As humans, both nature and  nurture influence who we are. Nature refers to the biological things that we have no control over, such as skin color, eyes, hair, and other physical characteristics, while nurture focuses on the environment we were brought up in. Family, schools, and previous experiences have a tremendous affect on us as people, but media is often overlooked when discussing behavior. Growing up I lived in a predominately white neighborhood, attended a predominately white school, and rarely saw other African Americans in my town. I remember there were various times when I could relate more to a movie on BET than my classmates. In my hometown interracial relationships were few and far between. This stuck out to me, because personally I have never seen race as an issue. I decided to research why interracial relationships were less common, and while searching I continued to see articles focusing on media. It would make sense for media to have such a huge influence on people. No matter who you are or where you go, media is everywhere. In my journalism classes, I’ve that media has certain messages that they wrap up in the stories they share. Although that mostly applies to news channels, movies and tv shows hide subliminal messages as well. Media does more than just send out messages, it also serves as a reflection of our society. If interracial marriages are never pictured or shown, what will people think of them? Will interracial relationships be seen as abnormal? Media’s lack of diversity when picturing love needs to be addressed. Love has the power the unite people everywhere, and only showing love in one light causes people to feel alone. If interracial love is to become more common, media must start showing interracial relationships on screen more. 

A very recent film, Get Out, has put interracial relationships under scrutiny. This movie follows a young African- American male, Chris, and his trip to visit the family of his Caucasian Girlfriend, Rose. While staying he realizes everything is not what it seems to be, but isn’t able to put his finger on it. After awkward moments with everyone he meets, small racial comments, microaggressions, and Rose’s lack of concern, Chris realizes he needs to leave. Sadly, it’s revealed that Rose’s mom hypnotized him and she uses that to stop him from leaving. He later discovers that all the other African Americans he’s been seeing have been kidnapped and had their brains replaced by other people. Eventually he escapes and ends up surviving the whole ordeal. The director, Jordan Peele, did a great job of bringing more social awareness to microaggressions, the idea of “casual racism” and adds social commentary on unhealthy interracial relationships (Marques, “Review”). Peele produced a phenomenal movie for the world to see, but he also did something much greater: told a story from a new refreshing perspective.

Peele, a mixed man, wrote and directed Get Out. His race may seem like such an insignificant detail to some, but producing such a great film as a mixed man in an industry mostly ran by White men says so much. The fact he also chose to focus on black and white love has so much historical significance. For years hollywood refused to portray black and white love. Even when they did the Black man typically fit into the horrible stereotype. In 1915, “The Birth of a Nation” first depicted interracial love (Blay, “Watch how”). That may seem like a huge step, but even with the first depiction interracial couples were not allowed to do the same things that other couples could. Around 1930, lawmakers passed the Hays Code making it illegal for movies to show interracial couples. It wasn’t until around 1965, or thirty five years later, that someone challenged this law. Two years later the court case, Loving v. Virginia, changed people’s attitudes to seeing interracial love on the big screen. That was only a few decades ago. Back then, a movie like Get Out would have angered people, led to riots, or possibly new laws. 

Although Get Out, doesn’t necessarily encourage people to date outside their races, it does spark that interest. There are shows out there like the Bachelor, and now the Bachelorette that are hoping to spread a more hopeful message. In the latest season of the Bachelor, Nick Viall was left with three beautiful ladies, including Rachel Lindsay, an African American woman. They do not get engaged, but their date back to her hometown said more than their engagement would have. Nick and Rachel attended a church service at Rachel’s church which has a predominantly Black congregation, a brand new experience for Nick. After service, they had a genuine conversation and race comes up. Nick stated that he wasn’t colorblind, knew that Rachel was Black, but he saw nothing wrong with it. His small statement goes a long way for showing others how they should view race when discussing relationships. The Bachelor has been around for years and has had a direct impact on the way some people view romance, marriage and relationships according to a survey conducted by The University of Michigan ( Carra, “Hometown Date”). Currently with our nation more divided than ever, seeing two people from different racial backgrounds coming together could help further racial relationships and promote more positive reactions towards interracial couples. 

Sadly, Nick and Rachel do not get engaged, but something more inspiring happens. Executives pulled Rachel so she could star as the Bachelorette for the upcoming season. Lindsay will be the first African American lead for this show. She is excited to represent Black women, but also is looking to find love regardless of race. For her, she does not have a type. Attraction is solely based on the traits and characteristics a person possesses (Carra, “Hometown Date”). With a show like the Bachelorette airing, more people may grow supportive of interracial relationships. Just three years ago, only thirty percent of people truly supported interracial relationships. Nick and Rachel may have caused a rise of acceptance for interracial love while also bringing awareness to a huge issue: Colorblindness.

Colorblindness can play a detrimental role in interracial relationships. Most often media tends to say that race is not an issue and turns to the generic “I’m colorblind” response when speaking on racial issues. More than likely the person means well behind this statement, but if everyone is saying they are colorblind it could be catastrophic. If no one sees race, then we don’t get to see all the things that make people so unique and special. Also, when racial injustice or problems arise if people choose not to see “color” they are choosing not to see the problems. Imagine if a significant other chooses not to see the potential problems that could arise due to their relationships. For one couple in Portland, Oregon, colorblindness almost tore them apart.

Jagger Blaec, an African American woman ended up marrying the love of her life, Xavier Blaec, a Caucasian man. Jagger grew up in the suburbs and had lived in the city for most of her life. After marrying Xavier, she felt moving to a new place with him would be a grand new adventure. He had explained it to her as this amazing place with awesome nightlife, constant things to do, and great people, however when Jagger arrived she noticed one thing he forgot to mention. Most times she was the only Black person in the room, and it was astonishing that he hadn’t noticed ever noticed that before. Looking at it from a journalist perspective it only makes sense that he didn’t notice it. If all he sees around him and on tv are things about how great his home is and all it has to offer he’s never going to look beyond that. He’s not going to see the lack of diversity, because news outlets aren’t addressing that issue or questioning it. After just a few short months Jagger felt out of place, unwelcomed, and uncomfortable in Portland, Oregon. She discussed it all with Xavier and he seemed understanding of the situation and her feelings (Blaec, “The Challenges”). Now if anyone were to google interracial relationships or portland oregon they may be able to find her article, and recognize the lack of diversity there.

Aside from the tv, both the internet and galleries in museums serve as forms of media. They are both everywhere and have the ability to reach large audiences. Anyone who has access to the internet can now read Blaec’s article about her experiences. Another source of media that has stuck out to me is art galleries. In the University of Arkansas Anne Kittrell Art Gallery, Donna Pinckley’s exhibit “Sticks and Stones” is now being shown. It depicts interracial couples and families with the worst things people have said to them written on the photographs of them. Pinckley hopes to bring awareness to the harsh comments that these couples have to hear way too often. Inspired by her friend’s daughter who received multiple comments like the ones in her exhibit, she felt students needed to be aware that these things were being said. She hoped it would teach students to “think more critically about race” (Mitchell, “Arkansas Exhibit”). Some of the comments are offensive to both people in the relationship or just one. Most of them allude to some sort of racial slur or joke that people felt comfortable to say. Just reading through the comments was much harder than I expected. The fact people still feel it is okay to say things like this proves why her exhibit is so important. Donna’s exhibit is also available via web at www.donnapinckley.com/sticksandstones. She gives people the opportunity to see it in person as well as online, helping her reach a larger group of people. 

Art galleries like Donna’s, shows like the Bachelor/Bachelorette, and movies like Get Out all play a part in normalizing interracial relationships. Psychologists have determined that we learn best from “seeing and observing models”, also known as the Social Cognitive Theory. Albert Bandura, father of this theory, believed that “ Symbolic communication influences human thought, affect, and action”. He considered social media as a form of symbolic communication. That’s why seeing couples like Olivia and Fitz on Scandal and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on every magazine cover mean so much (Krupnick, “Changing America”). They help normalize society’s definition of love and perceptions of interracial romance. 

The average person may not see such a big deal with media’s neglect or negative portrayal for interracial couples, especially if it does not pertain to them. However, there are people who constantly struggle due to media’s downfall. Although it’s been years since lawmakers have done away with laws forbidding interracial marriages or other laws, some of those opinions still linger. The government may not carry these same ideals, but it’s taking a little longer for people to change their minds. For one South African couple, incidents still occur showing them just how unaccepting the world is towards them. Aside from their friends and family, or the people they feel most comfortable around, the couple hears mean comments, sees rude reactions, and sometimes gets called hate filled names. Most times the incident is subtly, but occasionally it escalates and can easily get out of control. Pippa Tshabalala, a White woman, and Sekwa Tshabalala, her black husband, have been together for almost 24 years. They’ve found the best thing they can do to be there for each other is constantly check in with one another (Koopman, “23 Years”). Couples that endure discrimination like this need hope and reminders that their love is just as special and important. They need media to send more messages focused on inclusive love. They need media to normalize their relationships. They need validation that their love is just important as the next person’s.
