How does the mass media reinforce sterotypes?

Stereotypes are socially constructed, over-generalized views regarding a particular group of persons with certain characteristics that are widely accepted, and usually expected, in a society. The dominant group of a certain society, which in this case is probably Caucasians and men, usually creates these social constructions. Claude M. Steele, a researcher from Stanford University, performed multiple research studies on the idea and psychological effects of stereotypes on its victims. In his studies, he coins the term “stereotype threat” as the “social-psychological predicament that can arise from widely-known negative stereotypes about one's group,” which implies that “the existence of such a stereotype means that anything one does or any of one's features that conform to it make the stereotype more plausible as a self-characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one's own eyes” (Steele 797).

Before the ideas were centralized and incorporated into American society, these ideas were stemmed from Western ideas about the African community. There is a constant flood of visuals depicting half-naked African individuals staring into the eyes of the camera man while several other Caucasians are viewed as “supporting”. The stances of

Stereotypes are defined as an oversimplified image or idea about a specific type of person. It is believed that stereotypes about African Americans began in the United States around the 18th century. Anti-Black stereotypes arguably the most developed racist stereotypes in racial framing and have been used as foundations for the capture, enslavement, and later, the subjugation of African American people. Stating that stereotypes are just a joke is an understatement of the consequential after – math racial images and stereotypes have on the African American population. Even stereotypes that are considered positive are often concealed with negative implications and reasons as to why they exist. Most people may think they only hold stereotypes in the back of their head, but studies show that people are more likely to fall back on them in making judgments when they feel challenged, face uncertainty, or experience sensory overload. Using information from class, comparisons from the films we have watched and Ed Guerrero’s Framing Blackness, this paper will analyze the stereotypes in the television show Empire.

| Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word paper that answers the following questions: * In what ways does the media perpetuate stereotyping and prejudice? Provide examples to support your assertion. * In what ways does the media help foster appreciation for diversity? Provide examples to support your assertion. * How might individuals and the United States work together to reduce prejudice and increase appreciation for diversity? * How might you change your own behaviors to be more inclusive and pluralistic?

In life, there is a common ground on which most every person can relate. At one time or another, we have all been promoters of or victims of the unremitting nature of stereotypes. According to the Webster’s dictionary, a stereotype is defined as “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” Most stereotypes take on a negative form and are based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, status, and personal beliefs. Generally speaking, the greatest problem that arises with stereotypes is that they judge group of people by the characteristics and actions of their ancestors, rather than on an individual basis. More often than not, these assumptions will

Popular culture is defined as “a composite of all the values, ideas, symbols, material goods, processes, and understandings that arise from mass media” (Atkins 131). It is well-known to the public and reinforces the way people see they world, including aspects such as race, ethnicity, and gender. According to Omi, popular culture “deals with the symbolic realm of social life, the images which it creates, represents, and disseminates contribute to the overall racial climate” (540). The individuals or groups belong to a specific race can be perceived based on their behavior portrayed by the mass media, instead of being recognized for who they truly are. Such effect created by the popular culture contributes to what is known as “racial stereotype”, which is “beliefs about differences in behavior associated with racial differences” (Jones 982).

Staples illustrates how the nature of stereotypes can affect how we perceive others around us in either an excessively admirable light or, in his and many other cases, as barbaric or antagonistic. In his introductory

The way, in which gender roles are portrayed in children’s literature, significantly contributes to the development of children’s gender roles and how they are perceived by society.

Reading novels is an experience unlike any other. With the crack of a new book, the reader is transported into the pages, into a new land, ready to take on the role of protagonist. Each little girl has the chance to be a pirate-fighting hero, each little boy able to become the doting husband. If that sentence sounds strange, it is because society has socialized individuals to gender any and all activities, reading included. Elizabeth Segel drives this point home in her article “As the Twig is Bent… Gender and Childhood Reading,” which gives an in-depth analysis of gender in children’s book, and the implications it has for readers.

“Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.”

However, living in a democratic society there is freedom of choice, independence and social equality is a right and in the age of technological innovation. This is where we get hands on information on any particular subject matter we intend to choose through any form of media. However, what we do not know is how much of the knowledge we consume through mass media is accurately representation of the reality. Stereotypes work well in political campaigns where government takes certain steps as a propagandist to exhibit information to a group of targeted audience in order for them to have a certain view or opinions towards others, which is profitable in any manner for the government itself. However, governments take these steps for various reasons including creating opinions towards other governments, religious affiliated groups, other national citizens, etc and the only reason is for its profitable means whether it is for elections, power or control. For example, 9/11 attacks supports the fact that media demonstrates a

In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group it claims to. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is. At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into

The presences of stereotypes are overwhelming and are developed by both the environment a subject is raised in and their family. Stereotypes, which are pervasive throughout different societies, become intertwined in the collective values of the society as justification for all forms of social, economic, and political inequality among groups (Devine and Elliot 2000;Kaplan 2004; Operario and Fiske 2004). As people become more exposed to stereotypes they start to become a permanent part of a person’s life, they begin to stereotype themselves almost always involuntarily.

Stereotypes have an overwhelming effect especially on the people they are directed towards. Studying stereotypes helps in understanding the factors leading to discrimination of certain people and not others. This is because stereotypes are depictive of opinions that are often passed from one generation to another within a particular culture. Mass media such as television and newspapers form a common source of opinions in the contemporary society (Kotter & Hess, 2012). The media presents messages in steady, repetitive, and compelling manner, making them believable to almost everybody. Stereotyping opinion and depictions from the media can thus have detrimental effects on the

Generally, stereotypical representations tend to be harmless images but the issue rises from the lack of apathy from the public to refine theses stereotypes and this attitude comes with a range of consequences and impacts. Stereotypes are pervasive in the world and have devastating consequences. An example is people and the media being so quick to confuse Arabs, Muslims and Middle Easterners as the same.