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Sitcom Stereotypes

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The sitcom is a type of television series, consisting a number of programmes in which episodes share the same situations and characters, but are separate from the others in the series in term of their plot lines. Two characteristics of sitcoms are stereotype and circular narrative.

Stereotypes are used in sitcoms to familiarise the audience with characters right from the beginning. This helps us know what to expect from them, eg the stereotype ditzy blonde is used in 'Friends' to play Phoebe a weird/dizzy hippy. The stereotype 'senior jock' is used in 'The Middle' to play Axl, a ladies' man who is 'dumb'. The stereotype 'nerd' is used in 'The Big Bang Theory' to play Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard.

Stereotypes are used in sitcoms to help the audience to understand that a conflict will occur between different characters because of a clash in stereotypes, eg, in 'The Middle', a conflict occurs between Frankie (mother) and the next door neighbour, Rita Glosner. We could see that a conflict would arise between these two as Frankie's stereotype is a typical mother who is loving and caring and gives in to guilt, whereas Rita is a 'hillbilly' who is rude and ruthless. The contrasting stereotypes helped the audience to understand why a conflict was occurring between them. …show more content…

Eg, in 'The Big Bang Theory' we can predict that Sheldon will make a comment about his superior smartness and the story line will have aspects of science within it as he is classified a nerd. This makes sitcoms more relaxing for the audience watching as they don't have to fully concentrate on the episode to understand what is happening as they are familiar with the stereotype. Stereotypes are also useful for people who have never watched the sitcom before as viewers don't need much background to understand the stereotype which helps them understand the sitcom as

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Stereotypes are in the world all around us, in film, TV, literature and in everyday life. “A Stereotype is a conventional, formulaic and oversimplified conception, opinion, image or conforming to a set image or type” (Dictionary.com). Stereotype happens on an everyday basis, similar groups of people are categorized by such factors as race, color, what they wear, and their behavior. Stereotype are used to categorized people by such factors as race, color, what they wear and their behavior. Stereotypes chose one aspect of a person or group and link them all together.

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The year is 2016 and American society is open-minded to so many issues, except televised stereotypes. Racial and gender stereotypes are continually reinforced by social media and television, it has played a major role in the way society views one another. Enabling stereotypes that have been associated with a person of specific race or gender in the media promotes prejudice. Meaning society expects that person to act a certain way based on what they have witnessed on television or social media. . A perfect example of how television shows incorporate stereotypes based on ethnicity is the tv show “Everybody Hates Chris “which is about a working class African-American family that lives in a poor urban neighborhood in New York.

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Stereotypes are simple images or beliefs over the attributes assigned to a particular social group, are models of behavior that become schemes deeply rooted in our mentalities to the point that we adopt them as part of human naturalness. Stereotypes can be racial, religious, sexual and social. These could be the caused of a known incident or attitude years earlier, or simply the result of frequent rumors. Stereotypes can affect different spheres of society. These assumptions can filter into many aspects of life.

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On September 20, 1984, the Cosby Show made airways and forever changed the general population views on gender roles and race on television. Shows in the 1980s and 1970s were still perpetuated outdated gender stereotypes and televise them, for the American audience to perceive as “normal”. The Cosby Show went against the typical gender and racial stereotypes of African Americans on television. The show reshapes the four basic elements of gender stereotypes such as personality traits, domestic behaviors, occupations, and physical appearance” (“Gender Roles and Stereotypes”). The episode “Back to school”, The school season has begun and each of the children is having a different perspective on the school they attended.

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However, there is one stereotype that the show breaks. This is that just because a family looks perfect based on the house, or the number of members in the family, or even the roles of the family, does not mean that they are

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A stereotype is a fixed set of beliefs upon of a certain group of individuals who share common traits. Stereotypes can be classified into a wide range of categories such as: race, culture, ethnicity, gender, social or economic status, and religion. A stereotype has to do with a group of people rather than an individual. Most stereotypes are biased and untrue. Stereotypes often lead to prejudice, meaning that one acts a certain way due to the fixed beliefs they have toward a certain group of individuals.

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All Asians are good at math, all blondes are dumb, all Muslims are terrorists - these are all common stereotypes. Without even realizing it, stereotypes have undeniably played an enormous role in individual lives. Minds seem to already set a certain image in them based on the people they encounter. People judge others by their skin tone, ethnicity, and physical appearance unconsciously, and this have been proven by many social experiments. Of course, though these stereotypes might be accurate at times, there are situations where they are completely defied.

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Stereotypes are burned into our minds at a very youthful age mainly through the media. Jack Shaheen touches on this point by saying, “Some naturally repeat the stereotype without realizing that, in so doing, they are innocently joining the ranks of the stereotypes’ creators.” (55) Hollywood has found a great success in creating movies that make a joke out of stereotypes. They create this image in our head of what people, religions, ethnicities are supposed to be like. It is a danger to our minds because of the fact that stereotypes are usually wrong.

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The act of stereotyping is assuming that all members of a group have similar knowledge, behaviors, or beliefs simply because they belong to a group. Using stereotypes is one of the most common reasons why countless people are misjudged. It can occur with the person’s knowledge or it can happen subconsciously. Sometimes, in writing, authors will form stereotypes for their characters to fit into. By using a stereotype, it sets a base for the character to build off of and show change.

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Entertainment is a big part in defining all stereotypes. Many people today believe that how the characters act in tv shows and movies are exactly how people act in real life. This is how the mental pictures of the stereotyped groups get over exaggerated. Stereotypes affect individuals who perhaps like different things or do different activities, but feel ashamed of doing so because of the stereotype put on them due to society. Stereotypes happen because people assume there must be something important that led to a groups common classification in the first place, something that makes the group essentially similar.

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Stereotypes can help people out in many different ways such as helping people be seen as not just a category. It can make people be seen as not a man or woman but a man or woman who has done things. These stereotypes can be seen also as a way to encourage a higher standard of people. The people can learn from these stereotypes and turn them to the opposite of what the stereotypes says. At the same time stereotypes can be used to help people respond to different situations.

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