The Tyra Banks Show and Diversity in the Media

Among the most everyday among current TV programs is the Tyra Banks figure which is tape live in front of a live audience in sassy York. The register, which lasts for an hour and is aired in syndication by Warner Bros., de just nowed in September 2005. Currently footrace in its third season, the Emmy Award-winning sharpen has aired over 357 episodes and is set to bar for at least two more seasons.(www.wikipedia.com)The Tyra Banks memorialise is a talk- channelize fashioned after(prenominal) Oprah Winfreys Oprah, which banks on its anchor/manufacturing businesss celebrity and fame to draw glanceers. The immortalize itself is named after the celebrity who lends credibility and ensures a captive audience from the ranks of millions of adoring fans. The set ups main target, however, are women or specifically, young Afri backside-American women who can substantially identify with or who wish to simulate its host, Tyra Banks.As a talk-show, the Tyra Banks Show is case by it s producers to provide an equal battery-acid of information and entertainment to its audience, covering a wide variety of topics from peach to womens issues and concerns. Among the notable episodes, however, are the ones where the former supermodel goes on undercover missions to reveal to the viewers the experiences of women in vulnerable situations from Tyras testify initiative hand accounts (e.g. women who suffer from weight discrimination, women in prison house, and women working in strip clubs).The show also tackles the issue of racial discrimination.(www.tyrashow.com) Interestingly, the Tyra Banks triumph is resoundingly similar to Oprah Winfreys own success as a celebrity-host collectable to the fact that each episode of her TV show puts her in unique situations. For instance, Tyra is do to put on heaps of prosthetics to hold up a 350-pound woman so she can feel how it feels to be discriminated against because of her weight. She also spend a day in prison to better und erstand the reasons of womens incarceration.Clearly, the Tyra Banks Show is an attempt at addressing the diversity in American culture and identity. It was created to provide women, especially black women, in response to the suppuration of the African American population which was seen by advertisers as a profitable instal for sustaining minority media. (Dickson 2) Consequently, there has been an observable attach not only in the do of black actors, actresses, and TV hosts as the petition for African American-oriented television programs have risen. Undeniably, Tyras success in breaking through and through the male-dominated Hollywood talk show labor is a feat in itself and her be African-American at the same metre makes it even more tempting to view her as the epitome of empowerment.Her success in The Tyra Banks Show parallels her success as a runway model at a time when White was the ultimate type of beauty and the public was reluctant to give away its standards. Tyra Banks is therefore the perfect representation of a woman who broke through stereotypes, which adds soberness to her capacity and credibility to discuss issues and problems that women and African-American populations confront. However, Tyras own identity as a media-invented stereotype of beauty for African-Americans (waif-thin, tall, perfect skin, perfect white teeth) has the ability to controvert the causes she supports. Tyras background as a supermodel, coupled with segments in the show featuring beauty tips and Tailored by Tyra makeovers also oppose her advocacy for a beauty high-minded that goes beyond physical appearance.Nevertheless, the Tyra Banks show fosters a better understanding of diversity and multi-culturalism. disrespect its limitations, its success is a revealing trace that African-American representation is slowly but surely gaining ground in the mainstream media. The show is also a reflection on the lives and culture of African-American communities, which mak es it an important seminal fluid of knowledge for understanding and appreciating the diversity in American society.Works CitedDickson, J. (2006). The representation of African-American women in television advertisements. McNair Scholars Journal, 1 1-12.The Tyra Banks Show website accessed on 03/15/2008 from Wikipedia.com accessed on 03/15/2008 from