings show that while representation of Black and Asian American immigrants has doubled since 2020, representation of Latine immigrant characters has plummeted, dropping from 50% in 2020 to 34% in 2022.
  • "Define American is partnering with the Lear Center to pioneer a model of research in Hollywood that is unprecedented," said Sarah E. Lowe, Director of Research and Evaluation at Define American.