Stereotypes In The Media

Being in the 21st century, media is unavoidable. Wherever we go, we encounter it. Although media is extremely useful and entertaining, it is also incredibly influential, sometimes even in a negative way. The use of stereotypes in media affects children’s developing mindsets, which then contributes to a larger society. The media’s influence on one’s perception of a certain group can be completely untrue. One’s perception can be twisted if they solely rely on media for information, usually in the form of Hollywood movies. The truth is that movies usually use stereotypes for comedic effect. However, children, and even adults sometimes, pick up on these stereotypes either consciously or unconsciously, and it becomes part of their mindset. In the article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack,” Peggy McIntosh states that “men work from a base of unacknowledged privilege,” and most of that was “unconscious”. Because of this idea of unconscious racism, it is much harder to resolve racism than if it were something everybody understood they had. Another example of unconscious racism is media’s effects on children. In a documentary that explained Disney’s stereotypical characters, there were evil hyenas laughing, and apparently they were laughing like black people. Then, the child who watched the cartoon went to a playground and sat with his back behind some black children who were also playing. When the black children started laughing, the white child ran to his mother