Ethnic Stereotypes In The Media Essay
How many times in the past few years have different races and ethnicities gotten a bad reputation because of what the media has said about them? Ian Haney once said, “There are no genetic characteristics possessed by all Blacks but not by non-Blacks, there is no gene or cluster of genes common to all Whites but not to all whites. One’s race is not determined by a single gene or gene cluster…” (qtd. in “Composition and Research” 733). If this is true, why is the media making it seem that minorities are different and inferior to the majority? With the help of the many forms of media, many Americans are made to believe that certain race and ethnic stereotypes are true. As seen in recent media reports, the media does not have an accurate understanding
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Blacks are seen as criminals, violent people, lazy, unintelligent, and have aggressive and destructive behavior. Whites are seen as victims of crimes and police officers. Latinos/Hispanics are seen as lazy, violent, and illegal immigrants. Muslims/Arabs are viewed as dangerous terrorists. When the media uses these stereotypes, people start to believe this is true. Studies have shown that people that are more racist tend to view racial and ethnic people in a more negative way. People that tend to be less racist view people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds in a more positive way. Many forms of entertainment, such as movies and TV shows, play into the stereotypes. In the movie Dumbo, the crows speak and act in a way that discriminates African Americans (Bozdech). In fact, the leader was named Jim Crow. Another movie that played with stereotypes was The Goonies. In The Goonies, Data was given a stereotypical Asian accent and was a gadget freak (Bozdech). In the TV show COPS, all of the criminals in the show were either black or Hispanic. The Looney Tune also had a lot of racial and ethnic stereotypes. In the Looney Tunes, African and Native Americans were portrayed as savages, Jews had a hooked nose, Mexicans were lazy, and all Germans were Nazis
Blacks are seen as criminals, violent people, lazy, unintelligent, and have aggressive and destructive behavior. Whites are seen as victims of crimes and police officers. Latinos/Hispanics are seen as lazy, violent, and illegal immigrants. Muslims/Arabs are viewed as dangerous terrorists. When the media uses these stereotypes, people start to believe this is true. Studies have shown that people that are more racist tend to view racial and ethnic people in a more negative way. People that tend to be less racist view people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds in a more positive way. Many forms of entertainment, such as movies and TV shows, play into the stereotypes. In the movie Dumbo, the crows speak and act in a way that discriminates African Americans (Bozdech). In fact, the leader was named Jim Crow. Another movie that played with stereotypes was The Goonies. In The Goonies, Data was given a stereotypical Asian accent and was a gadget freak (Bozdech). In the TV show COPS, all of the criminals in the show were either black or Hispanic. The Looney Tune also had a lot of racial and ethnic stereotypes. In the Looney Tunes, African and Native Americans were portrayed as savages, Jews had a hooked nose, Mexicans were lazy, and all Germans were Nazis