Racism in Modern Media (The Sopranos) and the Application to Black Mental Health in Modern Day

AIMS: ‘The Sopranos’ is a well known television show, following the life of an Italian-American mobster suffering from anxiety and depression. Despite the overarching theme of mental well-being, elements of racism still feature within the show. These elements are ever-present throughout society and can act as an additional stressor for black minorities, who have an increased risk of suffering from mental health problems compared to their counterparts. Racism has also been linked with an increased probability of developing depression. This qualitative study aims to look at the portrayal of black characters in Season One episodes 1 and 2, to identify themes and psychiatric associations with black mental health. It identifies negative portrayals and conceptualises how these impact black mental health in the real world. Finally, it aims to use these results to propose ways of engaging with the media and the self, to improve negative stereotyping and bias. METHODS: This qualitative study was performed using thematic analysis via a deductive approach. This included creating themes, to then apply to depictions and interactions of black characters who featured within episodes 1 and 2 of the first season of The Sopranos. Themes included: occupation, social network, verbal negative connotations, derogatory language, physical appearance. Three online databases were used: Google Scholar, PubMed and BMJ Journals to identify literature ranging from 1999–2023. This focused on literature exploring relationships between media, cognition, society and/or racism. Literature of the most recent mental health data collected within the UK Survey featuring Black Caribbean/British/African was also analysed. RESULTS: Several depictions of negative stereotypes and behaviours of both black men and women were present in both episodes. These were in the forms of: derogatory language, pacification and code-switching and negative interactions with other characters. Literature has established that negative presentations within media can result in marginalisation of ethnic groups, which can be extrapolated here. CONCLUSION: Negative depictions and stereotypes of black minorities may be having an impact on their mental health and could explain finding of mental health within Black minorities. It could affect the way they interact with the world and apply additional stressors via unconscious bias. To resolve this, changes within social media and self-awareness should be promoted, so this is less likely to happen.