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Assess the view that the mass media perpetuates stereotypes of ethnic minorities

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Assess the view that the mass media perpetuates stereotypes of ethnic minorities In this essay I will be assessing the view that the mass media perpetuate (this means continue or carry on) stereotypes (this is a label that is given to a group, this label is often negative) of ethnic minorities. In other words I have got to see if the mass media (television, films, video games, newspaper, magazines, news/weather, adverts and music/music videos) continues to have stereotypes of ethnic minorities. Some of the traditional stereotypes are exotic, dangerous, humorous, pitied (Alvarado 1987), criminal, threat, abnormal, unimportant and dependent. I have examined 2 studies that explain how they think ethnic minorities are stereotyped; these 2 studies are Alvarado (1987) and Van Dijk (1991). ...read more.


Alvarado tells us 'this made ethnic minorities look like a threat to the country by making them the butt of racist jokes'. * Exotic- Alvarado believes that ethnic minorities are wrongly stereotyped on having specific ways that they, do rituals, dress, artefacts, the food they eat and the language they speak. 'White people' stereotyped ethnic minorities like this because they do not realise that these are part of a complex culture and social formations. * Dangerous- Alvarado tells us that ethnic minorities are stereotyped as a 'threat' and as 'criminals'. People who live in 'white' environments are more likely to comment on racial issues. Newspapers have blamed 'blacks' for the causes of social problems. Alvarado also found that immigrants were thought of to be 'black'. ...read more.


After I have looked at ball of the studies I have come to a conclusion of the question first asked, and I believe that stereotypes have been mainly carried on, but with some improvements. I believe that, now instead of just seeing negative stereotyping we are seeing more and more examples of positive stereotyping such as more positive/ high status roles in the media, we are seeing more black athletes and musicians and we also see more black presenters in the media. I strongly agree with Alvarado and his 4 categories. We still see these 4 categories in every day media; * Pitied- appears in the news * Humorous- appears in comedies (e.g. Bo-selcta, Kumar's at No42) * Dangerous- appears on the news (e.g. stories on terrorism and violence) * Exotic- appears in holiday shows. Although I also believe that improvement is needed amongst ethnic groups in the media. ?? ?? ?? ?? Emily Mather 12 HB ESSAY Mrs Amsdorf ...read more.

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