Sunday, February 10, 2013

Sterotypical America.

She's  too black for you, you're not white enough for that job, he's probably a terrorist, I bet he doesn't even speak english, they're terrible drivers, they're too ghetto over there. With every phrase what picture or demographic comes to mind? Stereotypes are rampant disillusions that have been recycled  and reused again and again. America has reached a new height in terms of racial equality but the stereotypes still stand. Comedians use stereotypes as a go to for garaunteed laughs which is ironic in itself we can laugh at stereotypes because we all recognize and know them but that in itself shows that stereotypes aren't going anywhere. Bet (black entertainment television) an entire channel dedicated to one race but owned by white people. All the while producing blacksploited sitcoms with all black casts creating and maintaining a black stereotype in most cases derogatory or portraying black characters to be violent less intelligent or of lower incomes. Is this a proper representation of healthy black entertainment? Why is there a channel allowed to be race specific? Isn't that in itself a form of racism? Bet has a huge influence on today's youth kids get their music their fashion their lingo their swag from such channels and usually a good role model isn't represented properly. The media has a huge influence on the stereotypes in America rather encourage equality and acceptance. The media seems to push for one race or genre or gender more than another to whatever benefit it may be at that convenient time. Yet if you walk down the street and talk to people they are nothing like the people you see on tv. The media has trained our mind to judge each other based on what we have seen on tv. Youth presents themselves based on what they see on tv an image they want to project that has already been projected on them. Celebrities especially comedic celebrities are the largest perpetrators perpetuating these stereotypes. The wayans brothers continually play off of racial stereotypes. Rappers maintain the stereotype of a lifestyle most do not live all in the interest of selling their music. Stop the stereotype in the end we all want the same thing to be happy to be successful and to be loved.

1 comment:

  1. Two of your comments really stood out to me. The first is the question you posed, "Is this a proper representation of healthy black entertainment?" Based on the topic of the blog I am assuming that when you say "healthy" you are referring to the lives and minds of young people. It initiated a train of thought where I wondered if there is any proper representation of black entertainment, or any entertainment for that matter. Is a part of today's entertainment catered to young adults defined by the fact that it is unhealthy? Would something healthy even be considered as entertainment?

    Another thing that stood out to me in this post was your statement that, "America has reached a new height in terms of racial equality but the stereotypes still stand." This makes me wonder if stereotypes will ever be completely eliminated. Maybe the task is not even to eliminate them. Maybe it is simply to create and portray those of them which are positive.

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