Examples Of Stereotyping And Prejudice
2. An essay on the modern relevance of stereotyping and prejudice
2.1 Introduction: Perception of inequality
Prejudice and inequality stems from the innate human tendency of viewing others as unequal, also known as the perception of inequality. Milner (as cited in Duckitt, 1994, p. 10) summarizes this phenomenon by differentiating prejudice from stereotyping:
“Prejudiced attitudes . . . are irrational, unjust, or intolerant dispositions towards other groups.
They are often accompanied by stereotyping. This is the attribution of supposed characteristics of the whole group to all its individual members.”
Stereotyping and prejudice are still relevant today as demonstrated by the film Crash, directed by Paul Haggis in 2004. Throughout this film numerous instances of stereotyping and prejudice occur. Within this discussion on the modern relevance of prejudice and stereotyping from a theoretical point of view, observations from the film Crash (2004) will be integrated in order to illuminate various points.
The reason the film Crash (2004) is used throughout this essay is because in 2006 the movie …show more content…
"Crash" won the Academy Award for Best picture and received outstanding reviews from critics across America, this shows that the American people and the academy thought Haggis's movie had pointed out real issues that are relevant in today's modern society. This film gained much popularity to such an extent that various authors wrote in depth analyses of the film discussing the relevant issues. Haggis (2004) shows the barriers of race and class that keep society from understanding or even empathizing with one other (Pittman, 2005).
2.2 Stereotyping: why they are formed and used
2.2.1 Stereotypes versus gender stereotypes
According to Baron and Branscombe (2012, p. 183) stereotypes are beliefs about certain social groups with regard to their traits or characteristics which they are believed to share. More than a decade ago, Ashmore and DelBoca (as cited in Duckitt, 1994, p. 8) defined the concept of stereotype similarly as "a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people". The 2004 film Crash is full of such stereotypes, such as “Mexicans do not know how to drive”. Haggis (2004) demonstrates stereotypes as ‘cognitive frameworks’ influencing the processing of social information in the following instance: in the beginning of the film a wealthy white man and woman is walking down the street, the women (Jean) holds onto her purse and moves closer to her husband (Rick) when she sees two black men walking toward them. Jean believes that black men will rob, hijack and harm her just because they are black men.
Jean’s cognitive framework of African Americans shaped her information processing, as accurately pointed out by Anthony (a young black man) when he states that the moment Jean saw two black guys who look like UCLA students strolling down the sidewalk, her reaction was blind fear.
Gender stereotypes can be seen as a subcategory of stereotypes, since gender stereotypes are beliefs about males and females based on their genders (Baron and Branscombe, 2012, p.
183). An example of gender stereotypes is the ‘traditional gender roles’, namely that woman are submissive and obedient and that men are the protectors. Haggis (2004) demonstrates the presence of these traditional roles through Cameron and his wife. Cameron (a black film director) and his wife were pulled over by a racist police officer named John Ryan. Cameron's wife began antagonizing the officer and refused to comply (which in this scenario is expected because she is a woman who must obey her husband). Later Cameron’s wife apologizes for her behaviour, admitting that she was out of place. This is a typical example of how society has certain beliefs concerning the characteristics of men and
women.
In the same instance, Haggis (2004) demonstrates some of the basic gender stereotypes concerning men. Cameron’s wife expected him to protect her from the police officer since he is “the man”, meaning he is the protector and simply because he is male, he should be self-confident, strong and aggressive. This is a clear example of society’s perception that ‘boys don’t cry’, stereotyping men as strong, tough and fighters (Baron & Branscombe, 2012, p. 183).
2.1 Introduction: Perception of inequality
Prejudice and inequality stems from the innate human tendency of viewing others as unequal, also known as the perception of inequality. Milner (as cited in Duckitt, 1994, p. 10) summarizes this phenomenon by differentiating prejudice from stereotyping:
“Prejudiced attitudes . . . are irrational, unjust, or intolerant dispositions towards other groups.
They are often accompanied by stereotyping. This is the attribution of supposed characteristics of the whole group to all its individual members.”
Stereotyping and prejudice are still relevant today as demonstrated by the film Crash, directed by Paul Haggis in 2004. Throughout this film numerous instances of stereotyping and prejudice occur. Within this discussion on the modern relevance of prejudice and stereotyping from a theoretical point of view, observations from the film Crash (2004) will be integrated in order to illuminate various points.
The reason the film Crash (2004) is used throughout this essay is because in 2006 the movie …show more content…
"Crash" won the Academy Award for Best picture and received outstanding reviews from critics across America, this shows that the American people and the academy thought Haggis's movie had pointed out real issues that are relevant in today's modern society. This film gained much popularity to such an extent that various authors wrote in depth analyses of the film discussing the relevant issues. Haggis (2004) shows the barriers of race and class that keep society from understanding or even empathizing with one other (Pittman, 2005).
2.2 Stereotyping: why they are formed and used
2.2.1 Stereotypes versus gender stereotypes
According to Baron and Branscombe (2012, p. 183) stereotypes are beliefs about certain social groups with regard to their traits or characteristics which they are believed to share. More than a decade ago, Ashmore and DelBoca (as cited in Duckitt, 1994, p. 8) defined the concept of stereotype similarly as "a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people". The 2004 film Crash is full of such stereotypes, such as “Mexicans do not know how to drive”. Haggis (2004) demonstrates stereotypes as ‘cognitive frameworks’ influencing the processing of social information in the following instance: in the beginning of the film a wealthy white man and woman is walking down the street, the women (Jean) holds onto her purse and moves closer to her husband (Rick) when she sees two black men walking toward them. Jean believes that black men will rob, hijack and harm her just because they are black men.
Jean’s cognitive framework of African Americans shaped her information processing, as accurately pointed out by Anthony (a young black man) when he states that the moment Jean saw two black guys who look like UCLA students strolling down the sidewalk, her reaction was blind fear.
Gender stereotypes can be seen as a subcategory of stereotypes, since gender stereotypes are beliefs about males and females based on their genders (Baron and Branscombe, 2012, p.
183). An example of gender stereotypes is the ‘traditional gender roles’, namely that woman are submissive and obedient and that men are the protectors. Haggis (2004) demonstrates the presence of these traditional roles through Cameron and his wife. Cameron (a black film director) and his wife were pulled over by a racist police officer named John Ryan. Cameron's wife began antagonizing the officer and refused to comply (which in this scenario is expected because she is a woman who must obey her husband). Later Cameron’s wife apologizes for her behaviour, admitting that she was out of place. This is a typical example of how society has certain beliefs concerning the characteristics of men and
women.
In the same instance, Haggis (2004) demonstrates some of the basic gender stereotypes concerning men. Cameron’s wife expected him to protect her from the police officer since he is “the man”, meaning he is the protector and simply because he is male, he should be self-confident, strong and aggressive. This is a clear example of society’s perception that ‘boys don’t cry’, stereotyping men as strong, tough and fighters (Baron & Branscombe, 2012, p. 183).