Is just a small collection of words that resonate when we think of President Obama. In order to say how he will influence the world of entertainment, I would use a term “breaking the generalization of cultural themed entertainment.”

Yes, we can predict all the stereotypical movies and TV shows expected about our new President. His life, his up bringing, the struggle, even Wil Smith tipped to lead a movie helmed by Spike Lee (denied by Spike Lee) according to MTV.com.

But, let’s take a look at the larger picture. Stereotypes will change. I do agree with Susan Straight's Essay in the LA Times. In particular, the non-existence of the term “the white experience.” Movies and TV shows based on traditional Latin, Asian or Black themes are segregated, but not when they are based on traditional “white themes.” I think this generalization is what will change because of President Obama.

I would like the generic terms to be demolished, will they? I don’t know, it will take time, but they should be demolished. The reason being, as Americans, we need to be more specific and take the initiative to learn about other cultures, rather than just generalize for convenience. If you want to go as far to say “black themed, Latin..etc,” shouldn’t we be more specific? Or is that our lethargic way to sound cultured?

President Obama’s Father was Kenyan and supposedly, his Mother had Irish roots, so technically our President is Irish and Kenyan. We like to see him as black and white, but really that’s a generalization. An example of generalization in entertainment is when we refer to a Hip Hop based movie as “black themed.” This is a lazy statement. Not every African American person listens to Hip Hop and comes from an urban neighborhood. Not every person in the movie theater watching this movie is of African American descent. The correct term to use would be “a hip hop movie based in a low income neighborhood.”

Now, with President Obama in office, I think the industry will be more specific and comprehensive of other cultures. The common elements expected in the “black themed movie” is now inaccurate. I remember President Obama saying to Charles Gibson, in an interview “I’m not a car guy.” What most people come to expect of a “black themed” movie are the 20” rims, flashy cars, and jewelry. Yes, Tyler Perry, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Morgan Freeman and others have been making a difference to this generalization for years, but I think our President’s appointment is going to officially break the barrier.

Grey’s Anatomy is a great example of how cultural themes are irrelevant because everyone can identify with the characters, regardless of background. Grey’s has African American, Asian, and Latin characters, but their actions and personalities are far from stereotypical. Anyone can indentify with them. You don’t have to be African American to identify with Dr Bailey (Chandra Wilson), Asian to relate with Dr Yang (Sandra Oh) or Latin to understand Dr Torres (Sara Ramirez). The show is more about the “human experience” vs. the cultural experience. On a side note, shows with this general, non-stereotypical base, have a greater chance of success. Did I mention how many awards Grey’s has won? I think we will see an abundance of this type of work, more now then we did before because of our new President.

I hope the world of entertainment producers and marketers stop generalizing themes by segregating them to a certain culture in order to sell projects. The specificity of the project is what should be used as the theme. Even if they are to use a demographic to target, the term “Latin, Asian, Black” should be removed. How can we generalize a movie or TV show into a certain culture, when our new President is the opposite of generalization?