The Market Uber Alles : The Problem Of The Media

Stereotyping is a normal part of every one’s life. Humans, by nature, classify things. We name animals and classify them by common characteristics but stereotyping can have negative repercussions, and everyone does it. In a recent study it was proven that everyone has an unconscious need to stereotype (Paul). In Junteenth and The Invisible man, Ralph Ellison argues that stereotyping can cause mayhem by making the people become something they are not.

Television is regarded as a significant source of information that plays an influential role in formulating an individuals social reality. As a tool that conveys the simulations of every day life it “may become a part of our social experience and serve as a basis for social judgements such as racial attitudes and ethnic stereotypes” (Fujoka, 52). Stereotypes are explained as widely held beliefs about a particular person or group. Research shows that “television images of minority groups might affect minority members’ self-concept and racial awareness” (Fujoka, 54). The portrayal of minorities on television were deemed by minority groups as a conception of socially existing beliefs toward their racial group. As such, television may have perhaps

Opening the book, Postman explains how he will fulfill showing that a “great media-metaphor shift has taken place in America, with the result that content of much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense” (pg. 16). There are two major points First: under the printing press, discourse In America was different from what it is now—generally coherent, serious, rational. Second: under the governance of television, it has become withered. This made me think about how much media affects us on a daily basis.

Humans have a natural instinct to try to understand unfamiliar demographics based on information displayed to them via media outlets and other people; this instinct is called stereotyping. Stereotypes are "cognitive structures that contain the perceiver 's knowledge, beliefs, and expectations about human groups" (Green). Stereotypes have been proven to affect young adolescents. Media depicts African Americans in stereotypical ways that negatively affect self-esteem, therefore all media outlets should display African Americans in a more realistic and rational way.

They categorize each other into “popular” and “unpopular” groups. “We not only grow up with standardized pictures forming inside of us, but as grown-ups we are constantly having them thrust upon us” (Heilbroner 1). Next, the author explains that these pictures are grown into us by the jokes we hear repeatedly and feels that there would be less of them if stereotyping was not created. Where we get this stereotyping from is the media, published books we read, advertisements and even movies. Lastly, stereotyping “helps us make sense out of a highly confusing world…” (2).

Stereotyping is something that occurs daily. This occurs frequently in television advertisements. Many of these stereotypes are involving gender and gender roles. This can affect the way perceive others and view themselves. People may see advertisements and not realize gender roles are implied. These gender stereotypes have been occurring in television and advertisements since the 1970’s.

Stereotypes are part of our everyday life and are used not only by the media but by everyday citizens as well. A very large percentage of the media is feeding off by stereotypes of many types of people and their cultures. No matter if this label is negative or positive towards a certain group of people the media still uses stereotyping to attack, label, or simply make fun of others in the community. While it may seeming harmless essentially this subconsciously teaches the viewers that being unkind or straight out uncivil is

Viewers are repeatedly exposed to certain portrayals of an ethnic group, and may develop corresponding beliefs about that group. Taylor and Stern (1997) give the example, if viewers see Asian-Americans playing roles of technicians or mathematicians on television, they may learn to believe that Asian-Americans excel at math. The same hold true with other minorities. If the public is constantly exposed to minorities portrayed in a negative or stereotypical manner, those traits will ultimately be reinforced in the minds of the viewer – especially if the viewer does not have anything to negate those images.

Thesis: Although media is trying to portray ethnicity non-stereotypically and have more diversity in television, it is dissatisfactory because Caucasian characters are still an overwhelming percentage of media and inaccurate stereotypes still portray the ethnic groups.

Everyday people like you or me are affected by media in ways most people are oblivious to. Media shows what they want to show moreover the public is none the wiser. This subconsciously convinces the viewer that what is shown is real and/or the norm. When racial stereotypes are brought into the equation, it can be harmful for one’s self image. With the many forms of media minorities have to face certain stereotypes depending on the circumstance.

“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.”

All types of media — movies, television shows, advertising, and the like — use representations “to express reality” (Viruega, 2011, p. 3). To paraphrase Benshoff & Griffin and Taylor & Willis, representation is a the process of combining signs to present an image of complex abstract concepts to communicate a story. In other words, representation is involved in the communication and the determination of meaning and interpretation. Media uses representation and becomes an extremely influential element of the creation, acceptance, and perpetuation of stereotypes around Asians (as well as all other ethnic groups). According to cognitive-transactional model of media priming “repeated exposure to media stereotypes makes the stereotypes highly automatic, requiring little cognitive effort” (Zhang, 2010, p. 22), and this influences media consumers’ judgments and actions in interactions with Asians (Zhang, 2010). Because American media is extremely prevalent in Canada, as a consequence of globalization, cognitive-transactional model of media priming dictates that the reinforcement of racial stereotypes and views through representation has become very similar

Once the television series, Narcos, was released on Netflix in 2015, it became an instant sensation in the United States. This series highlights the life of the most notorious drug lord of all time, Pablo Escobar. The audience sees his rise to power, influence in Latin America, and ruthless demeanor through the eyes of DEA agent, Steve Murphy (played by Boyd Holbrook). Although Narcos is based on true events and characters, the producer, Chris Brancato, dramatizes some events and aspects of characters being portrayed. He exaggerates the corrupt, sex addicted, and violent stereotypes of Colombia and Latin Americans. Brancato, being a Latino himself, exaggerates these stereotypes in order to cater to his biggest audience, Anglo-Americans in the United States. Americans don’t necessarily care to see a more accurate representation of Latin America. Instead, they want to see the sexy, violent, and immoral world of the Colombians. Similar to how Americans wanted the buzz from the Colombian cocaine, they now want to vicariously get high on the drama of Latin America. The producers also are doing what the Narcos were doing; they are giving Americans what they want and expect, through popular stereotypes,

Until the 1980s, the control of the media was in the hands of the national government. From then, the control shifted to private outlets and by the 1990’s, there were more than fifty multinational companies who controlled it (“Mass Media”). Today, only about six major companies control the larger fraction of media in America (Williams, Par. 1). Norman Solomon wrote in the New Political Science Journal that most reporters and editors work for just a few huge companies. These journalists and editors are on the payroll for “mega-media institutions”, of which, only about six exist (Solomon 297). How much will the public learn if these companies generally control the output of information?

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