Gender Stereotypes In Hollywood

Gender stereotyping is used in media to build up and magnify character traits and bring humor to situations. Keeping that in mind stereotypical characters portrayed in popular movies and television shows allow viewers to internalize those messages of gender thus making it difficult to argue stereotype behaviors in the real world.

The film industry’s portrayal of African American people consists of countless stereotypes and inaccuracies. These depictions lead to an innumerable amount of misrepresentations about the African American community. As the latest wave of black films begins to dawn, the clearer the images become of a collective people. Using my personal experiences as a mixed woman of color, as well as including my academic strengths and goals, and points of view regarding various black films, the content of this paper will examine the representation and stereotypes that can be seen in African American Hollywood.

Gender stereotypes are everywhere. Even before we can understand what this means, people are constantly exposed to them through advertisements, toys, clothes, and the media including television shows and movies. To evaluate the prevalence of gender stereotypes in television programs targeted towards young children, I chose to watch four different shows called Phineas and Ferb, Little Einsteins, Horrid Henry, and Sofia the First. When picking what shows to watch, I intentionally selected at least one that looked targeted towards boys, another that appeared to be targeted towards girls, and finally one that seemed gender neutral. I also made sure to watch at least two episodes of each program to determine whether the themes I observed were

In today’s mainstream media, there exists a visible lack of Asian American representation. When they are given roles in film and television, those roles often maintain the stereotypical ideology which has been dominant for decades. Asian American stereotypes in these media range from hard-working and servile to masters of the martial arts and often put forth a misguided or exaggerated impression of what Asian Americans are like as a group. I argue that these stereotypical representations of Asian Americans manifest themselves in viewers’ minds and affect the way they view the minority group far after the they power off their television sets. These stereotypes are challenged when individual Asian Americans emerge and do not fit the mold that Hollywood has created for them. The quotes “looking at independent media artifacts, we can see the difficulties of self-representation, the potential for changing and configuring problematic images from Asian American and the media”(Ono) gives us a understanding to what independent media is to Asian Americans. Along with the quote “Inspires the creative expression of “Asian Americans who have felt excluded by particular forms of racialization”(Ono). These quotes will illustrate the shifting paradigm within the media from mainstream media to independent self produced work becoming the norm and how it can change Asian American lives demonstrated in these two films WHITEWASHING & ASIAN REPRESENTATION | Diversity Speaks - 2017 LA Film

Throughout the documentary the many stereotypes of Asian Americans generated by Hollywood are discussed. For example Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa discusses how he can either play ”The wimpy businessman or the villain”(Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, Slanted Screen). The extreme nature of these roles causes Asian Americans to be seen as different from American society. As well those who view the media will associate their roles with their identity even though the films are fictional. The role of a wimpy businessman or a villain means that Asian Americans are either insignificant or when they are of importance it is because they have malicious intentions.

Asian American actors in modern media deal with whitewashed film and television, underrepresentation in major works, and casting in stereotypical roles. These three problems are rooted in the history of Asian American actors in film and television, and have been perpetrated by stereotypes that continue to this day. The purpose of this memo is to examine the modern industry of film and television through the eyes of Asian American actors, viewing the stereotypes and stigmas these actors face, and looking forward to see what can be done by casting directors to reduce harmful stereotyping and increase diversity in film and television.

I will use four to five articles in my essay to show what roles Asian Americans get in the Hollywood movies. In general Asian Americans students are most academic achievers but when it comes to act in movies they are stereotyped and their English accent is used as foreign accent even thorough they are born American. I will give all the information that is used in media about Asian Americans. In the movie when a Caucasian movie star lies to be an Asian American. When the director know about that he is lying he is not an Asian he a Caucasian they start fighting and for the race. But he becomes a famous star in movies later on. After a while the director heard that his friend who is the Caucasian star’s girlfriend. He meets her and explains her and says, “I think he make you fool do you know he is not an Asian? He lied you for everything but she didn't listen and she starts arguing with his friend. Yellow face gives us a unique understanding of Asian stereotypes.

Asian and Latino women, are also ethnic minorities who are predominately portrayed in mainstream media as sexualized and or exotic (Brooks, 2006). Particularly in film, Asian women are frequently represented as passive characters, whose sole purpose is to be of service to men, especially White men. Asian American’s have been described as being the ‘model minority,’ and are often portrayed as nerdy or associated with technology (Mastro, 2015). Once more, the racial representations of Asian Americans influence audiences’ perceptions and can take misinformation about the group or culture as the truth (Brooks, 2006).

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.

For thousands of years, established gender roles have been a part of our society. Women are commonly known as sensitive, emotional, or passive. On the contrary, men are described as rational, competitive, independent, or aggressive. Believing women are more emotional than men is stereotyping. However, the stereotype is not entirely untrue. Development of gender roles is often conditioned more by environmental or cultural factors than by hereditary or biological factors. The development of gender roles between men and women involves the inference of peer community of each gender, the communication style of male and female and the intimacy or connection level of men and women.

It is known that one of the industries that reflect a multitude of human stereotypes is in the cinema. Although this may be true, to some people it is not completely obvious; especially if the stereotyped individual in the film is different from the person watching. The 2009 remake of the movie Fame has numerous moments that represent mediated stereotypes between different races. Using examples from Ramirez-Berg in his piece, “Stereotypes in Film”, the stereotypes I recognized were much more clear. Additionally, cinematic devices such as scripting, costuming, and sound effects played a role when discussing oppressed populations (Ramirez Berg).

Mass media and Hollywood movies create nursing images, using stereotypes. The main goal of Hollywood and all shows is raising their own ratings and getting profit. After watching the old movie“ One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest” with Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher I had as positive and negative emotions as well. I was a little depressed seeing how patients were abused and how nurses were acting like gendarmes. Nurse Ratched, a nurse-tyrant, working in the mental institution, punished everyone who could say “No” to her. She did not treat patients with dignity. Instead, she restricted the patient with their basic needs.

Thanks to actors like Chloë Grace Moretz, Shailene Woodley, & Ansel Elgort, the young adult teen genre is alive and well on the big screen. However, this is not a cinematic category that’s without its criticisms - as films of this nature tend to cater heavily to a young female demographic.

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.

Stereotypes have become a prevalent issue in our media. They, without our knowledge, prevent us from moving forward as human. In this essay, I will discuss the effects of stereotypes in media on gender roles, religion, and race.