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How media influences stereotypes
How media influences stereotypes
Breaking stereotypes
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More handpicked essays just for you.
How media influences stereotypes
How media influences stereotypes
Breaking stereotypes
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The influence of actors and actresses in the film industry has lead to positive and negative views on certain groups and culture. In present day, media like films use generalized stereotypes that have lead to individuals of those certain groups to be stereotyped in real life. When films use the same stereotypes over and over again, many people start to believe these generalized characteristics apply to every individual in that group. Due to the big success of films, many individuals have to face hurdles everyday to prove and detach themselves from certain stereotypes that films gives
What happens when you use stereotypes is you draw on predetermined notions about certain racial or ethnic groups to define a person or group of people. These prejudiced views may not be entirely true based on our readings. An example of stereotypes is taking Latin Americans to be drug addicts as we discussed in class. Stereotypes of indigenous peoples are prevalent in the media like our ‘Ethnic Notions’ documentary in class of African Americans being perceived in film and media. Most often, the stereotypes that we formulate in our minds are what we decode from the media.
Stereotypes in media have been around since the earliest cartoons were drawn. The media gives supposedly identifying traits with images of the stingy Jewish man, the single Hispanic woman cleaning homes to raise her three children, and the “butch” lesbian falling for the beautiful blonde who just happens to glance at her every day in the hallway. These portrayals make up general knowledge about minorities for a lot of people, but their accuracy is questionable at best. While production companies have been making strides towards the better, insufficient representation in the media tends to portray minorities as their negative stereotypes rather than as people.
Spread of negative stereotypes Negative stereotypes have been created by us, as a society, we have allowed ourselves to live with this misconceptions that impact all of us in a certain way. We have contributed to those beliefs that say that social status, income class and ethnicity define our identity. In fact, we have been and also have prejudged others at a certain point in our lives, we prejudge people we don’t know and also the ones we think we know like our own family members. In “The Achievement of Desire” by Richard Rodriguez he discusses his personal experience on how he stereotyped himself and also his family.
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.
The media today plays the greatest role in creating stereotypes in our society. Quite often, these stereotypes do not correspond to reality, showing it in a distorted way. However, many people accept that distorted reality as a truth. The reasons for establishing such generalizаtions and categorizations often lies in political or corporate interests.
Society has been influenced by the way in which people identify themselves and one another. Some of those influences are positive, while some are negative. Stereotypes are people’s prejudices toward the people in minority groups that are not fully understood by the majority of society. Hence, stereotypes make people wrongly consider some individuals as the epitomes of a whole group of people. Therefore, the identities, opportunities and decision-making of different individuals of the minor groups are limited.
In today’s society, individuals and groups are labeled with either positive or negative stereotypes. People encounter stereotypes everyday and everywhere. It is the picture people paint in their minds when approaching a group or individual when in fact it may be different in reality. Stereotypes affect a person’s way of living and thinking either in a negative or positive way. Stereotypes are based on truth but in an exaggerated way, while misconceptions are formed from having stereotypes.
Stereotypical Images of Minority Groups in the Contemporary Media Visual media, especially television, are powerful sources of information that help us understand ourselves and others in society. They define what normal and acceptable behaviors are. They tell us who are to be admired and who are to be ridiculed. They teach us who are of a higher status and who are of a lower status. Throughout history minority groups have faced prejudice and racism.
In the world of film and television there are a lot of stereotypes who have become icons. For instance, we all grew up watching and idolizing someone who was ideally typecasted and considered undesirable until they did something heroic in which they were acknowledged for turning them from an undesirable figure into an idol. For instance there are many stereotypes we know of and the media often uses stereotypes to define characters in which it is easy for people to identify. Stereotyping a particular race or group of people tend to misrepresent who those people really are by creating a spurious representation on how we see and value others. However, deep below the surface we accept the stereotype for what it is due to how often we are exposed to it creating a false belief stigmatizing others.
Nevertheless, social media also plays a key role in placing and influencing stereotypes across these platforms. Furthermore, one specific way that social media perpetuates stereotypes is through the quick circulation of information, which if biased can be harmful, and discriminatory characterization. Quite frequently, those who use social media platforms portray specific stereotypes amongst different groups of people through content posted. Content posted by these individuals may have a certain connotation for certain groups, people, or ideas, leading to the reinforcement of stereotypes that are quickly spread across social media. For example, “Media portrayals teach young men and women that they will be judged based on their appearance and often conflate personal success with physical features rather than personality,” (Mirroring the Media 4).
Our society today relies heavily on mass media for communication. Through these mediums and others, like television and printable sources, information is spread worldwide. Depending on how the information is presented cultures and overall, households can be persuaded into perceiving other groups of individuals in specific forms. In recent news reporting, there has been a portrayal of police brutality within impoverished communities of color. This has caused an uproar all over the United States.
There are many controversial topics that we see on a daily basis through the media. Some of the topics that we are exposed to are race, stereotypes, sexism and sex. These things seem to be a key factor in how media makes its presence felt. Whether it is through T.V. shows, how stereotypes and race are still a common trend in present day movies. I believe that stereotyping is everywhere you look movies and T.V. in particular but also music.
Today, we are living in a very complex social environment. In today’s society, people are stereotyped in many different ways depending which category an individual is located in. Haven’t you been stereotyped at some point in your life? Or you may have stereotyped someone without even noticing it. Stereotyping is actually more serious than we thought and it is becoming a major problem in our society today.
Stereotypes are widely believed mental pictures of a categorized group of people. People learn stereotypes from family members, social media, and entertainment. Family members are a person’s first and most important influence about life. Social media is the currently the way of communication and it satisfies the needs to understand the social world. No longer do people have to view a person as an individual, but now as a group member.