Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

The stereotyping of black people in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is blatant, from how they spoke to how they were always considered criminals. Racial stereotyping of minorities continues today in entertainment, which can influence how they are seen in real life. Robert Ito’s report for The New York Times, “You Love 'The Simpsons'? Then Let's Talk About Apu,” sheds light on the use of racist stereotypes in a popular television show. Stephanie Merry’s article for The Washington Post, “'They Wanted Apu': Kal Penn Shares Demoralizing Memories from His Early Career,” shows the racist stereotypes an Indian actor faced when searching for roles. Sam Levin’s article for The Guardian, “'We're the Geeks, the Prostitutes': Asian American Actors on

Asian and Asian American actors are limited to select roles that may be offensive or untrue. “Asian men said they were often relegated to roles as tech nerds, assistants, doctors… Asian women, meanwhile, regularly go up for parts as masseuses and sex workers or characters described as submissive, fragile or quiet” (Levin 4). The roles Asian American actors can portray are limited by stereotypes. When people only see Asian American actors in these roles, stereotypes are ingrained even deeper into their minds. It will become even harder for Asian American actors to try different kinds of roles. This impacts Asian and Asian American audiences; people are called names and teased because of stereotypes in entertainment. Once the restrictions of a stereotype are set, it becomes progressively more difficult for actors to break the stereotype. Kal Penn, an

Kondabolu, 35, said… “and the running joke is that he’s Indian” (Ito 3). Apu is the character in The Simpsons that the audience does not take seriously. The Simpsons is a comedy, but Apu is not funny for any other reason other than the fact that he is Indian, and his actions are what people associate with a stereotypical Indian. This information shows that the writers created Apu to make jokes and appeal to the audience, even if the jokes are made at the expense of an entire minority population. People have imitated Apu’s accent to taunt Indians, and they have entered convenience stores just to mock the Indian clerks. There is no depth to Apu’s character; his purpose in the show is to make people laugh. “...a South Korean character sought a female actor… to play a 17-year-old who is “really only good at being pretty”. One character in another project was described as “Asian. Petite. Slim. Fragile”” (Levin 16-17). Asian characters are often generalized; a lot of Asian girls are described as fragile and delicate. Adding Asian characters in for comedic purposes is also common. This shows that unlike many white characters, a lot of Asian characters have no depth to them. This leads to a repetitive cycle of shallow depiction of Asian characters in