In social psychology, one of the main ways of studying how people in.docxmodi11
In social psychology, one of the main ways of studying how people interact with each other and their group behavior is through observation. One aspect of observation is through understanding the media. We live in a world of mass media, with blockbuster movies, dramas, situation comedies, and twenty-four-hour news channels. Add to this product placements and commercials. It could be said that what we watch or read is a reflection of who we are as a culture, but is that true? Movies like
GoneWith the Wind
(1939), although spectacular cinematic experiences, were steeped in racial stereotypes. However, that was long ago. The world has changed considerably since then. Right? You expect racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes in the media to be a thing of the past. Consider movies like Scarface (1983),
The Birdcage
(1996), and
The Waterboy
(1998) and the popular drama series
The Sopranos
(1999–2007)—all had main characters portraying a particular group in a stereotypical manner. The fact is that stereotypes still do exist.
The purpose of this assignment is to examine stereotypes on television to see if it promotes prejudice and discrimination. Pick a television program of your choice; it should be something current (from the last ten years) and can be a drama or a situation comedy. Using what you have learned from your readings, analyze the program and answer the following questions in your essay:
What is the overall storyline and setting of the television program? Who are the main characters?
Does the program portray the main or supporting characters in a stereotypical manner in terms of race, ethnicity, or gender? If yes, describe the stereotypes and explain how the stereotypes might promote prejudice and discrimination. If the program does not seem to promote stereotypes, explain how it was able to avoid doing so.
Discuss the impact of stereotypes depicted in the media on individuals and society, using at least two contemporary examples.
Submit your essay in a Microsoft Word document. Cite your sources using the
APA format
.
.
C-SAP teaching resources: Teaching race and ethnicity theoretical overviewCSAPSubjectCentre
This resource was produced as part of C-SAP's project "Teaching Race and Ethnicity" http://www.teachingrace.bham.ac.uk/ by Dr Stephen Spencer from Sheffield Hallam University.
Similar to Representation of race, ethnicity and colour (15)
3. Race representation
Representation of race in the
media can consist of the same
sort of rigid stereotypes that
constitute gender portrayal.
Stereotyping of race is seen as
more harmful than stereotyping of
gender, as media representation
may be the only experience of
contact with a particular ethnic
group that an audience may have
(especially children and young
people)
Racial stereotypes are often based
on social myth perpetuated down
the ages.
4. Race on UK TV
Race remains a hot issue on UK TV, because it’s always
going to attract headlines!
Often linked with immigration and questions of national
identity – what does it mean to be British in the 2010s?
Given that modern Britain is populated by a diverse
range of people, do national media outlets represent
different colours and ethnicities proportionally? Fairly?
9. Moral Panics
described as a condition, episode, person
or group of persons which emerge to
become defined as a threat to societal
values and interests (Cohen, 1972, p.9).
1970s the image of the black mugger
1980s – image of rioter
1990s – gangsta, gun crimes etc
2000s – Media focus shifts to Muslims
10.
11. Task:
Choose three characters on UK TV to write
a brief summary of in regards to ethnicity
– choose a genre from the 6 genres of TV
dramas we have looked at eg. Teen
drama, hospital drama, crime drama etc.
Consider how they are represented –
positive? Negative? Stereotyped?
Subverting stereotyped?