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Racial Stereotypes in Media

Posted by Chilly | Posted in | Posted on 8:31 PM

The stereotypes that are presented in today's media have been developed over a long period of time, in which stereotypes have been crafted and adopted by the masses, in order to make characters more identifiable. The problem with stereotypes in mass media, is that most often, the stereotypes are not of admirable qualities, but of lacking ability and consciousness. This especially so for minority groups, and represents them in a negative light, often ratifying the common misleading judgement of them. For example, in early tv, the stereotype of the "mammie" was projected up black mothers. This characterized them as fat, subservient, and respectful to a point of shameful flattery. This can be seen implicitly in movies today, such as big mama's house, and the character Madea, in many of the Tyler Perry films. These roles in media today project less of the explicit parts of stereotyping from the 50's and 60's, but still imply the connotations that have risen from the past perceptions of minorities. This process can bring about misread cues on how to assess other cultures and races, and leaves room for racism and prejudice to creep into society unnoticed to the untrained mind.

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