Stereotypes: Movie Analysis

Luc Brubaker
Essay #11
November, 2014 Humans, in our ancestry have required stereotyping to survive. “Animals are hardwired to ensure that their group survives and reproduces” and humans are no exception (Stossel, 2007). A quick judgment on who the person is and whether they pose any danger may mean the difference between life and death. While many of these useful life or death stereotypes have been transferred into everyday subliminal judgment, they still remain a relevant part in our life. Also, while stereotypes may contain certain truths it does not discount others. Saying that “black people tend to be good dancers, does not mean that black people cannot be lawyers” which is a type of distinction that people often fail to make (Stossel,
2007). Many people tend to lump all stereotypes together and categorize them as detrimental, even those that may contain a positive outlook. Stereotypes, contrary to popular belief can actually have a functional and helpful place in our society, particularly in the media world. If every character in every story had to be introduced and given a detailed background, movies would last for 10 hours and there would be no such thing as a major character for lack of minor characters. Time and space is not only saved in the movie but also in one’s brain, allowing an “efficient means of simplifying social interaction and preserving valuable processing resources”(Macrae, 1994, P.45). Rather than having to proceed in an in depth analysis of each person, stereotyping allow us to skim the population to obtain a general census, and determine if anyone is alarming or in the case of media a sense for who the character is. Comedy in films is also based off of supporting stereotypes such as the notion that “all Asians look alike” as is mocked in the movie Rush Hour 2 (Park, 2006, P.171). Stereotypes allow the audience to make a series of judgments about a character based on their perception. Rather than an explicated narrative of the characters storied background, one simply stereotypes the character as who they believe him or her to be. For example, if you see a white man in a white lab coat with glasses in a hospital, a common stereotype may be that he is the doctor, has a slightly younger wife, has 2 kids and lives in a nice house and has a happy life. While each individual comes up with his or her own slightly different perception of the character, each visualization is generally similar, allowing this particular character to forgo a formal introduction yet allow the audience to become acquainted. Despite the intended undertones in many stereotypical jokes, one study found that different focus group consisting of white, black and Asian ethnicities, “almost none of the focus group participants were offended by Rush Hour 2’s explicit racial jokes” (Park, 2006, P.173).
Just because people were not offended does not mean that these stereotypes in the movie did not play any role in the person’s perception. Through comedy the media is able to reinforce stereotypes, negative or positive because often stereotypes, taken lightheartedly, can be humorous and not seem ethically egregious to the viewer or the stereotyped group. As one viewer had ,” implied that Black stereotypes in Rush Hour 2 are likely to be true because Chris Tucker (as an actor) plays off of stereotypes and he makes jokes about his own race” (Park, 2006, P.172). To the viewer an idolized celebrity whom utilizes a stereotype seems in the eye of the spectator to turn into a true account and therefore okay to use. In this instance the presence of Chris Tucker, even though he enforces many black stereotypes throughout the movie, he is overall beneficial to black stereotypes. Throughout the movie he reinforces carefree stereotypes such as a black persons liking for fried chicken, and opposes the more threatening and unfavorable stereotype of a black criminal. Conversely he was solving a crime in the film, which posed an opposing view to negative
stereotype. Like that of the black criminal not all stereotypes possess a positive or even neutral connotation. Many exhibit negative associations such as blacks having lower intelligence capacity than other races . These stereotypes not only can influence the thoughts of people around them but also can influence the people whom the stereotypes are about. One study performed by Princeton University in conjunction with the University of Arizona conducted a golfing skills study. A simple putting course was set up and students were asked to complete the task. They were either told prior to the experiment that it was a test of athletic ability or a test of mental acuity. The black students who were told it was a test of athletic ability scored higher then whites while those who were told it represented a test of mental acuity scored lower and the whites scored higher. Whether these students believed the stereotype that blacks are better at athletic competition and whites have sharper mental skills, there performance was affected. “Once targets become aware that they are being evaluated in terms of a negative stereotype, they become intensely concerned about being labeled and treated in terms of the negative characterization” (Stone, 1999, P.1225). While in a small study like this the individual not significantly harmed because they were unable to obtain an above a higher score than their racial counterparts on a golf green. Stereotypes can become harmful however when they are encountered on a daily basis. In a world where media is constantly consumed, stereotypes flood our thoughts whether we realize it or not. An intellectual African American may be reminded of the negative stereotype attributed to blacks in most days of his life, and while he may strive to achieve to high standards through academia and be capable of it, the knowledge of the stereotype without even the belief in it could hinder his or her achievement. The media can also have a positive affect when addressing stereotypes if they are addressed in a constructive or even neutral manner by simply bringing light to the issue . Revolving around the fact the “white Americans desire to maintain a self image that involves fairness, egalitarianism and minimal prejudice…when negative behavior toward Blacks cannot be justified on a nonracial basis, Whites will respond positively towards blacks”(Johnson, 2009, P.474). While ethically this may not be the most ideal logic for the whites, it is a start to a behavior that is beneficial to the community as a whole and could end up changing the white thinking and stereotypical images altogether. The more actions that act in accordance with the ethical theory of utility, which seeks to help the greatest numbers, the more one’s thoughts will continue to follow this pattern. In the issue brought about by Johnson, whites retain discrete thoughts about discrimination and only act out their discrimination when they can justify a cause. For the media this means portrayal of blacks in an underrepresentation can be used beneficially, especially in the film industry which controls media, where in 2011 whites made up a disproportionate average of 85% of film leads, (Hunt, 2014). Stars such as Chris Tucker who are able to contrast the negative black stereotypes while still upholding others, allows the media to indulge the audience in humans hardwired stereotypical nature, while adding prestige to the black image.

Hunt, D. (Director) (2014, October 29). 2014 Hollywood Diversity Report. Lecture conducted from Loyola Marymount Ethics Department, Los Angeles.
Macrae, C., Milne, A., & Bodenhausen, G. (1994). Stereotypes As Energy-saving Devices: A Peek Inside The Cognitive Toolbox. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(1), 37-47. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1f2d7fe8-b595-4a40-a5c8- d8a4a84f4e73@sessionmgr113&vid=1&hid=105
Johnson, J., Olivo, N., Gibson, N., Reed, W., & Ashburn-Nardo, L. (2009). Priming Media Stereotypes Reduces Support for Social Welfare Policies: The Mediating Role of Empathy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 463- 476. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://psp.sagepub.com/content/35/4/463.full.pdf
Park, J., Gabbadon, N., & Chernin, A. (2006). Naturalizing Racial Differences Through Comedy: Asian, Black, And White Views On Racial Stereotypes In Rush Hour 2. Journal of Communication, 157-177. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~waltonj/404_rr/rush hour two stereotypes.pdf
Stone, J., Lynch, C., Sjomeling, M., & Darley, J. (n.d.). Stereotype Threat Effects On Black And White Athletic Performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1213-1227. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from http://www.u.arizona.edu/~jeffs/golf1.pdf
Stossel, J Race and sex: What we think but don't say [Motion picture on DVD]. (2007). United States: Films Media Group.