Media Culture Assignment

By firdauszunarif | Updated: Sept. 19, 2017, 7:47 p.m.

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Stereotypes in Media

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Media Representation & Cultural Stereotype
by Amro, Zurrath, Firdaus and Anis
What is Stereotype?
A stereotype is a fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular type of person or thing.
Examples: 
- That all ‘Blacks’ are lazy 
- That all ‘Asians’ are good at math 
- I’m ‘Blond’ so I must be stupid 
- I’m ‘Muslim’ so I must be a terrorist 
- ‘Americans’ are fat, loud, obnoxious and abuse                freedom of speech

Stereotypical Movie Characters
We've studied and combined the most popular misconceptions stereotypes and tropes about men and women of different races and sexual orientations.
Case Study #1: The Ethnic Terrorist
Terrorist in most Hollywood productions are not 'American'. Whether fueled by Cold War mentality, modern-day conflicts in the Middle East or some other motivation certain ethnicities are always potrayed as violent criminals.

Their motives are unreasonable or unexplained yet the terrorists are always capable of executing complicated attacks that almost always thwart the good guys plan. But in the end, the ethnic buddies are always punished by the brave American heroes.
Examples of films:
True Lies (1994)
Air Force One (1997)
Die Hard (1988)

Case Study #2: The Materialistic Women 
It's one of the most common stereotypes Hollywood has created about the fairer sex. Show a girl a Gucci bag and she'll drop anything and everything

Credit cards are her best friend, and the ideal man will know how to choose just the right diamond for her. Not to mention, the mall is like their best place ever. For movie women that falls into this trope, the size of a man's wallet is what matters most, material girls indeed.
Examples of films: 
Sex and The City 2 (2010)
Clueless (1995)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Case Study #3: The Italian-American Mobster
Don't get us wrong, some of our favorite movies ever are about the Mafia, but we'd be lying if we said that these films don't also give birth to a stereotypical image of Italian Americans. 
They're are all family guys who love their mama first, pasta second and cannoli next. They all make dirty deals for a living, one of the main reasons this potrayal is so popular is because Italian gangsters are just so likeable 
Examples of films: 
The Godfather (1972)
Goodfellas (1990)
Scarface (1983)

Case Study #4: The Funny Minority
Did you ever feel like Hollywood comedies just can't seem to find a place for characters from minority groups except as sidekicks? Even when they are the leading characters, their racial background is usually used to pump up the last.
For some reason, they just can't be taken seriously and often they don't even try to. Also, minority characters are often used as the exotic friends of the main non-minority characters
Examples of films: 
Rush Hour (1998)
Beverly HIlls Cop (1984)
Central Intelligence (2016)

Case Study #5: The Co-Independent Women
People raised on 90s romantic comedy will know this one. There's a difference between being romantic and being totally desperate.

In movies however even savvy intelligent women are ready to put their careers on hold the minute a handsome strangers walks into their lives. So blinded by love are they it doesn't matter who the man is or where he comes from. We guess their choice is validated if the men happened to be sexy foreigners with charming accents.

Examples of films: 
Bridget Jones Diary (2001)
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Knocked Up (2007)

Stereotypes in the Media
- Media is the most powerful tool in passing stereotypes
 
- Media interact with wide range of society and some people believe what they see

- Even though media-based stereotypes may seem harmless when considered individually, their cumulative effect over time can be substantial.

Conclusion
Stereotyping people is neither right or wrong. Because there are positive stereotyping but there are also negative stereotyping.

We cannot simply making judgments based on clichés, limited and general idea of a group.

The negatives impacts that stereotyping causes in individuals are numerous.

"We all use stereotypes all the time, without knowing or realizing it. We have met the enemy of equality, and the enemy is us" -Paul, 1998

Thank You

Media Culture Assignment

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