Labeling Theory and Media Stereotypes of the Elderly
Introduction
Stereotypes have an overwhelming effect especially on the people they are directed towards. Studying stereotypes helps in understanding the factors leading to discrimination of certain people and not others. This is because stereotypes are depictive of opinions that are often passed from one generation to another within a particular culture. Mass media such as television and newspapers form a common source of opinions in the contemporary society (Kotter & Hess, 2012). The media presents messages in steady, repetitive, and compelling manner, making them believable to almost everybody. Stereotyping opinion and depictions from the media can thus have detrimental effects on the group being marginalized. Stereotypes and perceptions about aging have great impact on how the society perceives and treats the old (Bennett, 2010). Moreover, the stereotypic perceptions, whether positive or negative, affect how the old people view themselves. Stereotypes significantly influence the cognitive and functional aspects of the old and can thus have great effects on old people. Media plays a major role in dispersion of stereotypes. Most media portray ageism with extreme pessimism and often lead to rejection of the old in the society (Barnhart & Peñaloza, 2013). However, media has at times played a role in creating awareness about the need to treat the old appropriately, leading to enhanced perceptions about ageing. This paper will focus on reviewing the existing literature on media stereotypes of the elderly. The review will involve comparison and contrasting views of different researches on how the media disperses stereotypes about the elderly and the effects of such stereotype on how...
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...e and negative stereotypes result from lack of information and misconceptions and do not depict the reality about the elderly.
The issue of media stereotyping about the elderly can be addressed using the labeling theory, which argues that individual’s behaviors and self-image are shaped by the names and reputations accorded by others. Therefore, people are likely to align their behaviors with the society’s expectations or perceptions. In relation to media stereotyping, media plays a crucial role in shaping societal perceptions. Therefore, the tendency of media to symbolize the elderly as less capable physically or mentally leads to assimilation of certain behaviors by the elderly, which may destroy their self-image. Therefore, it is important that the media avoided misinformed or untruthful opinions about ageism to protect the welfare of the elderly in the society.
Stereotypes that are associated with a group of older individuals might consist of this particular group being less productive than younger workers within the workplace because of the label attached to their age group. Other aspects that are associated with this group is that they are susceptible to contracting Alzheimer’s disease and they are “boring” or “forgetful”, I feel as though this is the most common stereotype. It is quite unfortunate that this type of discrimination still persists. Though, no act of discrimination should exist or be justified. It is evident that one will follow a social cue to fit in with individuals of a certain group. Author Schaefer mentions that social circumstances provide cues for a person’s attitudes. (Schaefer, 2015. Pg. 38). This notion influences others to act in a particular manner in order to receive a positive or negative reaction from individuals in their proximity. These reactions result from acts or expressions of prejudice. The normative approach, a theory of prejudice, is an exemplification of
A stereotype is defined as ‘an exaggerated and often prejudiced view of a type of person or group of people’ (Novak, Campbell, & Northcott, 2014, pg. 5). Stereotypes often develop from observations/information that tend to not be true. If they turn out to be true then they are exaggerated and distorted. Further, if someone is found who does not fit the stereotype they are considered to be an exception. Some stereotypes positively portray the elderly but most have a negative impact. This can create prejudice and discrimination towards the elderly which can negatively impact their quality of life (Novac et al., 2014).
"The Impact of Stereotyping on Young People." MediaSmarts. National Film Board of Canada, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
In the modern world, all kinds of oppressions involve a dominant cultural psychology that causes different communities to be suppressed on diverse social, racial grounds. There is usually a hierarchy of oppression in which some communities are perceived to be less valuable than others. However, stereotypes are usually utilized to rationalize this domination and to label individuals on certain type while marginalization is the social process of being demoted to the lower social standing. On the other hand, oppression is any form can be visible at the personal or social level in the media as media reaches several individuals regularly and has the power to influence at all the levels of society and contributing significantly to stereotyping, marginalization and oppression of different communities around the world. The paper aims to critically analyze that in what way media impacts psychology of people by portraying particular communities in the diverse society in such a way that the depiction leads to stereotyping, marginalization and oppression of racial groups. For this purpose, two key resources are used in this paper. One is a web article by Sarah Senghas, named “Racial Stereotypes in the Media” published in 2006, and the second one is an empirical research paper by Elizabeth Monk-Turner, Mary Heiserman, Crystle Johnson,Vanity Cotton, and Manny Jackson, “The Portrayal of Racial Minorities on Prime Time Television: A Replication of the Mastro and Greenberg Study a Decade Later” published in 2010.
media focuses on older people as consumers for advertising certain products or for political gain.
As a group, we believe that popular culture does in fact perpetuates stereotypes. Television is a main source of information of popular culture. Television has forever changed how humans have interacted with another and introduce a world of diversity and knowledge. But with this profit, television has also harbored negative aspects. As a group, we studied how racial stereotypes are portrayed in television. In the history of television, different racial and ethnic groups have been widely underrepresented and television itself has been overwhelming represented by white figures. And when racial groups are presented on TV, the characters are often played in limited roles based on stereotypes. A stereotype isn’t necessarily untrue, but it is an assumption based on an incomplete and complex ideas that are oversimplified into something that isn’t what it meant to be, and it’s usually negative. For example, African Americans are often depicted as violent or involved in some kind of criminal activity. Their characters often portrays a person who is always sassy and angry or that isn’t intelligent and won’t succeed in life and inferior to whites in some manner. Asian characters are
Women over forty are constantly being either ignored or belittled in the media. There are countless women in their twenties and early thirties all over television and the movies. In magazines, the models tend to be much younger. Many are under twenty.
We can easily find lots of example of stereotypes from media and end up pondering if it is true or not. When you take for instance movies with Chinese actors you may expect kung Fu or martial arts being formed like Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. In effect from these media they promote that all Chinese people would know kung Fu, however it is not true because not all Asians will know how to do martial arts. When I was in school there used to be lots of kids asking me, “do you know kung Fu” and they get that idea to ask from the movies. People would make fun of me, saying that I eat dogs or cats when hearing it from the media, however it is not true for every Asian. I watched a show called “Average Asian” that presents a lot of stereotypes about Asians, when watching it I have to say it was funny and comical instead of being offensive. On the other hand I would be upset and even angry if a stranger would come up to me; ridiculing my own ethnic group with mean remarks of my race. Friends of mines would say that I am so smart since I am Asian and I will not take that as an offense, it is more of a...
This essay will look at the different ways in which young people are portrayed in the media. It will focus on how the idea of childhood innocence has been challenged by the media and rather than ‘little angels’ children are now seen as ‘little devils’ in the public eye. By looking at ‘The Bulger Case of 1993’ we can see where the idea of ‘little devils’ and children as evil beings began. It will examine why media stories of young people are focused much more on negative aspects such as crime and gang culture rather than positive ones. It will also look at how television programmes such as ‘Teen Mom’ and ‘Skins’ portray the youth of today and whether these programmes come across as a positive or negative portrayal of teenagers. The idea of a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ will also be examined and whether the way the media portrays children can be harmful to the construction of their identities and possibly lead to alienation.
Men and women are portrayed differently in media in relation to their socially constructed roles. As mentioned above about the agentic and communal roles, there is also double standard of ageing. Women’s lives: A psychological exploration defines “Double standard of aging” as, “the stigma of aging is much greater than it is for me” (Etaugh & Bridges, 2013, Pg. The media shows the public by giving them the bias that ageing men are more acceptable than aging women.
“Stereotypes unreliable, exaggerated generalizations about all members of a group that do not take individual differences into account” (Schaefer 40). Stereotypes can be positive, but are usually associated with negative beliefs or actions such as racial profiling.
While there are some examples of movies portraying aging in a positive light, more often movies and the media portray aging as negative. The movie ‘The Intern’ is an example of this. In the movie a company creates an intern position for a senior citizen, which they hope will assist with their company image. The company hires a 70-year-old male. There are many negative stereotypes and points where aging is viewed negatively within the movie, including the technology gap, where the intern cannot use emails or create a facebook account, the intern carries an old 70s style briefcase
It is also known that media impacts its viewers, modifying their judgments based on the information they receive. Substantial amounts of stereotypes broadcast through propaganda have similar effects. This essay will illustrate how stereotypes are generally portrayed and their function in propaganda. It will also further reveal how successful and well stereotypes can work when used in propaganda tactics. The media often uses and misrepresents stereotypes; however, they are significantly accepted by people throughout society.
Stereotypes can be conceived with positive or negative connotations. The positive stereotype is one that represents an idea that may have been lost, or a desire one cannot obtain. The negative s...
Despite some opposing ideas, the stereotypes in the media have negative impacts for both men and women and also children. I personally think that the media should not place a huge barrier in between the genders because it only creates extreme confinements and hinders people from their full potential. Overall, it is evident that the media has had an important role in representing gender and stereotypes in our