http://blog.nj.com/sopranosarchive/2007/06/the_sopranos_and_stereotypes_p.html
I think there are still stereotypes in the media. I agree with the writer of this article that television falls back on stereotypes, rather than challenges them. They still have African Americans playing “thugs” with their baggy pants, being loud-mouthed, on well-fare, etc. They still have Asians as martial arts masters and Latinos as not being able to speak English or as cleaning people, etc. Rarely do you see minorities on shows that are based around white characters. For example the show “Friends” is based in New York City that is vastly diverse in different nationalities, yet none of the main characters had any minority friends. I’m a huge fan of “Friends” and they only had 2 black supporting characters on the show, and 1 was only in 1 episode. The media also stereotypes Caucasians. They have Caucasians as being rich, as “trailer trash,” or Italians as being in the mob. They portray British people as having bad teeth and Irish people as drinking alcohol and hot-tempered.
Take for instance “The Sopranos” and mobster movies like “Goodfellas,” “The Godfather,” and “A Bronx Tale.” All of these have two things in common, they are about the mob and they are about Italians. Mobster shows and movies alike, glorify the mob business as being dangerous, you get to sleep with countless women, and it has nice perks, etc. However, what are these shows telling young audiences (15 and up) who watch these types of media. They see being in the mob as cool and they look up to certain characters because maybe it would be fun to be the “boss” and in charge, and to get away with doing illegal things, and living in a mansion, etc. They even portray African Americans on the show negatively as drug dealers and gang bangers and they call then the “n-word.”
Many Italians aren’t in the mob, but someone people watching “The Sopranos” or mob movies may think all Italians are in the mob, because it seems that’s how they show Italians in the media, which is misconstrued. People may see the mob image associated with Italians because of these types of media. However, not all Italian characters are portrayed as being in the mob, but they do cast them as being degenerates. Take for instance Fonzie on “Happy Days” or John Travolta’s character in the movie “Grease.” Both characters were greasers and got into trouble many times.
I don’t think stereotyping will ever be gone from the media or in the real world, because that is just the way the world is. Media executives know they can make bundles of money out of having stereotypical characters and they know people will watch.
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4 comments:
I've only watched the show a few times but I think that "Ugly Betty" has a latino that is the main character and she just won an emmy. I think that stereotypes are hard to get away from but I think that when you can get away from them or try something different it can work.
I don't think that we will ever be able to get away from stereotyping and I think that the only way that we will ever be able to get away from stereotyping in the media is if we stop doing it in real life. I don't think it is anyone's fault really I think that is how our brain works we want to group people together.
I think that stereotyping is definatly still found in media today, however, I think it may be there for a reason. I personally think that stereotypes did evolve from somewhere, so at one point or another, there was a group of people that acted that way/or thought that way. I am not necesarily saying that they are right, or that the stereotypes are true, I am merely saying that they did not appear out of nowhere.
"I don’t think stereotyping will ever be gone from the media or in the real world, because that is just the way the world is. Media executives know they can make bundles of money out of having stereotypical characters and they know people will watch"
I agree with this comment, The shows are successful for a reason. People rearrange their entire nights to make sure they can see shows such as the sopranos, and then spend the whole next day talking about the episodes. Maybe the stereotypes add to the popularity... people can relate to the characters
I feel stereotyping is as American as apple pie. It is and continues to be a political and social ploy to try to "keep people in their place."
On Septemper 25, Cspan aired the Congessional hearing on African American stereotypes in the media. One of the people who stood out was President and CEO of Viacon Philippe Dauman.
Since the acquisition of BET (Black Entertainment Television) by Viacom in 2000, has stereotypes of African Americans risen to an all time high.
No longer do you see a nightly newscast. Instead all programming is for sheer entertainment. Protests have made the channel cancel degrading images of women shown on the video's on "uncut."
Outcry's from the African American viewing audience made the station chance the name of another degrading show entitled "Ghetto Mess."
Although, Bogle and Whorter make good points both pro and con. Stereotypes will not stop until people stop feeding into them.
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