Media Stereotypes In Media

In what ways do the media perpetuate stereotyping and prejudice? Provide examples to support your assertion.

In American society, a widespread depiction of crime is that it is mostly committed by Black men. Many Americans have the image of a young Black male as violent and criminal. “In fact, perceptions about the presumed racial identity of criminals may be so ingrained in public consciousness that race does not even need to be specifically mentioned for a connection to be made between the two because it seems that ‘talking about crime is talking about race’” (Welch, 2007, p. 276). Subsequently, the stereotypical image of African Americans being violent and criminals, has been unfairly integrated into society that even when people do not think they are thinking about race, they might actually be thinking about race. When people are thinking about crime they are interrelating that with race.

This statistic shows that the officers of the NYPD are judging blacks and assuming they are guilty before they even gather enough evidence. When black people are arrested, they receive ten percent longer sentences than white offenders, says the US Sentencing Commission, for the same crime. An obvious example of bias against black men is to incarcerate black men in jail for longer periods of time simply because of race. This is clearly a problem in the legal systems of the US. Eventually someone will get harmed in the middle of this racial discrimination. (Quigley)

Throughout history Black men have been accustomed to being profiled, interrogated harassed by whites, and accused of accusations. Racial profiling has been a major component of America’s History. History has repeated itself and Black men are still facing the same limitations as they ancestors experienced. Lynching’s and accusations was a historic experience for blacks in the 1940’s. Today, we see Blacks arrested and incarcerated at higher rates then any other racial group. As Michelle Alexander research demonstrates incarcerating blacks is our “New Jim Crow”.

The researcher began by asking the question what factors contribute to the stereotyping of black men as “dangerous and criminal”. And the researcher found out that although media influence stereotyping of this sort, it's only smaller part of the larger problem. There is a general tendency in the media to over-represent African-American as criminal; portray black men as particularly dangerous, and present information about black suspect that assume their guilt. However, even when crime featuring black and white criminal suspects is presented in equitable ways in the media, viewers’ existing stereotypes can result in biased interpretations that may serve to maintain racial stereotypes nevertheless. The researcher conclude that, viewers’ selective perception and interpretation of media content suggest that equitable media portrayals of race in crime-related programming may not be sufficient to address the concerns presented here.

Is the Criminal Justice system racist? This question has been asked many times by people of many colors. According to Mac Donald (2008), the criminal justice system is not at all racist. The article depicts arrest rates of both whites and blacks and compares statistics on these arrests. It looks at the number of whites and the number of blacks in jails and prisons. In this critique, we will be looking into this article to see these points in which Mac Donald states proves that the criminal justice system is, in fact, not a racist one.

Based on the research of Ghandnoosh, that in the media blacks are likely to be shown in custody and not named, then whites. The reason is because when you have a named white suspect in custody then the problem and the crime becomes more localized and associated with that person. However, when the suspect is unnamed and Black, then it makes the individuals seems more dangerous, which feeds into the stereotypes about African Americans. According to Darron T. Smith (2013), Ph.D., “Once these representations of African Americans become accustomed and accepted, they tend to fuel misperceptions and disseminate misunderstandings among the “races”. In addition, with research being conducted, as it relates to recent police shootings the problem is what individuals expect to be implicit bias among the officers. The problem is individuals are looking at the situation and assessing it to be a threat. The underlying issue is that everyone has an

An Implicit Bias is an unconscious reaction to another person because of their race, age, gender, appearance, or sexual orientation based off of stereotypes. Staples uses this in his article to explain each situation as it progresses. An example of this is shown when he explains how his appearance was enough to scare a woman at night. “To her, the youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket-seemed menacingly close” (Staples 1). This is an example of an implicit bias by showing how intimidating African Americans are to other people. Staples wants to change the biased perspective of how people view all African Americans as being a thug.

Most Americans get why this is wrong. But the role that race plays in the criminal justice system goes far beyond this type of profiling. These men show that not only are people of color stopped more frequently by police, their communities, particularly with anti-drug efforts, receive far more attention from police. And black men are often charged and prosecuted differently than their White

African Americans can be considered as the most stereotyped group in the modern and the historical United States. Criminals, “mammies” (a loud, brash mother figure), the “sidekick”, and maids/butlers are common stereotypes portrayed

However, it may seem that the concept might not exist because it is often referred to the idea of racist perspectives and judgments. According to retired professional basketball player Charles Barkley, he mentioned in a CNN interview that “we as black people, we have a lot of crooks. We can’t just wait until something threatens or hurts a person of minority. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror” and continues stating that “there is a reason that they racially profile us in the way they do. Sometimes it is wrong, and sometimes it is right” (Cobb). Barkley’s statement presents the idea that racial profiling is utilized toward certain racial groups and ethnic minorities through the idea of implicit stereotypes where groups are categorized based on their qualities and social features. He wants the black community to understand that they are cast away from other racial groups because of how they are recognized both physically and stereotypically. The idea of racial profiling is used in certain circumstances to show that police officials will use their “racial insight” to identify an individual who would be suspected of committing illegal acts based on their racial identity or religious background. In addition, Rudolph Giuliani addressed on a Fox News Sunday interview that the relationship between police officers and the black community have poor interaction with one another because of the police department’s lack of responsibility to properly train their officers and to diversify the department (Cobb). However, Giuliani also adds that it is the black community’s responsibility to understand the reason why police officers gather in large groups within their community. Statistics show that African-Americans commit eight times as many murders compared to other racial groups (Cobb). It is important

In his own essay ¨Black Men and Public Spaces¨, Brent Staples gives many examples in which black men are negatively judged, most notable however is when he speaks about another reporter who was mistaken for a killer who ironically they were reporting on. Staples says,¨ I never fared as badly as

Stereotypes have the ability to put a person down. To make them feel as if they do not belong. In this cruel society, there is an image being portrayed of every individual. Ethnicity, race, religion, gender, and many more. This image many not describe who you are as an individual, but it is how you are judged by this barbarous world. As more Chinese people came to America, the more they were stereotyped. They did not have the same advantages and treatment as the majority. They were looked down upon as nothing more than cheap, hardworking labor workers who worked in the fields. Western media portrays the Chinese in a negative way, by using the power of stereotyping, where self-harm can be inflicted upon those who are affected by

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.

he United States has claimed for years to be a melting pot, where race or various preferences do not define our role in society. Most everyday people do not even realize or notice the amount of stereotyping that occurs in mass media. It is important to understand the different types of discrimination marginalized groups face. Stereotypes can affect everyone, whether it is based on their race, gender, or sexual preference. Media makers could easily find ways to not discriminate against people, but perhaps this would make that specific media outlet less popularly attended to.