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The Great Return: The Re-Culturalization of White America

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America’s Shifting Values and the Future of Branding

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The Mind of Whit

The Great Return
The Re-Culturalization of White America

AN EXAMINATION OF WHITE AMERICAN CULTURE IN MEDIA THROUGHOUT TIME

An Overview
This project was prompted by an observation of a recent uptick in films, tv shows and movies featuring majority white characters and contexts in small towns and rural towns. It is not the inclusion of these narratives that sparked interest, but rather the shear volume of them that have flooded our television screens and movie selections seemingly overnight.

Media is a significantly powerful tool that can be used to create and maintain the cultural norms of any given society. While we are not oblivious to the current cultural moment in the US, we thought it would be interesting to investigate and visualize how shifts in white American culture have evolved over time through the lens of media.

The Process

In this study we’ve gathered a broad collection of media items (television shows, movies and films) with white-majority characters and contexts to examine how white culture has been presented in media every decade since the 1980s and mapped them accordingly.

This study is not meant to be exhaustive. It is only meant to provide a high-level overview of some of the cultural themes within the white media landscape that emerged and/or dominated each decade.

The analysis of this work is subjective and represents the expertise and cultural observations of Touch of Whit Creative.

Understanding Cultural Themes
In this study we’ve gathered a broad collection of media items (television shows, movies and films) with white-majority characters and contexts to examine how white culture has been presented in media every decade since the 1980s and mapped them accordingly.

This study is not meant to be exhaustive. It is only meant to provide a high-level overview of some of the cultural themes within the white media landscape that emerged and/or dominated each decade.

The analysis of this work is subjective and represents the expertise and cultural observations of Touch of Whit Creative.

Mapping White American Media

We used a quadrant map to measure & illustrate the accessibility & plausibility of the cultural themes identified in this work.

Accessibility and plausibility are key variables because the more realistic and accessible the narratives and storylines, the more impact they have on shaping white American culture.

Horizontal Axis:
Cultural themes existing on the left half of the quadrant represent characters and contexts that are that are fairly familiar, accessible and similar to the lives of most Americans.

Cultural themes on the right half of the quadrant represent characters and contexts that are less familiar and less accessible for the average American.

Vertical Axis:
Cultural themes existing on the top half of the map contain media items whose storylines are predominantly based in real-world contexts.

Cultural themes existing on the bottom half of the map contain media items whose storylines are mostly unrealistic and/or take place in fictional contexts.

Summary Overview

“We have entered a new era where whiteness and white culture are being recentered by force with the intention of asserting a new, more visible form of superiority. No longer willing to just be the invisible blueprint, whiteness is seeking to reclaim its place on top and harken back to a time when it was the only form of culture seen, heard and experienced in the public eye.”- THE GREAT RETURN: THE RE-CULTURALIZATION OF WHITE AMERICA

1908s-White Culture: Establishing The Framework + Living The American Dream

1990s White Culture: Framework Expansion + Emergence Of Everyday Heroes

2000s- White Culture: Elevation Towards Inaccessible Extremes

2010s-White Culture: A Powerful, Oppressive Force + Framework Rebellion

2020s- White Culture Recentered; Reestablishing The Framework

1980s -WHITE CULTURE: ESTABLISHING THE FRAMEWORK + LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM

Here, Americanism was expressed through the lens of the common man, a trope that emerged from the aftermath of the 1930s Great Depression and was further refined in the 1950s when white flight created a new suburban-fueled American dream. Attributes centering “good”, hardworking, bootstrapping, family-oriented and neighborly Americans were romanticized and deemed aspirational.

During this decade, the “White American Framework” was either set or upheld during through cinema at a time when everyone watched the same TV channels and went to the same movie shows. From this, standards around the ideal family, teenage angst & growing pains, romance, athleticism and more were established and put on display to serve as the “model” for American daily life.

More than anything, the tropes and narratives shown at this time were attainable and relatable for most Americans. They featured regular people (with a heavy emphasis on teens and teen culture) existing across a variety of contexts and genres. Most of the narratives featured during this time were not particularly extraordinary or uncommon, save a few fantasy driven blockbusters like Little Shop of Horrors, ET and Indiana Jones.

During this time, unattainable tropes mostly consisted of characters with above average dancing/ athletic capabilities, explorers of hidden worlds, and bad ass heroes with supernatural penchant for killing.

1990s- WHITE CULTURE: FRAMEWORK EXPANSION + EMERGENCE OF EVERYDAY HEROES

2000s- WHITE CULTURE: ELEVATION TOWARDS INACCESSIBLE EXTREMES

This decade marked the beginning of a shift towards narratives dominantly showcasing extreme lifestyles and existences. The everyday heroes from the 90s, for example, were replaced by supernatural characters with superpowers and abilities. While the everyday American hero trope still exists, superheroes have become the “default”. A trope that what was previously somewhat accessible became extremely fictitious and highly inaccessible.

Reality TV also contributed to the emergence of inaccessible, extreme realities as it shined a spotlight on lifestyles of the rich and famous in ways America had not seen before. During this era, shows like MTV Cribs and My Super Sweet Sixteen preceded reality series like the Kardashians & Laguna Beach all of which featured wealthy individuals freely existing or indulging in the rewards of their riches.

In the same decade, new storylines featuring white characters as powerful, and indestructible began to dominate our television screens. Legal dramas reiterated how the American justice systems was built by, and run for, white individuals. White intelligence had a resurgence during this era as highly intellectual characters displayed the ability to use critical thinking or trickery to solve riddles and extremely complex problems (House, A Beautiful Mind). Finally, other intelligence-narratives demonstrated white characters (men specifically) were above the law as they committed crimes and eluded capture (White Collar, Breaking Bad, Dexter).

A new cultural theme centering teenage pregnancy and non-traditional family planning also emerged during this time, breaking away from the established “white American framework” (Teen Mom, Jon & Kate Plus 8). These narratives, along with those centering white characters in crime-ridden storylines, had little to no impact on perceptions of whiteness as the stories that were highlighted were positioned as “one-offs”.

2010s- WHITE CULTURE: A POWERFUL, OPPRESSIVE FORCE + FRAMEWORK REBELLION

The 2010s brought a new, diverse and multicultural reality to the screen and, for the first time, portrayals of white characters were shown less positively as the country contended with racism, prejudice and privilege for the first time. Unlike the previous decade where negative storylines had little to no impact on perceptions of whiteness, here, the inability of white Americans to distance themselves from their negative pasts began to leave a stain.

During this period, whiteness became associated with corrupt power, manipulation and systemic injustice especially as films about the greed of wall street and corruption in the workplace came out in abundance. Slave narratives also became popular during this decade and while many told stories of revenge and uprisings, white characters were mostly shown as being oppressors.

Even in the world of fictitious fantasies, American society was featured in a myriad of dystopian storylines, with the downfall of civilization often on the hands of white characters (even though white characters were often the ones who were also saving the world).

Finally, America’s new appetite for inclusivity allowed us to see more non-traditional family units and new, more niche & extreme expressions of white culture. The typically strict parameters of the “White American Framework” began to loosen, and viewers were exposed to other cultures that were lesser known and seen on the main screen with shows like Honey Boo Boo, Jersey Shore and Sister Wives.

Touch of Whit Creative.

Touch of Whit Creative

ABOUT
SERVICES
MacroView Discovery Model
6 Signature Services
MacroView Discovery Model
6 Signature Services
PORTFOLIO
KNOWLEDGE
Grift Culture
American Rebellion
The New MidLife Crisis
The Great Return
Grift Culture
American Rebellion
The New MidLife Crisis
The Great Return
SMALL BUSINESS
CONTACT

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ABOUT
SERVICES
- MacroView Discovery Model
- 6 Signature Services
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