The United States of America is a country full of diversity. America was established and continues growing with the help of other nations. People come to America from different countries with different religions, aspirations, and cultures. America attempts to understand the differences of those who are from a different country, but has failed in many ways. America has failed to understand that everybody is different regardless of race and nationality; that although two people can be born in the same country, they can be completely different from one another. This can be patently observed in the media, especially Hollywood films. For many decades, Hollywood has done a great job in brainwashing their viewers, such as creating stereotypes that are undeniably followed present day. Those stereotypes that have been persistently followed till this day, affect the way Americans perceive people of different nationalities. Hollywood writers and directors have a social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic characters. Understanding the effects stereotypes have on individuals is critical since one can easily fall victim of that sequence. Hollywood has inflicted the acts of discrimination within certain ethnic groups, misrepresentated women in the media, and caused role conflicts to many individuals due to stereotyping. Some might say that Hollywood does not create stereotypes that increase the likelihood of discrimination against a social group. However, that statement is false
All of this proves that Hollywood is not doing a good job in making up for the blatantly racist films of the twentieth century. Hollywood needs to do more to reverse the stereotypes of early film because such stereotypes are still seen today along with their respective repercussions.
Asian American actors and actresses are portrayed in Hollywood movies as always being the silent and yielding foreign victims to social injustice and prejudice. Whether or not these depictions are true, they are nonetheless stereotypes that Hollywood producers have come up with. According to the US Census in the year 2000, Asian Americans make up 4.2% of the entire American population, and knowing that most Asian Americans live on the west and east coast of the United States, many Americans living in central parts of this country have not really been exposed to any Asian Americans. Because of this fact, it is highly probable that most Americans get their exposure to the Asian American lifestyle only through television and movies. Even if
Reports show that Latinos are the most underrepresented ethnic group in film affected by stereotypical issues shown via pictures in our heads and through watching. I concur with this information as stereotype starts from a personal level, which is definite through meditation, this does not include all the negative traits portrayed by the out-group. Although we have some general stereotypical agreements within in-groups that cannot change. This stereotyping is evident in a case where a foreigner defines Bandido accurately while a (North) American will involve them with laziness, being dirty and all sorts of negativity on them. These findings make me feel that Latinos and Americans will always be contrary to their film industry.
There are many things I want to learn and get to the bottom of while researching this topic. My main question is, “Why is this happening?” Honestly, I cannot even believe this topic is actually still an issue. When thinking of movie directors, producers, etc. I would assume them to be a group of progressive and inclusive people because the artist community generally is. So, how have these people let this happen? I would also like to look in to how this misrepresentation affects the minorities of America. There could possibly be underlying psychological turmoil in minorities which causes them to feel less capable. This brings me to wonder if there is any underlying racial bias in everyone because of who is glorified in in movies and shows. In order to answer such questions, I will research to find if any psychologist have done any studies on the effects of television and film on our subconscious in terms of the representation of minorities. I am also curious how other diverse countries such as Canada’s television and film look. I will compare the United States to these diverse counties in my research in order to provide a more global view.
During the process of producing a television series, the demand for the producers to introduce their characters with only their highlighted traits make it impossible for viewers to gain a deep understanding of the community that the characters represent. One of the stereotypic traits that is usually seen on movies and television shows is societal difference that each race is placed into. Michael Omi in his article In Living Color: Race and American Culture stated that “in contemporary television and film, there is a tendency to present and equate racial minority groups and individuals with specific social problems” (546). There are many films and television shows found today that ground racial minorities into a specific social problems that are related to the color of their skin. It can be inferred from the current popular culture that this stereotype still persists.
Diversity is a very broad discussion today, it can range from race, gender, sexuality, political or religious views, or even mental disorders. In America, which is basically a melting pot of different cultures in itself seems to struggle with diversity in the one place it really shouldn’t, tv and movies. But how could the entertainment industry affect the way we view others? Simple, through representation. Representation is the act of showing off a particular group of people. Through this, the characters that belong to these groups, cultures or lifestyles act as representatives that show off how they interact with the world. This could be someones first time seeing how a person of a different race, sexuality, or religious/political views and however they are portrayed could become someone’s psychological alignment
Media influences the minds of those who consume it. Portrayals in media quickly become the norm as the consumers believe the strangest of headlines. Representations in media, specifically television, are subconsciously analyzed and placed into the mindset of the viewer. Racial depictions in television and the lack thereof, for example, influence the perspective of the consumer and portray a false reality. Although the future for more racial diversity in the American television industry looked promising, this white-dominated industry has proven that not much has changed in regards to hiring, including, and depicting more ethnic groups and people of color in entertainment. People of color are given stereotypical roles that presents the race in a negative manner; its depiction on television gives additional credibility to the stereotypes. “””Tokenistic representation hinders the nation's ability to see the reality of diversity in the world by limiting the numbers and types of people that are seen through the
The view of POCs (People of Color) within mainstream media has always been strewed. From the roles of Flora Robson as a Haitian maid in Saratoga Trunk to Mickey Rooney as I. Y. Yunioshi, the view of POCs in American popular culture has always been warped to portray an often negative or demeaning stereotype that appeases the white audience of American pop culture. Although many races are negatively impacted by the conceptions of the white American public, the portrayal of Asian American stereotypes in television has especially given an illusion to the American public on what to assume when facing an Asian American. Even with the growth of the Asian American voice in television and the increase in representation through new shows such as “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Marco
In a recent discussion of the media, an issue has been whether Hollywood writers and directors have a social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic characters. On the one hand, some argue that the Hollywood writers and directors should not have a social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic characters because they make movies that their audiences enjoy, connect, and relate to. The audiences cannot make a purchase if they do not feel interested in; therefore, it is the audiences’ personal responsibility. On the other hand, however, others argue that the Hollywood writers and directors should have a social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic characters. According to the article “Asian Women in Film: No Joy, No Luck” by Jessica Hagedorn, the author discusses the stereotypical portrayals of Asian women in the movie. By analyzing movies, she shows that the women are seen being as victims in so many ways, such as sexual and physical because of their gender. The reason is the Hollywood filmmakers and directors create their films in that way through stereotypes. It is true since the media plays role in the society. Therefore, the Hollywood writers and directors should have a social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic character because their products have a significant influence on children, adults, and colored actors.
The Effects of Minority Representation in Hollywood and the Media on Racial Perspectives in The U.S.
Many times we become exposed to many different movies and we don’t always seem to pay attention to the stereotypes or the classifications in which different scenes of the movie portray. I feel like many of the movies that we watch or even movies that we display to children might employ or dictate negative stereotypes or present minorities and different cultures in a negative perspective. As future educators I feel like we should watch out for these types of things and how we divulge students into learning about other people and their cultures by the media we convey in our classroom.
Films have the power to both influence and reflect society. The stereotypes prevalent throughout American culture are reflected in most films. While the United States is becoming an increasingly diverse country, this diversity is not portrayed within American cinema. Minority figures often occupy
People constantly try to gain direction and insight from their evaluations of other people. One such way they do so is through stereotypes. Stereotypes are cognitive constructs involving an individual’s half-truths and distorted realities knowledge, expectations, and beliefs about human groups. As such, racial stereotypes are constructed beliefs that all members of the same race share certain specific characteristics. In America, the media and Hollywood play an integral role in entrenching and dispelling these stereotypes. However, Hollywood and the media create characters according to stereotypes to attract an audience, from which the viewers can reflect on and laugh at the stereotypes recognizable within American society. This paper seeks to discuss the common stereotypes in American society and how the media and Hollywood promotes those stereotypes and their impacts.
“Oscars So White” a phrase that began trending on social media sites after the 2016 Academy Awards announce their nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress, it was predominately white for a second year in a row. The movie industry is no stranger to controversy and since its inception it’s constantly been guilty of underrepresenting ethnic people. It’s evident that film is a type of mass media that has a certifiable amount of power to influence audience’s views, yet this platform constantly disregards the need for diversity in favor of stereotypes. Movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Scarface (1983), and Pan (2015) are all guilty of this. The depiction of non-American characters in Hollywood movies are constructed around racial
One of the things that the television and movies cause us to do is to create stereotypes for people around us who are from numerous diverse social and cultural backgrounds. Television and films supply materials of which we form our very characteristics. These have shaped our sense of what our selves mean to ourselves; how we feel about being a male or a female; which class, ethnicity and race, of nationality we belong to, and of our sexuality; and of “us” and “them.” Perhaps the most significant misconception that one can derive from the media is that of the other cultures, and thus makes us form some misunderstood and untrue assumptions about people who are from a different culture. It is by seeing the media that we learn how to behave,