African American Viewers and the Black Situation Comedy

Providing new insight into key debates over race and representation in the media, this ethnographic study explores the ways in which African Americans have been depicted in Black situation comedies - from the 1950s Beulah to contemporary series like Martin and Living Single . As scholars increasingly turn their attention to how audiences interpret, use, and resist media texts, Means Coleman makes a major contribution to the development of reception theories by focusing on African American audiences, and bringing their voices to bear on controversies over race and representation.