Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes in Mass Media: The Unseen Impact - Essay Sample

Introduction

Mass media has a massive influence on the masses regarding what it publishes or advertises. However, in the 21st century, the media continues to depict racial and ethnical stereotypes, and many people are affected as a result. The minority populations in the society are often overlooked and misrepresented by different media forms (Jin et al., 2019). On several occasions that these populations are represented in the media, they are portrayed to be problematic, less powerful, and criminals. It is essential to understand that mass media plays a significant role in shaping attitudes and distorting the image of others. Some of the presentations made cause violence and conflicts among various groups of people in society. The minorities' self-esteem is also lowered as a result of public hostility. It is often impossible to interact directly with different people in society, and the media often depict most of the information about others. There is unconscious racism presented by various forms of media, and there is a need to break the cycle and represent the reality that is in the current American society. The more a stereotype is repeated in various media forms, people adopt a particular attitude towards the different groups affected. The primary goal of this essay is to assess different types of media for a period of time for racial representations and stereotypes and contrast their patterns of representations.

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Racial Stereotyping in Films and Movies

Although there is a call for more racial diversity in Hollywood films and movies, people of color in cinema have been stereotyped continuously in the last few decades. The situation is a significant concern since roles in films given to the minorities are degrading, and they include maids, thugs, and other play stock characters (Jin et al., 2019). For instance, Americans of Arabs in Hollywood have always been given roles of belly dancing, oil sheiks, or harem girls. These Arabs continue to be stereotyped both in Arab and American movies. An instance of this stereotyping happened in 2013 when Coca-Cola made an advert that featured Arabs riding on camels in the desert, displaying the latter as camel jockeys. The media has the ability to bring positive influence on issues regarding the minority, but instead, stereotyping is becoming rampant every day. Media reports often shape the perception people have towards Hispanics, Asian Americans, African Americans, American Indians, and other minority groups in the United States. Stereotypic images are conventional, and the perception needs to change so that the minority groups receive fair treatment like the Native Americans.

Hollywood films like True Lies of 1994 and Aladdin of 1992 depicted the Arabs as terrorists and backward, respectively (Jin et al., 2019). American Indians are often subjected to demeaning generalizations. In films, they are depicted as fierce people who kill and abuse American women. Their women are given roles of pretty maidens, unlike the native Americans who are given more favorable positions. In the same way, African Americans in Hollywood films are depicted to be dangerous, violent, and thugs with their women having attitude issues. Hispanics are given roles of maids and gardeners, unlike their fellow native Americans who mostly play as doctors and lawyers. Hispanics are also portrayed as criminals and recent immigrants with fierce temperaments (Jin et al., 2019). Finally, Asian Americans are depicted as foreigners who are geeks and mathematics wizards but non-masculine.

Black women in most Hollywood films are not allowed to play characters that display their soft personalities (Ramasubramanian & Sousa, 2019). When tough black women are given roles in movies, they are depicted as strict, bossy, and with no emotions or vulnerabilities. These women are regarded as tough since they are raised in challenging environments that attribute to their violence and anger. Some of the films with such omen characters are "The Walking Dead" and "Kill Bill." In the same way, Asian women must have dyed hair to be seen as heroes. In films like "Pacific Rim" and "Deadpool 2," the Asian women have colorful streaks of hair, a quality that signifies their strength. Stereotyping of Asian women in such a manner depicts them as meek (Ramasubramanian & Sousa, 2019).

Racial Stereotyping in News Broadcasts

Regarding race, it has been reported that the media has a particular way of portraying African-Americans in crime stories in the news. Local news broadcasts, including newspapers, often paint a picture of race that goes a long way in influencing people's thoughts. For several decades now, news coverage by media stations in the United States has been providing distorted and sensationalized information. For example, stories concerning minority groups in the U.S often focus on the former's problems and dysfunctions. This news mostly covers issues on crime and poverty, a situation that negatively impacts on the minorities in a significant manner (Ramasubramanian & Sousa, 2019). Even the news that covers the success stories of marginalized groups often focuses on the shortcomings and hardships that the individuals have overcome over time. Problems faced by minority groups are also painted as small issues and are often underestimated.

Instances, where live television promotes racial stereotyping, is during sports commentaries. Africans are often described as athletic and naive but backward. On the other hand, Jews are portrayed to be smart. Research by the University of Missouri- Columbia found out that blacks are negatively stereotyped on television as compared to their fellow white athletes (Tukachinsky et al., 2017). According to Cynthia Fibsy, a researcher, the media portrays black athletes as criminals, whereas comments about whites are positive. The researcher examined 155 articles and identified the primary themes. The themes regarding black athletes included domestic violence, violation of crime rules, and crime, among others (Tukachinsky et al., 2017).

Racial Stereotyping in Print Media

The print media has been significantly contributing to racial stereotyping over the last few decades, especially with the use of using comics (Ramasubramanian & Sousa, 2019). The stereotypes are depicted and enforced by the headlines and captions written in the newspapers. Race-related issues should be carefully handled since they can lead to significant damage to the concerned parties. The juxtaposition of photos is a great challenge, especially when reporting news regarding a mass shooting. Photos of black men next to a mass shootings headlines cause vast damage even if the race is not mentioned in that particular context (Ramasubramanian & Sousa, 2019). The daily newspaper comics also play a significant role in the stereotyping and misinterpretation of the minority groups in the United States. Gender inequality is depicted whereby most of the focus on women is given to their appearances, marriage, and children. Female characters are also represented in roles like household chores and taking care of children while men to office jobs. These comics depict female characters as aggressive and more engage in drama, and the focus is on African Americans.

An example of racial stereotyping that occurred is a publication in the New York Times regarding Michael Brown, who was a black teenager. The police shot Michael in Ferguson in 2014. The newspaper described the teenager as a drug addict who produced vulgar lyrics (Dukes & Gaither, 2017). A similar characterization of the young boy was also made in the television where one of the talk show hosts described the victim as a thug. Although Michael's case was that of police violence, the former was characterized as a criminal throughout all media outlets. There is media bias that has led to the promotion of public hostility through stereotypical descriptions of the minority groups in the United States. According to Dukes & Gaither (2017), blacks are more likely to be portrayed by the media as victims when compared to their white counterparts. The authors additionally explain that on instances when these minority groups are regarded as victims, they are usually criminalized. For example, when six unarmed black men were killed in the U.S, the media focused on unnecessary issues. For instance, there was a focus on the victims' behavior or criminal records, their physical appearance, their place of residence, and their lifestyles (Dukes & Gaither, 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the primary goal of this essay is to assess different forms of media for a period of time for racial representations and stereotypes and contrast their patterns of representations. Although there is a call for more racial diversity in Hollywood films and movies, people of color in films have been stereotyped continuously in the last few decades. Roles in films given to the minorities are degrading, and they include maids, thugs, and other play stock characters. The media has a particular way of portraying African-Americans in crime stories in the news. The print media has been significantly contributing to racial stereotyping over the last few decades, especially with the use of using comics.

References

Dukes, K. N., & Gaither, S. E. (2017). Black racial stereotypes and victim blaming: Implications for media coverage and criminal proceedings in cases of police violence against racial and ethnic minorities. Journal of Social Issues, 73(4), 789-807. https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/josi.12248

Jin, J., Pei, G., & Ma, Q. (2019). They Are What You Hear in Media Reports: The Racial Stereotypes toward Uyghurs Activated by Media. Frontiers in neuroscience, 13, 168. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.00168/full

Ramasubramanian, S., & Sousa, A. (2019). Media and Ethnic Stereotyping. The International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy, 1-7. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-981-13-0242-8_36-1.pdf

Tukachinsky, R., Mastro, D., & Yarchi, M. (2017). The effect of prime-time television ethnic/racial stereotypes on Latino and Black Americans: A longitudinal national level study. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 61(3), 538-556. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08838151.2017.1344669