Media Stereotypes

What is Media Stereotypes?


From my research, Wikipedia defined stereotype as a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions. 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, behavior and beliefs.

Stereotypes are quick easy ways that give audiences a quick, similar understanding of a person or group of people usually involving their, ethnicity, class, race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation. Nowadays no one is safe from stereotypes even today's youth is suffering from it. Stereotypes can be problematic. They can reduce a wide range of differences in people to simplistic categorizations, transform assumptions about particular groups of people into "realities", be used to justify the position of those in power,and also perpetuate social prejudice and inequality.


Below are some examples of media stereotypes that I had found by doing research:


First of all, it was a media stereotype about Sara Palin that I had found on a online magazine, do visit here to view the whole article.


http://jezebel.com/5090641/hillary-and-sarah-the-bitch-and-the-ditz-of-american-politics


Next, I think most of us know about it. The good looking actor and actresses (especially for TV and commercial advertisement)


I had saw this article on Yahoo! Answer and I think it was also a quite normal stereotype that face by many of the actors and actresses. The title of this article is " When are black actors/actresses going stop taking these degrading & demaning roles??" and following by :

It's like they are living up to the stereotype that we already have. In many predominately white shows and movies black actors/actresses are taking roles as characters that fit the stereotypical black person.
ex: Disney Channel's Hannah Montana: on one show a large black woman got her wig pulled off by one of the main characters.This fitting the stereotype that black women always have fake hair.

Nickoleoden's Drake and josh : Helen one of the characters is a very loud mean black woman.
stereotype: all black women are LOUD and "ghetto".

This show the stereotype of mostly western countries that having a negative and not so good stereotype among the black actors and actresses. This may be the problem faced by most of the black artists.

The other examples of stereotype is

The blonde stereotype, the stereotypical perception of blond-haired women, has two aspects. On one hand, over the history, blonde hair in women has been considered attractive and desirable. On the other hand, a blonde woman is often perceived as making little use of intelligence, as a "woman who relied on her looks rather than on intelligence."

Examples :

Pop Cultural Examples Supporting the Dumb Blonde Stereotype

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (a comic novel, a Broadway musical, and two films) explores the appeal of blonde women. The film starred Marilyn Monroe as the blonde and Jane Russell as her wise brunette friend. The Encyclopedia of Hair describes Monroe's role as that of "a fragile woman who relied on her looks rather than on intelligence—what some people refer to as 'dumb blond'." At the same time, in the film she demonstrates a certain amount of wit regarding her life position expressed in her hit"Diamonds are a girl's best friend". And when her fiance's father (who initially disliked her but eventually was won over) asked her why she pretends to be dumb, she answers that men prefer this way.

Many blond actresses have played stereotypical "dumb blondes", including Judy Holliday, Jayne Mansfield and Goldie Hawn, best known as the giggling "dumb blonde", stumbling over her lines, especially when she introduced Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In "News of the Future".

In the American sitcom Three's Company the blond girl (originally Chrissy played by Suzanne Somers, and later Cindy and Terri) is sweet and naive, while the brunette (Janet played by Joyce DeWitt) is smart.

In the TV Series Glee, actress Heather Morris plays Brittany Pierce, a cheerleader who is also a member of the glee club New Directions. Heather's character also represents the dumb blonde stereotype; sexy and beautiful, but with less intelligence.  - [source: Wikipedia]

In conclude, media stereotypes create a lots of basic impression toward some certain thing. Just like the generation of us, we know that Marilyn Monroe as a symbol of sexy and we also heard about the story of Princess Diana. But, we also been giving the stereotypes about Caucasians can't dance, Islam are terrorist, Irish are alcoholics and so on. Stereotypes can be divide into positive stereotype and negative stereotype, it shouldn't be share and teach to other if anyone doesn't know the correct answer and it should be well-taught to people without personal prejudice and bias.