Stereotypes and the Media
“Hey isn’t that Reverend Camden's daughter? I thought she was a Christian!”
“Isn’t her dad a policeman?”
“What! The President's daughters were arrested for drinking?”
These are statements that are frequently made by people like myself. I expect more from my peers whose fathers have jobs as prominent moral leaders because of the way the media portrays them. Our society places higher standards on pastors of Christian church, a policemen, and the President of the United States of America, because of their positions. These fathers are expected to be upstanding, moral citizens of their community, and are expected to have children that conduct themselves in the same manner. As college students we have learned from the media how to judge our peers' social actions based solely on their fathers' jobs. The nightly news broadcast, newspapers, and television sitcoms such as the The Cosby Show, 7th Heaven, and Dawson’s Creek are all examples of where we learn to judge based on these stereotypes.
Imagine you are at a party having a great time listening to a Marilyn Manson CD playing in the background, “Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disbelieve?” While filling up your glass of beer you spring a conversation with the person standing next to you. The music is loud so you both venture out to the porch to talk. Names, where you live, and your major are all exchanged in the beginning of your conversation. The two of you quit talking for a moment to take a sip of the beer you had both just filled up a few minutes ago. As the conversation gets deeper, the issue of your fathers' careers is brought up. Your dad is a real estate agent who sells homes for a living. The person standing across from you informs you that her father is a pastor of a Christian church. Your mouth drops, then your stomach. You quickly look down at your glass of beer, and then you look at her glass. A surprised eyebrow is raised, confused as to why this person is drinking, or why she is even at this party. Automatically, without any reason, you have already stereotyped this person and placed a higher standard of social prestige on her because of her fathers’ job.
As much as society tries to deny the fact that the family that one comes from determines their fate, in almost every case this very fact is true. Today, we see how infants who are born into wealthy families are treated differently than children who are born into drug and disease-stricken poverty. Higher classed people stand out in society on both a local and national level much more than the average middle class working family.
It is impossible not to judge someone without meeting them in society. This is well shown in the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, a novel about a group of boys with their own problems not including their social class being Greasers. The other class, the Socs oppose Greasers. Socs jump Greasers in their free time which then causes the Greasers to retaliate. Some personal origins are dead family members, starvation, no education, and poor households. In conclusion one theme is proven through the statement keep judgement to a minimal because you do not know the problems of others. This creates two sub themes, never succumb to stereotypes and society will wrongly, consistently generalize a group.
“The Proud Family” is a children’s program that runs daily on The Disney Channel and on Saturday mornings on ABC Kids. It is a TV-G rated program. The show is about an African-American family with the last name Proud. There is a mom, dad, three kids, and a grandmother. The main character of the show is the oldest daughter named Penny Proud who is probably in junior high. Also, some of Penny’s friends are in the show. All of the characters in this show are stereotyped by many things such as race and gender, including Penny.
The problem with children copying role models is that many young boys, for numerous reasons are left without sound, solid male role models who can show them how good men can be (Robinson 2011). This however is not always the case, although there are some boys who do lack models in the home they can take role models from men they see in the media, ch...
When you think of American history, do you think of war, slavery, or segregation? Something that these have in common is gender equality. Gender equality is something that has been an issue in America since the first day it was inhabited. This is a problem in America. A more particular time period would be, World War II. During this time, women were being used to do men’s jobs and duties but, they still had to have a feminine aspect to them. While most men were at war, the women picked up jobs playing baseball, and working in factories to build the necessary items for war and daily living. During World War II, it was necessary for women to work. The government statistics prove this:
Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing written by; Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Eighth Edition, published April, 2007 by Bedford/St. Martin’s, is a textbook about writing and critical thinking. In the first chapter of Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths”, the Authors begin by setting a relatable scene of what it’s like for a college student. How a new found independence can be overwhelming, especially with regards to critical thinking, showing that what we have learned, needs to be re-evaluated and that an open mind in essential. "What Is Critical Thinking" In this section of the chapter the editors explain what it means to be a critical thinker. They explain that critical thinking is not just studying dates and facts, but rather taking those facts and examining them. The editors then proceed by explaining how having an open mind, and taking others' perspectives into account when formulating our own opinions on what the author is trying to say to us is important. A critical thinker takes all aspects into account and reflects on personal experience as well. The editors also point out that different cultural experiences bring different opinions. They suggest that we need to become active learners, continuously questioning the meaning behind everything, testing not only the theories of others but also our own experiences and analyzing the text rather than going for the obvious. They show that thinking outside the box is the epitome of critical thinking. Basically, we need to step outside our comfort zones and what we have always been taught. The editors also suggest that we need to re-evaluate our per...
This essay discusses censorship and the way in which social media and consumer products affect and model an appropriate societal ‘literacy’ or view in particular regards to gender and race, to young children. A summary of the stereotypes displayed in several videos viewed on YouTube, as well as student’s own identified stereotypes, both in regards to race and gender, are displayed below (Alexander, 2011; BrokenXLoner, 2012; Lac, 2013; Walt Disney Pictures, 1998, 1994, 1992, 1967, 1955, 1953, 1941):
For many years, racial and ethnic stereotypes have been portrayed on multiple television programs. These stereotypes are still illustrated on a day-to-day basis even though times have changed. Racial or ethnic stereotypes should not be perpetuated on certain television programs. These stereotypes provide false information about groups, do not account for every person, allow older generations to influence younger generations, create tension between groups, and affect people in many ways.
Stereotypes are generalizations or assumptions about people in a group, based on a perceived image or idea. There are many ways in which people stereotype, including racial, gender-based, ethnicity, and even occupation. Stereotyping can take place anywhere; school, work, newspaper, and even television. The television show “The Big Bang Theory” is a perfect example of a show that portrays a lot of stereotyping.
helping. Television is making the shows out to seem like one race is better than another. For
Societies standards are what everyone wants to fit into it is the norms that are used as a guide to living life. The grandmother and the misfit in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” follow the way of social values, thoughts, and way society sees one another closely in 1953. Both the grandmother and the misfit are different in many ways, but have one common value of society’s views are important to them. The way society views and judges people causes both the misfit and the grandmother to act differently but subtly makes them more alike than either of them could tell. The shared value of society’s point of view on a human being can explain both characters views, behaviors, and actions because of how heavily it weighed on the grandma and
Stereotypes In the Media Stereotypes play an important role in today's society and particularly in propaganda. According to the Webster's Dictionary, stereotyping is defined as a fixed conventional notion or conception of an individual or group of people, held by a number of people. Stereotypes can be basic or complex generalizations which people apply to individuals or groups based on their appearance, behaviour and beliefs. Stereotypes are found everywhere in the world. Though our world seems to be improving in many ways, it seems almost impossible to liberate it from stereotypes.
Erik Erikson has made a contribution to the field of psychology with his developmental theory. In Erickson’s psychosocial theory, development consists of a sequence of stage, each defined by a unique crisis or challenge. Erikson proposed that individuals go through eight distinct, predictable stages as they develop their sense of self and their relationships with others. At each stage as a child experiences different biological, social and cognitive needs, sort of development crisis provides an opportunity for that child to discover whether her family society and culture can meet those needs. Psychosocial development the socially and culturally influenced process of development. An opportunity for increased potential and healthy development and decreased vulnerability.
When society thinks about the local McDonald’s, they probably do not think “innovation’. That is because everyone has become accustomed to the many novelties that McDonald’s has introduced over the years. Some people do not even know that McDonalds was the leader in innovation being the first major international fast food restaurant, with the first drive-through window. What many people do not realize is that McDonald’s continues to drive innovation in fast food. Some times the innovation is well advertised, but other times they are designed so that customers will never even notice (Ritzer, 2004).
Incorporating a critical literacy perspective into the foreign language classroom may seem daunting at first, but it is not impossible. As Barbara Comber argues, curriculum that focuses on “critical social action and textual production is often reserved for adult or workplace domains" (453), however, incorporating this perspective into the classroom can help “connect them with community members about matters of immediate significance" (453). The practices of critical literacy can allow the students to think outside the box, develop both as individuals and collectively, “claim value in their experiences and critique mainstream ideals that marginalize them and their families" (Jones 60).