2. STEREOTYPE 1- BLACK PEOPLE ARE
CRIMINALS
The stereotype that black people are criminals or dangerous is communicated in many ways, for example they can be
shown in news articles committing various crimes, and in films the same way. Also in pictures they can regularly be seen
wielding guns, emphasising the idea they are dangerous. In music, they can also be given this negative stereotype as
they can be seen to say inappropriate things about women, talk about taking drugs and talk about violence a lot,
especially in rap music.
This suggests that they are dangerous, violent and likely to be criminals. It suggests that they are drug abusers and have
no respect for women.
These stereotypes are very negative as they put black people in a bad light and suggest that they are a danger to the
public. It may leas to people fearing black people as well.
They do also suggest a hierarchy, they suggest that white people are higher up in rankings than black people as black
people do not obey the law and therefore have less power. Also, in films andTV white people are usually shown as prison
guards whilst black people are the criminals. For example, in the Netflix series ‘Orange IsThe New Black’, all except one
of the prison guards are white compared to a large amount of black and Latino inmates. Also, the warden is white.This
suggests that the black people are the criminals and the white people have control and power over them and are
therefore higher in the hierarchy.
There are however examples of this stereotype being challenged. For example, many black people are in the police
force, meaning they obey the law and are not criminals but instead try to stop it. Also, in theTV Series Brooklyn Nine-
Nine, the Captain and the Sargent are both black men whilst many of the lower employees are white.This challenges
both the idea that black people are criminals as, in this case, they are enforcing the law and the hierarchy as in this
precinct, the black people have more power.
3. STEREOTYPE 2- ASIAN PEOPLE ARE SMART
The stereotype that allAsian people are smart is communicate in various ways as well. For
example, in film andTV they can be seen regularly getting good grades and participating a
lot in school lessons, they can also be seen getting a lot of pressure from their parents to
do well in school and become doctors. For example in an episode of Family Guy, anAsian
man is seen being approached by his son and tells him to ‘come back when you are a
doctor’ seeming to only care about his achievement.
This suggests that all Asians are smart and want to go on to profound career positions
such as doctors and that they try harder than white people.
This stereotype can be seen as both positive and negative because whilst it helps put
Asian people in a good light, it can put a lot of pressure on them to do well and they may
be put down/bullied if they do not.
These stereotypes do suggest a hierarchy in which Asians are at the top above other
ethnicities as they are seen as more intelligent and willing to learn which makes them look
better and can lead to them having more power.
