The Influence Of Media Stereotypes

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.

Mass media is a form of socialization. It utilizes many ways to communicate with the desired audience. Media, especially through advertisements, shows the viewer something it can relate to, therefore, establishes a connection between the spectator and what is being advertised. In these ads, messages are communicated with the audience. These messages are so repetitive that with the constant media exposure we create social and racial stereotypes. These days, media is doing their best to diversify advertisements to include all races, genders, and sexual orientations. However, stereotypes are still present. African Americans are advertised as multiple racial stereotypes in today’s media and using advertising examples and sophisticated readings I will discuss how African Americans are represented in our culture and how they are so much more diverse.

Negative stereotypes exist everywhere either on readable media, audible media, or visible media, but in the meantime, we are blind to their significant effects that are happening around us. The media are playing the major roles in feeding our society with unrealistic stereotypes that affect our society's behaviors, beliefs, and thoughts that they have about themselves and others, as well as the world. Stereotypes that describe Islam as a bloody religion exist in the media, and this matters because many people around the world wrongly believe that Muslims are terrorists.

The images portrayed in the media: spoken, written, or visual all have an effect on social constructions, reality and perceptions of the public, and policies of the criminal justice system (Collins, 2011). In today’s society, the public lives of individuals are inundated with media. At any time there are news stories being introduced to the public audience via television, radio, and new media (Surette, 2015). The new media sources are accessible from anywhere via laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The general public is receiving media stories from posts, tweets, blogs, and news websites. Because of this mass market of competing internet news sources, there has been a decline in the newspaper and television audience, resulting in a decrease of the subject content covered by reporters (Gest, 2010). So what

The more exposure to media messages the more this is linked to reality and therefore risks are overestimated (Dominick, 1990). More exposure to negative media messaging means the individual will present with less arousal and be more tolerant to negative behaviour due to desensitisation (Carnagey, Anderson and Bushman, 2007). Danger perceptions in reality can be distorted by media messages such as the overestimating violence from strangers and underestimating domestic violence (Heath, Gordon and LaBailly, 1981). Cultivation theory suggests that media presents a distorted view of reality (Gerber et al, 1980) and therefore can influence perceptions of crime or risk (Romar, Jamieson and Aday, 2003) (Lowy, Nio and Leitner, 2003) rather than individual's using their own experience to influence their beliefs. Media perceptions could impact on how individuals behave (Streigal-moor et al, 1996). This has been seen in the influence of media body perfections (Swans et al, 2000). The impact on such influence could be eating disorders and low self-esteem were their body is not the same as those in the media (Shomaker and Furman, 2010).

Should people ever be judged by as an individual by a group characteristic that they have been falsely given by those who don't even know them? Sadly being judged by a false group characteristic is a reality that nearly every person on this earth has experience with. Every day, people are judged and discriminated because of false labels given to them by other people who don't actually know who the people being judged and discriminated are. It may be difficult to believe, but the media is responsible for the false labels known as stereotypes and the new-found wide belief that stereotypes are very much true. The Media's indisputable portrayal of stereotypes direct viewers into assuming erroneous stereotypes are correct and in turn, influence their beliefs and overall perspectives.

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.

The media, whether adverts, movies, or music videos, most certainly play a compelling and considerable aspect in forming our culture and the subsequent perceptions of others. Cultural stereotypes are often exemplified and strengthened through the media and the tendency is to disparage and pervert segments of the population. In the same way, what is portrayed in the media models our view and perceptions of people, which are often distorted and limited and, unfortunately, these perceptions also shape our perceptions of self, as well as how we believe others perceive us. This is further reinforced by cultural stereotypes, portrayed in the media, as they emphasize a distorted and limited view and perception of self, as well as how we believe others perceive us, and through the constant use of cultural stereotypes, this further reinforces prejudices about race, ethnicity, and gender.

Throughout the course, we have learned many different communication topics – most of which have struck a great interest in me. But, the one topic that I found the most interesting was Media Literacy because of not only how in depth it can be, but also how much of an impact it can actually have on everyday lives. In the article Intervening in the Media’s Influence on Stereotypes of Race and Ethnicity: The Role of Media Literacy Education by Erica Scharrer and Srividya Ramasubramanian, they review research conducted to see how media literacy in education affects individuals thought process and creates stereotypes. The two research questions Scharrer and Ramasubramanian wanted to answer was, “can media consumers’ examination of the principles and practices behind media production, media content, and media reception facilitate critical analysis of media’s treatment of underrepresented social groups and open up their views of race and ethnicity?” and, “Might media literacy education help to increase knowledge and/or shape attitude about media’s roles and practices pertaining to race and ethnicity?” (172). These topics were discussed mostly in chapters 9 and 11, as well as chapter 10.

If society has been paying any attention to media as it has changed over the years, people would likely realize that it has transformed from a means of educating to entertainment. The demand for high ratings has become more necessary than valid information. As a result, media produces a lot of bias in both individual stories and opinions. Whether it’s because of (dis)abilities, privileges, or identities, one is likely to see that a single story could vary from source to source in both whom the writers agree with and what the right or wrong actions were. Therefore, the media’s professional display decreases with the usage of personal opinions which sways their viewer’s opinions instead of allowing them to form their own.

The media and culture that constantly surrounds our society affects the dominant ideologies, beliefs, stereotypes, and my life in a much larger way than I imagined. What I used to see as “normal” or “attractive” was really just a definition set by those in power to reinforce systems of inequality and privilege. I never paid much attention to advertisements, television shows, or novels as a major factor in influencing the way I viewed myself and others. However, this unit has shown me that media and culture subtly perpetuate harmful ideas and beliefs more often than I thought.

Racism is mostly expressed as being harsh or indifferent to one of another race or the opposite gender. Racism was supposedly resolved after the north beat the south in the Civil War. The word racism has gradually become less common as the word stereotype has become more popular. Stereotyping has the same concept of racism, but the person stereotyping is not harsh or vocal. The person that is stereotyping a group of people has a fixed image of how that group will act. Stereotyping is very common in today’s society. As more and more people gain easier access to communicate via social media this problem has been growing. As evidence by women, Muslims, and African- Americans there is a direct correlation between social media and racial stereotyping as they both continue to exceed humanistic limits.

How often do we find ourselves laughing at an inappropriate stereotype that is promoted in the media? It seems that as we continue to move through time, stereotypes in the media become more and more prominent. Some find them as forms of ‘comic relief’ while others, including myself, see them as another way to showcase our ignorance of the people and world around us. The stereotype that revolves around Indians, also known as South Asians, tends to be the most recognizable. In order to understand this stereotype in the media, we will focus on the typical stereotypes that involve this group of people, why we stereotype against Indians, and ways it effects future generations.

Mainstream media outlets like E! Online, Life & Style Weekly, and In Touch Weekly have focused their attention on exploiting the small infidelity aspects of Lemonade as a sales tactic, while using different types of media bias to their advantage to attract specific audiences. There was a small portion of the visual album that had a few hints of infidelity, around the videos for “Hold Up”, and “Sorry” (Beyoncé, Lemonade). As soon as media outlets saw this as a controversial topic, they bolted at the opportunity to create gossip and sell Lemonade for themselves. What they did not include was that throughout the entire music video, Beyoncé incorporates a multitude of black elements that can be used to empower the black community. However, media

Not all political information the media conveys is positive. The difference in coverage from the media can generate a change within the voting behavior of the public. By examining studies that have dove deep into the relationship between the negative media content and voting behavior, one can identify different causal relationship between the two. Elenbaas and Devreese (2008) developed a study analyzing strategic news exposure, political criticisms, and the effects on young voters. Through their analysis, they generated findings of negative media content leading to a “NO Vote”. The results additionally established a relationship that generated a greater chance for younger voters’ political opinions to change, in contrasted to older generations.