Portrayals of Minorities in pop culture

1. ) One example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, The Simpsons. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is portrayed as your typical Indian convenience store owner. He speaks in Indian English, owns a convenience store, his marriage was arranged, he has a strong work ethic, and he has a large number of children. He is portrayed this way in every episode that he appears in. The portrayal is negative and is stereotyping people who are Indian. The portrayal reinforces the stereotypes that Indian immigrants own convenience stores and work all of the time. Personally, I would not want other members of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because it paints a negative picture of the culture. It stereotypes all Indian immigrants as the same. This reinforces the idea that race plays a major role in status in our society and people are looked at differently based on their race. On the show, this stereotype is perceived as humorous and people who watch this show are receiving little knowledge about the actual group of people. 2. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is shown on the TV show, Cops. This show portrays people who are minorities to be violent, drug dealers, unintelligent, poor family members. Almost all of the drug deals that go on and the violence that goes on is between blacks and other minorities. This is a negative portrayal and it reinforces these certain stereotypes. It showcases blacks and other minorities as being violent and involved with drugs. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be known as an unintelligent, violent drug dealer who can't get along with his family. It is a very negative stereotype. 3. ) On the TV show, South Park, minorities are negatively portrayed in almost every single episode. One episode in particular is called, â€Å"The Passion of the Jew. † This episode was a satire of the movie, The Passion of the Christ, but also made fun of people who are Jewish. This show negatively portrays people who are Jewish as being cheap, overprotective, nagging, and pokes fun at their religion. It reinforces these stereotypes and also goes further by negatively talking about the Jewish religion and their practices. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because it portrays me as being stingy and makes jokes about my religion. Based on this portrayal, it seems as though some television shows are able to make fun of any race that they please. 4. ) Another example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is in the movie, The Perfect Score. One of the students in the movie who is Asian is portrayed as being a drug user but extremely smart. He uses drugs all of the time but is still able to get good grades in school. This is a negative portrayal of people who are Asian and it stereotypes them as drug users and of having above average intelligence. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be perceived as a person who smokes marijuana and is a stoner. I would want to be portrayed as intelligent but not a drug user. Based on this portrayal, I feel that race plays an important part in statuses because different races are thought to be of higher statuses. 5. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, Beverley Hills 90210. People in this show, who are mainly white, are viewed as being extremely rich, affluent, greedy, and having a ton of drama in their lives. It stereotypes the typical â€Å"California teenager. † It is a negative portrayal of young people who live in California. It reinforces the stereotypes of the typical California surfer and teenager. All teenagers who live in California don't act this way, but they are portrayed as being like this. This portrayal can also be seen in newer shows such as Laguna Beach and The Hills. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be seen as a rich snob who relies on their parent's money. I would want to just blend in with society. I feel that people who are white are sometimes given a higher status then people of other races. . ) In the movie Soul Man, minorities are portrayed as having an easier time of getting into college. In this movie, a student who wants to get into a particularly difficult school dyes his skin a darker color so he can hopefully get in. This is a negative portrayal of minorities because it is saying that they have an easier chance of getting into college because they are a minority. It reinforces the stereotype that colleges have a certain quota to fill and that minorities sometimes do have an easier time getting into a certain college. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other members of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want them to think that I got accepted into a college because of my race. I would want my acceptance into college to be viewed as an achievement because I worked hard in high school. This portrayal sends out the message that minorities are sometimes given extra benefits because of what colleges have to do. 7. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, Family Matters. This show is about a middle-class African American family that lives in Chicago. I believe this show is a positive portrayal because it shows a functional black family with goals and aspirations. Other shows that I have watched unfortunately present blacks as violent people who are often linked to crime. They are portrayed as â€Å"gangsters† in many shows, and it seems as though their only aspirations are to become a rapper or a basketball player. However, in Family Matters, there is a middle class black family that is portrayed in a very positive light. There are no violent acts being committed, and as a matter of fact, the father is a policeman who helps prevent violent acts. If I were a member of this group I would approve of this portrayal because this family is not being portrayed as a dysfunctional black family. This show was able to incorporate comedy in the episodes without being demeaning. 8) In the movie Mean Girls, there is a group of Asians called the â€Å"Asian Nerds† and they are constantly studying. Asians are often linked with the stereotype that they are superior students. I feel as though this could be both a negative and positive stereotype. It is good to be seen as successful and smart but not all Asians should be perceived to be academically exceptional. I would not want to be perceived in this way because then it seems like you have an expectations to live up to and what if you cannot live up to them? What if you are Asian and you are not a â€Å"genius†? I would constantly feel pressure and if I was unable to live up to that expectation I can only imagine the anxiety that I would feel and I would most likely be embarrassed to get help. It is true that it is positive thing to be seen as a successful race but it comes along with too many expectation and negative stereotypes such as being uninterested in having fun. ) This cover of Vogue magazine can be interpreted negatively because some people believe that Lebron James is standing in a gorilla-like pose. This cover can be traced back to days when scientists were claiming that blacks are linked to apes. This is a negative stereotype because it dehumanizes black. Researchers say that even though depictions of blacks as apes have disappeared; it is still in the subconsciouses of others. Society may be more likely to link blacks with crime and violence because they still don't accept blacks as fully human. The fact that blacks are still being associated with apes is very distressing. Clearly, if I were in this group I would not want other members of society viewing me as â€Å"ape-like. † It dehumanizes blacks and links them to negative actions such as crime. 10. Another example of how minorities are portrayed in the media is through a show called The Office. In one of the episodes, the main character Michael is forming a basketball team and he immediately recruits one of his employees named Stanley, because he is black. He automatically assumes that Stanley is good at basketball because he is black even though Stanley tries to tell him otherwise. However, Michael clings onto the stereotype that all blacks are good at basketball and in the end he is proved wrong. I do not think this is a good stereotype because you cannot group everybody that belongs to a certain race into one category. Not all blacks are going to be good at basketball, just like not all Asians are going to be smart. We develop pre-conceived notions about people based on their race, and it is not good. I would not want other members of society perceiving me in this way because the stereotype does not hold true for all blacks.