Syed from EastEnders is a Muslim character who struggles with his homosexuality, which goes against Islamic practices. It took his religious family a long time to accept that he is gay. Though controversial, the storyline may help Muslim communities become more open about sexuality. Curtis from Misfits is a black man doing community service after a drug issue cost him his chance at the Olympics. His storyline plays into stereotypes of black men as criminals but also shows people should not judge others based on appearance or circumstances. Joey Essex from TOWIE portrays stereotypes of people from Essex as stupid and lavish. The show emphasizes stereotypes about Essex residents by depicting Joey and others fitting

1. Stereotypes
Syed – EastEnders
The firstcharacter I have chosento analyse is Syed from EastEnders who fallsintothe sexuality
category.Syedisa Muslimbut he is homophobic,whichisstrictlyforbiddeninthe religiousviewsof
Islam.Syedwasmarried andhe hada childwithhisex-wife,howeverlateronintheirmarriage he
revealedthathe wasactuallyhomophobicandhadfeelingsforChristianwhentheyendedtheir
marriage.Thisstoryline iscreative asit isagainstMuslimpracticesto be gay but there will be gay
people whoexistregardlessof theirethnicityandreligion.Ittookhisfamilyaverylongtime toget
usedto the fact that theireldestsonisinfactgay but theyare comingto termswithitas it isthe 21st
centuryand inmodernsocietycaseslike Syed’sexist.The storyline wasverycontroversial asitwent
againstthe practicesof Islambutit may have helpedMuslimsbe openabouttheirsexualityand
confesstotheirfamilies.Because of how religiousthe ‘Masood’s’are thismaygive homosexualsthe
confidence toadmititto theirfamilies. The factSyedhada wife showedviewershow difficultitisto
openlybe gayina Muslimfamilybutitprovedtothe Muslimcommunitythatit can be done.
Curtis - Misfits
The secondcharacter I have chosento analyse is Curtis from Misfits. Curtisisa young,blackmale
whowas a sprinterdestinedforthe Olympicsbuthe gotinvolvedwithdrugsandwassuspendedso
he was givencommunityservice.Thisfitsinwiththe stereotypeof blackpeople beingcriminals.The
storyline of Curtisbeinggivencommunityservice iscreative asitisa relatable storyline.Insociety
blackmalesare oftenportrayedascriminalsorthugsso the publicwouldautomaticallyassume that
Curtisisa criminal because he isdoingcommunityservice.Itisn’treallyacontroversial storyline,it’s
an understandableone thatthe publicwill be able torelate toandunderstand. The publicwon’t
realise thatCurtisdidn’tdoa lotwrong,what he done wasjust a stupidmistake thathe isbeing
made to pay for.The storyline showsthatwe shouldn’tjudge someone becauseof theircolourof
theirskinor because of whattheyare doing.
Joey Essex - Towie
The third character I have chosentoanalyse is Joey Essex. Joeyisa youngmale fromthe townof
Essex.People fromEssex are knowntobe stupidjustlike Joey.He ispart of a show calledTowie (The
OnlyWay Is Essex) where all the charactersare alsostupid.Itmay onlybe forthe show butJoey
portraysthe stereotype of people fromEssex beingstupidperfectly.Joeyalsoportraysthe
stereotype of people fromEssex havingalotof money byhavinga verylavishlifestyle shoppingfor
itemssuchas Rolex’seventhoughhe can’ttell the time,eatingatthe mostexpensive restaurantsin
Essex.The showgivesusan insighttoEssex life andwhatthe people are like sothe show just
emphasisesthe stereotype asthe people onthe show includingJoeyfitintoitperfectly.