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Media Stereotypes

Stereotyping is an issue that has existed in American media for a very long time. We can trace this phenomenon to the earliest days of movies in America in which Blacks were portrayed in Black face by caucasians actors in a very negative and disrespectful light. A media stereotype can be described as the way a particular group of people is framed in media based on the stereotypes that exists about them in real. These stereotypes can be lumped into a few main categories:     Racial Profiling: This occurs when the media depicts a group of people in a particular way based solely on their race. We can see examples of this in how in the depiction of Black people as being ghetto, Latinos as being Cartel or gang members, and Asians as being super intelligent. Gender: This occurs when a group of people is depicted a certain way in media based solely on their gender. Examples of this can be seen in the way women are depicted as being frail damsels in the distress while men can depicted...
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White Savior

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 The trope of the White Savior is one that has existed in film and television for decades.  The White Savior trope in movies depicts the people of color in the film as being hopeless and helpless while on the the flip side casting the White actor (usually male) as being the savior for the people of color.  There can be a thin line between a White Savior figure and a regular non-racist potentially even woke figure. The biggest difference in my opinion between these two is the way that the actors of color are portrayed in the film. There should be a certain level of dignity attributed to the characters of color. White character is not a problem as long as there is somewhat equal level of dignity between them and the people of color in the movie. The problem is when the people of color in the movie are made to look like less than the White Savior. This ideology specifically when it refers to Black characters enforces the age old stereotype that we have seen in minstrel shows...
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Family Matters

 The TV show Family Matters is one of the most famous TV shows of the 1990s. The main star of the show Steve Urkel became one of the most beloved figure in the households of people all over the world. He made millions of people laugh every time he was on the screen but we have to ask what is it exactly that they were laughing at.      A big part of the reason people were laughing at Steve Urkel is because he did not fit the stereotype of what a masculine man should be as dictated by society. Steve Urkel was depicted as being extremely nerdy. He was a genius who was able to create a bunch of different inventions but was also very clumsy and uncoordinated. He was also very in touch with his emotions and had no problem expressing them.  The girl he had a crush on did not view as attractive at and would often talk down on him for being the way he was. He eventually became so tired of being disregarded for not being being cool or masculine in the traditional sense th...
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Perpetuating Ideologies Different Strokes

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  As a child one one of my favorite shows to watch was Different Strokes. I saw it to be a feel good show that tried to display some positive imagery but now I tend to view that show with a different perspective. The shows is about 2 young black male orphans named Arnold Jackson and Willis Jackson. These young orphans are adopted by a wealthy caucasian man named Philip Drummond. The boys were initially being raised by their mother who eventually passed away. Their mother was actually used to work for Mr. Drummond before she passed away. The show goes on to show them living every day life as two young kids   from less fortunate backgrounds living with their rich adopted father. Even though on a surface level this show may seem to have good intention when you look deeper into it you can see how this show played a pivotal role in perpetuating dominant ideologies. The show Different Strokes is responsible for perpetuating a few stereotypes about Black people and their relation...
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Street Rap

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        Hip hop has become the most popular genre of music in the world today according to a Billboard.com article. While Hip Hop has made its way into the heart of mainstream society and is now accepted by everybody it was not always that way. Hip Hop in its beginning stage started off as a form of party music to be performed at block parties and cookouts in the South Bronx in New York by blacks and latinos from the neighborhood. There would be a DJ present would take many classic soul and funk songs and just play the breakdown part of the song. While this was happening there would be an emcee present on the mic rhyming about how cool him and they DJ were as well as yelling out many call and response chants to get the crowd hyped and into the party. This is what the genre start off as initially. It was a way for the people from the impoverished areas of New York City to get together and have fun amongst each other but eventually it word turn into much more. ...
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