Not merely entertainment: Social responsibility of Hollywood Movies, TV programs have been a major part of our life entertainment, as watching films in the cinema or on the living room couch with friends or families at leisure, while actually, the impact that the movies and TV programs have on this society has already reached further than just entertainment. Some people might conceive that the movies are just made for divertissement, which should not be taken seriously, and that a movie needs stereotyped characters to make it looks interesting, representative, and attractive. However, the fact is a diametrically opposite that the so-called entertainment media is exactly molding people’s mind and attitude towards social issues and towards the …show more content…
While watching movies, we are not simply relaxing or enjoy a leisure period of time. What’s more, we are learning things at the same time, such as how people from other ethnicities are like. In this way, movies formatting our concepts of people even before we actually know them. For example, even though a mysterious Asian woman character who acts as a sexy allurement may escalate a movie’s enticement and exoticism, it leads to a misrepresented image of the Asian women which are portrayed to be submissive, low self-esteem, and “eager for sex” (Hagedorn, para. 5). In the movie The World of Suzie Wong (1960), the Asian female protagonist is described as a prostitute who is a “cute, dancing sex machine” (Hagedorn, para.3), and eagerly wants a man’s love, which describes Asian women as sexuality objects and tragic individuals. Unfortunately, these stereotypes of Asian female will lead to the discrimination and disrespect to them which even result in insult and sexually abuse again Asian women. Thus, movies are definitely not just entertaining methods but are responsible in forming people’s conceptions and understandings, which will bring numerous societal …show more content…
For instance, an Asian boy who dreamt of being an outstanding athlete will be teased by the other kid because of the conception that Asians are nerds who are good at math but physically weak, or even worse, that Asians are not able to play an important role in most areas. When the comic-based movie The Last Airbender (2010) released, there were many audiences being surprised and feeling uncomfortable with the casting of this film, because this obviously Asian culture-based comic with obviously Asian characters and factors was filmed into a movie in which most of the protagonists are not played by Asian actors. What’s more, in the casting calls document of this movie, the criterias were set as Caucasian or other ethnics, which distinctly indicates that the filmmaker has the partiality of Caucasian actors as the main roles. As a matter of fact, this phenomenon is a result of the preconceived idea that Asians or people from the “other ethnicity” are not able to play the influential roles in paramount positions. Exampling to the experience of Jeremy Lin, a famous NBA basketball player, who has performed extraordinarily in many NBA seasons, it is regrettably to find out that Lin is also a victim of racial discrimination who has suffered much doubt and
Medved proves he's not the only one who is not pleased with what's happening in today's media. Figures prove that the American public is showing dissatisfaction with television, film and music. Major television networks' ratings have decreased, movie theater ticket sales are down and so are the sales of tapes and CDs. The recent loss of audience is blamed on the abandonment of traditional values by the media. Medved consistently receives letters from moviegoers expressing their frustration with the industry for this reason. Hollywood no longer portrays what most American families believe in, but instead it promotes foul language, sex and violence. Not only does it promote these vulgar behaviors but also it insults traditional values such as patriotism and religion and labels their supporters as conservatives and fanatics.
Hollywood film has always been an influential phenomenon within the people of the United States. Many films have started enormous trends within cultural and social movements as well as political ones. Examples of this can be seen from the genesis of Hollywood film. As films became more popular, and more developed, the ideas that were presented within film reflected the changes that were occurring within The United States. The role of film, thus became even more important because it was source of entertainment, but also a source of propaganda that would influence gender stereotypes and expectations. The ideas that films present are usually very reflective of the time in which they were made, making them benchmarks for what was to be accepted
I gave several examples where Asian Americans were used to play very simple characters. These roles were defined by stereotypes that exist in America. I also researched instances on counter actions taken by Asian Americans to protest against these negative images. My research also has examples of Asians that have succeeded in breaking through the racial barriers in the media.
Directors and writers should be very careful about the detail, content and portrayal of people in the movies. How they portray the roles and the movies influences children’s beliefs and thoughts about ethnicities and cultures. A movie called “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” from 1961 is a great example which has changed the way children think of Asian people in real life. Mickey Rooney is an American actor who played an Asian man character with yelllowface makeup in this movie. The character was portrayed as a bucktoothed nerd Japanese guy. Children who watched the movie might receive wrong awareness about Japanese people. They would think that all Japanese are stupid and look funny like the Japanese character played in the movie. Some people argue that it is all about entertainment and there is no need to take it seriously because nothing is personal. No matter what the movie’s initial intention is, it has bad effect on children which is a big problem in the world where diverse people live together. The wrong stereotyped awareness will be self-perpetuating once it starts to be ingrained in children’s mind. Hollywood movies misrepresent ethnicities to some extent and that can give wrong awareness about them to the
In a study by the Ralph J. Bunche Centre for African American Studies at UCLA in 2014, a study based on 172 films produced and released in 2011 showed that only 10.5 percent of actors who played lead roles were of a minority group. While the other 89.5 percent were made up of Caucasian actors. The study states that “because minorities collectively accounted for 36.3 percent of the U.S. population in 2010, they were underrepresented by a factor of more than 3 to 1 among lead roles in the films examined.” The scarcity of ethnic and racial diversity in Hollywood feature films can only add to further marginalisation of these minority groups as they may be left out of from a story in which they could be directly involved in. Images portrayed on the cinema screen or by the media can be directly involved in how we view other ethnicities and influence our views towards the ethnicity’s portrayed. This can in turn lead to the forming and
The “submissive China doll”, the “the exotic geisha” are examples of stereotypes which has led to Asian women being dehumanized and seen merely as sex symbols. Until now these stereotypes dominate the U.S films, mainly in action films. The listed factors below are believed to have been the origin of the said stereotype.
Public out cry about actors who portray other races has brought attention to the subject and has produced numerous arguments. These actors who portray themselves a different race is something that shouldn’t be viewed as a positive thing that we should continue to do. First of having an actor portray another race usually results in a more stereotypical role. This gives the public a bad image of different ethnicities, which may think that this is that ethnicities normal behavior. Similarly, having an actor portray another ethnicity takes a job away from someone from that race. Actors of other races are under represented in films. By not giving minorities opportunities they can’t prove that they are in fact good actors, limiting them in future roles. By allowing actors to portray a different race we are not respecting minorities as equals.
How individuals construct their social identities, how they come to understand what it means to be male, female, black, white, Asian, Latino, Native American…Media, in short, are central to what ultimately come(s) to represent our social realities” (Brooks, Hebert 297). This is why it’s important to positively represent people of color in media, because negative imagery displayed can be mistaken for expectations. Medias’ stereotypical portrayal of people of color is a casual suggestion that that is what society expects. It tells that little black boy that he’s not the superhero but the superhero’s sidekick, it tells the Latina girl that she can’t be too bossy or loud and just the right amount of Latina. It says that Asian-Americans have to be smart and act a certain way, it tells the mixed kids that they are “other” and that they have to pick a race. Positive representation is important to the self-esteem of black, Asian, Latino/a, and Native Americans as Western culture sells the idea that straight hair, blue eyes, and light skin are the ideal body type. It can lead to children disliking their appearance, culture, and using skin lightening products that can damage their skin. Positive accurate portrayals of black, Latino/a, Asian-Americans, and Native Americans are truly
We need to put an end to ignorance of the media and start learning through literature books and textbooks. Our society should begin to worry more about what is going on in the world, rather then thinking what trends celebrities are setting. The media should be used more for spreading knowledge and not for showing expectations that should be met to be perfect. The freedom to think is a blessing and is not dangerous. What is dangerous is the affect the entertainmnet has on the whole world. Let’s use our freedom to make a change but not for more control but for the better of the
Hollywood is a very powerful modern day institution, where a star's image can characterize, shape and circulate societal myths and ideologies. The construction of a star's image as a commodity of their societal myths and ideologies has the extraordinary power to exert messages so that even the smallest details become significant yet not overtly obvious. How a star's image is produced and then consumed can justify a society's relationship with that image and therefore aid in explaining the social construction of what society deems as their 'reality'. A star's image is created through a range of representations churned out by Hollywood. Capitalism from the commercialization of these images has made Hollywood the dominant force it is today.
The image of an Asian has been distorted in the media. “For decades Hollywood films have consistently played on the theme of ‘Orientals’ as the ‘other’” (180). As Hollywood is primarily dominated by white Americans, many popular Asian characters were played by white actors who were poorly made to look Asian. If an Asian American were to play a role of an Asian character, it would be for an unpopular film. If the film was to gain traction, the Asian American actors would be quickly replaced with a white actor who dyed their hair black and used taped to make the eyes look Asian. An example of this happening would be with the character of Charlie Chan who was played by a Japanese-American but then soon replaced with white actors. “This practice, commonly known as yellowface, entails non-Asian performers playing Asian characters”
As with all industries, Hollywood’s business revolves around making money. In the quest for monetary excellence morals can become sidelined and painful stereotypes can become revisited. On the other side, a filmmaker may use their influential position in order to shed light on a controversial issue to remind the public of consequences of past mistakes. In a paradoxical way, when Hollywood creates altruistic and feel good films the making of the films may unintentionally harm other cultures or societies. In the pursuit of socially progressive films, Hollywood disregards the wellbeing of some in order to make others look better in comparison. Highlighting t...
A movie is a communal learning experience, the combination of so many art forms, and the apothospic way to connect with our emotions, but not everyone perceive them the same way. It is a source of entertainment easily obtained countless ways in our technology forward society. With a plethora of categories to choose from, movies have the power to transport us to a different world from ours, and sometimes, to a different century in the past. Furthermore, it makes us vicariously experience a character 's life whose personality could be way different from ours. Besides entertaining each one of us in many different ways, they preserve the culture of our race. It 's known to an average person that movies have a great impact on our psychological well-being.
While watching movies, have you ever noticed that the villains in almost every single Hollywood film are of Middle Eastern or European descent? In a reoccurring theme of Hollywood, the villains in these films are almost always foreigners or people of color. This is a stereotype. On the other side of the spectrum, we often see that the heroes of these films are most often than not white males. This is another stereotype. Within the last few years, we’ve seen actors such as Will Smith, Morgan Freeman, and Zoe Saldana take the lead roles, so it can’t be said that there are no non-white heroes, but there certainly isn’t many. Hollywood action movies, moreover than other genres, are typically loaded with an abundance of stereotypes. The way these movies are composed and structured can tell us a great deal about the views held within the American psyche and who holds the social power. The harsh reality is that the media ultimately sets the tone for societal standards, moralities, and images of our culture. Many consumers of media have never encountered some of the minorities or people of color shown on screen, so they subsequently depend on the media and wholeheartedly believe that the degrading stereotypes represented on the big screen are based on fact and not fiction. Mary Beltran said it best when she stated in her “Fast and Bilingual: Fast & Furious and the Latinization of Racelessness” article, “ultimately, Fast & Furious mobilizes notions of race in contradictory ways. It reinforces Hollywood traditions of white centrism, reinforcing notions of white male master while also dramatizing the figurative borders crossed daily by culturally competent global youth – both Latino and non-Latino” (77). This paper will specifically look...
Many people do not realize the impact that television, movies, and all other media types have on our perception of the world around us. People see television shows as a form of entertainment, an escape from the real world into an imaginary one where whirlwinds romances are ignited, treacherous crimes are solved, exorbitant amounts of money are made and spent, and jokes are always funny. However, the various lives we observe on our big and small screens help to mold the societal conceptions that we cling to in real life, especially when it comes to gender roles. As Molly Haskell discerns in her book, From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies, “Studios, [which are] tremendously powerful […] shifted the fears of feminine fashions,