In an episode entitled “Diversity Day.” In this episode, Michael had made some slightly racist remarks in the beginning of the episode and someone decided to tell the boss above him. The company decides to send in a man to help teach the employees about workplace diversity, Michael being as childish as he is starts to get aggravated with the man and decides to take over. Michael comes up with a game that involves giving every member in the office a note card with a race written on it, but they do not know which race they have (similar to the game headbands). To get them into the game he says "This isn't just a game, it's life!" So he gives them the cards and you can see the races including but not limited to: Jamaican, Black, Jewish, Asian.…
As members of a multicultural society we are exposed to our peers’ various values and customs on a daily basis. While it may be true that some characteristics may seem unfamiliar at first glance, the media inherently relies on oversimplified stereotypes in order to get the audience to connect with minorities. Even shows that deal with diversity as subject matter fall victims to the trope of using stereotypes as a humor device. Take Modern Family, a sitcom that airs on ABC, as an example. The show challenges the notion of a traditional family but it constantly depicts the characters as parodies of what they are supposed to represent. Gloria Pritchett played by Sofia Vergara is often overly sexualized and given a short-tempered demeanor. Vergara…
By using comedy, Rodriguez transforms a serious and uncomfortable topic into a humorous and thought-provoking anecdote. In a similar manner, Sykes’s routine commentates on the harmful stereotypes surrounding black people, speaking about how “[she] wants the publicist that the white guys use.that publicist kicks ass.” (1:21); she further elaborates by saying that “[the publicist for white guys] knows how to spin it” (1:28). With a satirical twist, she mentions how the white publicist is able to spin any story to prevent people from generalizing white individuals and thinking they’re all bad; additionally, this references the harmful biases and generalizations that have been associated with black individuals. Aida Rodriguez and Wanda Sykes are prime examples of female comedians who not only challenge the notion, but also debunk the stereotype that women aren’t funny.…
Since the government issued some policies to make racial discrimination illegal and Since President Barack Obama succeeded in stepping on the American political stage, it seems America has entered the post-racial era. However, even though the U.S. has made an improvement in terms of racial issues, it is not easy to completely change the whole nation’s attitudes towards minorities. In fact, stereotypes and panics about minorities still exist. Among them, one popular stereotype is that minorities are hypersensitive to race issues, which is partially derived from the whites’ panic that the population of minorities will exceed that of whites. This can be best illustrated by…
The fact that there is a lack of a biological basis for racial difference raises fundamental socio-political questions as to why certain groups are marginalised in society and others are not. The notion of being Australian or un- Australian' is facilitated and maintained by the news media and their ability to portray nationalist stereotypes. This ability to construct racial boundaries based on the ideas of nationalism' and otherness' must therefore be scrutinised in order to uphold the basic human right's that apply to all citizens living in a liberal democracy. Using the negative representations of asylum seekers in 2001, I will argue that the relationship between the news media and the government perpetuated racism, and furthermore, that the media failed in their cross-examining role as…
Naturalization is a term which means an individual has fully accepted something, such as a cultural phenomenon, as part of the natural order of the universe. In the case of “Get Out”, the cultural phenomenon is racism. Throughout the film, the racist tendencies of the white characters are cunningly disguised. Forceful insistence that Chris should try street-fighting and suggestive remarks about his sexual body parts may seem uncomfortable, but not racist at first, until examined further. Part of the cleverness of the film is that racism is portrayed in a way that mimics real life closely. These black stereotypes which are underhandedly applied to Chris reflect modern day racism much better than a film about black slaves where the white masters…
Storey (2009) clarifies on page 167 that there is only one human race and within that human race there are different divisions of “races”. In addition, race can be used as a sign or meaning, and also show the importance by taking certain actions. Certain movies and cinema can reflex the significance of race and multiracial and multiethnic dimension, by depicting them either working together or against each other towards a common goal or outcome. Storey states we need to understand that ‘race’ and racism are not natural occurrences; they are a result of human actions and interactions (Storey, 2009, pp. 168).…
"Brode emerges [as] a worthy proponent of Disney's democratic vision, wielding a powerful argument for Disney as a forerunner of multicultural values in America. The significance of his work cannot be overstated."…
Gloria has a rather ditzy personality, frequently misusing phrases and mispronouncing words. In the episode “Planes, Trains and Cars” we see Gloria and Jay in the midst of a conversation where Gloria is refusing to fly in a helicopter. But, in attempting to explain her fear to her husband Jay she has a large amount of difficulty searching for the right word, “helicopter.” Gloria then asks, “How do you say it in English the takatakatka?” Jay responds saying, “Helicopter.” The helicopter example stereotypes people within the Hispanic community as unknowledgeable or having a lack of understanding of the English language. The show’s writers seem to believe that by continually portraying these stereotypes against Latinos it is only in light fun and adding to the comical facto of the show. However, it does hardly anything to improve the views of Latinos in the mainstream American…
John Steinbeck portrays racism on the ranch through the interactions or lack of interactions between Crooks and the other workers on the ranch. Crooks has been working at the ranch longer than most of the other workers and for the most part minds his own business. Despite Crooks being a nice fellow, most of the workers are racist towards Crooks. For example, many workers on the ranch use derogatory names when they speak or refer to Crooks. When Candy was welcoming George and Lennie to the ranch, he refers to Crooks as the "stable buck," which is a derogatory name to African-Americans. In addition, according to Crooks, other workers on the ranch claim that, "I[he] stink," which is a stereotypical idea white people…
African Americans have been victims of racism on television shows from ever since they started to show on television shows to today. When we see African Americans on television, they are portrayed as stupid comedians, murderers, poor, and uneducated. According to J. Fred MacDonald, the author of Black and White TV: African Americans in Television since 1948, “Television has been inhospitable to blacks who were not middle class and/or pejoratively stereotyped. Less visible, for instance, have been representations of the authentic African-American lower class and urban underclass” (143). This book was written more than twenty years ago and it is saying that African Americans were portrayed as symbolism of poor group on television from 1940s to…
Cofer’s passage reminded me of the many stereotypes that exist in popular culture today. Contrary to popular belief, electing an African American as President of the United States does not mean that racism is dead. Furthermore, Hispanics are not the only victims. While Cofer focuses mainly on the more obvious forms of racism, I’d like to call attention to the more subtle mentions. For example, recently I read an article for a class that discussed the racism faced by Middle Easterners in the United States. In the article, the author blamed popular culture for proliferating negative stereotypes. The Disney movie “Aladdin” was utilized as an example of such racism. Such racism can be seen in the lyrics of “Arabian Nights,” which states:…
Stereotypes of African Americans have been around since slavery. Once media got involved it was able to give society a visual as to how other races portrayed them. With television, it’s becoming more and more vivid of how bad the stereotyping is getting. Now a day’s some writers of these shows and try to hide the racial remarks, while others are blunt with it and receive no type of punishment for their actions. You do have some sitcoms that will shine a positive light on the African American community, but these shows never last long. The gatekeepers do not want to put a positive image in your head they want you feel a certain way so therefore they come up with shows like Family Guy and South Park that…
Simply put, a representative democracy is a system of government in which all eligible citizens vote on representatives to pass laws for them. As Americans, we elect a president and members of Congress, and also elect local and state officials. All of these elected officials supposedly listen to the populace and do what is best for the nation, state or jurisdiction as a whole. Is this real autotomy of choice? If so does the hypocritical platform that America was founded upon affect our present day lives? Voting officials into office to make decisions for us does not constitute real freedom or liberty of choice. Every decision made in contemporary American government is affected and altered by the way American freedom was developed.…
In the past decade, racism has changed along with how society has changed. For example, in today’s society, it is rare to see a store, restaurant or anyone who just will not serve anyone because they are black; however, it can still happen. In society today, world racism is taken and given in a different way. When the Internet came into play during the 21st century and social media following not far after, the characteristics of racism changed. Author Emily Fekete writes in her article Race and (Online) Sites Consumption, “Geographers have noted the increasing role of the Internet and social media in everyday life (Zook and Graham 2007; Elwood 2011; Kitchin and Dodge 2011; Stephens 2013)”. Not only has social media increased, but in doing this,…