I know most of you are, "Oh sh--t" when you read my title. No worries, I just want to prove and outline something about what the media tells us about black people. Firstly, I just want to say when was the last time you seen a movie? Was there a Black guy who was the bad guy, thug like and dangerous? I guess so. The media especially movies show that Black-males particularly are dangerous and people that commit crimes. When we watch films we consume what the directors what us to believe about a certain gender and race. If you were to deconstruct the media and really see what he/she is trying to prove you would be like, "omg". The dominant discourse is reshaping the viewer’s mind on what especially Black-Males are in reality and how they act. This really relates to the Hispanic people. People think that many Hispanic people are from Mexico. They think they are drug dealers, thugs and murders. Likewise, films have been picking onto both race and gender for a long time.
Secondly, when you watched a movie did you gain a specific perspective about how black males act through the lens of the creator? I guess you probably did. Black-males are not thugs, gangsters, robbers, crime committers and etc. These people are just like any other ordinary person, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, and sexuality. I believe that these films are really taking a toll on people and their opinions. Film media texts contain beliefs and value message. We can't totally blame the director for implying something about how black-males act. Probably he/she had a bad experience involving a black-male. It's safe to say that individual felt that every black-male is dangerous and thug like. Similarity, like I said before, you can't take an individual case and start stereotyping. It's like saying every Muslim is a terrorist, where in reality they aren't. Probably a Muslim individual committed a crime but you can't take his story and apply it to everyone. All media are constructions including films. Every director wants to imply his story by tackling a certain gender and race. I will personally confess that I was told to be scared of the Black's when I was young. It's not my parents fault or societies fault. The person to blame is the people that create the media that stereotype black-male individuals. Stop the stereotyping because everyone is different.
Lastly, the video that I have attached at the top shows what really happens in reality. There are people that believe that all black-males are dangerous and they are not to be blamed. Moreover, media has painted that image into peoples mind. Each person interprets media text and messages differently. When they show black-males in media, people get the message that they are dangerous and should be on constant alert. For example, a white person will believe in what they see in the media, but in comparison to a black person they will disagree and disapprove. The same can apply when you see Hispanic stereotyping in the movies. You may believe in what you see but when a Hispanic sees it he/she will disagree with the media. The media has gone to far with stereotyping.
Discussion Questions:
What are some other races that are really being impacted negatively by the media stereotyping?
Has dominant discourse gone so far where breaking the stereotype is impossible?
What have your parents or society make you think about Black-Males?
Has media gone to far with everything including stereotyping?
Has media gone to far with everything including stereotyping?
Very interesting topic Endrit. Before i continue, take a look at this video, it is surprisingly similar to the one you posted above, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Un8hNngg8 . Now onto the meat of this comment. The first thing i would like to say is that you should be very cautious with the words and phrases that you use when posting about these issues. The reason i say this is because you said, "People think that every Hispanic is from Mexico." While i understand what you mean and what you are trying to convey, this phrase is a generalization and does not apply to anyone. "Many" might be helpful in this case. Onto your questions, i think that Jewish people and the First Nations are being negatively impacted by media stereotyping. The dominant discourse suggests that all Jewish people adore money and all Native Americans wear feathers and face paint. Media has definitely gone too far with racism in general and yes it is becoming harder to break stereotypes. However, this does not mean that the fight to break stereotypical views will stop, the "fight" will always continue. In Assassin's Creed, the Order's motto is, "Nothing is True; Everything is permitted". While this many seem ambiguous at first, the meaning is quite intriguing.
ReplyDeleteYes, Fawad I agree on your answer. The fight to break stereotypes is still continuing but the media is taking a huge toll on everyone including me and you. Hopefully the fight to break stereotypes will end one day and become free from stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteSadly, this is the unquestionable truth. We can hope...and yes we can fight, but i fear, the end is nowhere in sight.
DeleteI agree with Endrit because Media does give out it's own beliefs and value messages based on it's own perception about people of certain race and religion, even ethnicity. However, i also think that this is already insinuated in people's minds that all criminals are black people. It would be right for me to say that it is a stark reality that we are caught up in a world of stereotypical people. The biggest stereotype is indeed the media. Also i think that Endrit could have used a better advertisement that does not include swearing or cussing such as that KFC Cricket Advertisement which also shows racism against black people.
ReplyDeleteThat's correct Bilal because media has painted an image into our minds about how Black males are and act. Bilal I chose this video because this is sadly what happens in real life. Also, Bilal we are mature Grade 12 and so a little swearing is not a big deal. This video is different from the ones we have seen before.
DeleteI wonder what stirred in your mind to have you bring up such a topic as this, but nonetheless, I agree. I came across a thread on reddit just the other day, and it was a thread filled with numerous short stories of people and their hitch-hiking journeys. http://tinyurl.com/3ybesv3 Here's the link to a specific story, where a man was searching for help and Mexican immigrants had come to his aid - Mexican immigrants! Given the situations, the immigrants were in no real shape to help the man, but did so anyway out of kindness. So to answer your question, I do think media has drawn the line of stereotypes way too far. There were other stereotypes about these people and it just isn't "Mexican" people alone, but just about every other race of people as well. What makes us so blind to seeing the truth in people, is how we're always too quick to judge - we are impulsive human beings. It being a stereotype may be justifiable for being impulsive, but in no right are humans allowed to call upon one because of stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteThat's all correct. The media itself has gone past the line and it seems impossible to turn around and get behind the line. Dominant discourse is to blame.
DeleteI think that individual that was seeking help has a different view and probably disagrees with the stereotypes of Hispanic people. Those Mexican individuals have proven to the hitch-hiker that they are warm hearted people and aren't dangerous people. Great comment Kent.
Deleteanother race that is being targeted by the media is the islamin race and how the media portrays them all as terrorists.
ReplyDeleteno i dont think think that dominant discourse has gone to the point where it is no longer breakable, i believe that is is possible but it is unfortunate that it will not happen anytime soon. people really believe the stereotype
ReplyDeleteIt's really difficult to turn around and get behind the line. It can happen if people as a whole try really hard to break the stereotype. Similarly, we are constantly bombarded with all types of medias portraying the stereotype, and quite frankly people still believe in the stereotype.
DeleteI agree with Endrit, the fact that Black-males are being discriminated on by the media. But i also believe that Russians are being discriminated in video games. I would like to refer to the Call of duty games as well as Battlefield, Russian Armies were portrayed as the antagonists throughout the fictional plot of the campaign, never has america been demonstrated as the enemy of these games because they were always portrayed as the "Good" guys. Furthermore, i think it would be unlikely that this stereotype toward black-males would break because the amount of discrimination shown in media strengthens the fear of black-males.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment Philip. I totally, agree with you.
DeletePersonally, I do agree with Endrit since many people in our world today are discriminated by color, looks, gender, religion, now the media does play a role in this. For example some movies have a antagonist as a black male who is usually the criminal, however many people interpret these messages the wrong way and think of the black people as criminals. Yet, there are other races that are being portrayed negativity, for examples Muslims and Sikhs are considered terrorists just because of their religious clothing. Therefore this does not mean that their bad, it just means that media gave a negative image of blacks and other races which leads society to portray them as being "bad", or "terrorists". This is racism, also the media has gone very far with what they are showing on TV or the internet. In other words if there is a 1 black male who is a criminal, it does not mean that the whole black community is bad. As a result, we should be more cautious about what we see in media and how we portray it since the media can give you false information.
ReplyDeleteHi Endrit. Can you separate your ideas into paragraphs? It just makes your post easier to read. Also, it would help if you gave one example of a media text that negatively portrays black males. That way your discussion moves from generalizations to specific critical thinking targeted at one text.
ReplyDeleteOkay Ms. Draper. Thanks for the advice.
DeleteI have to slightly disagree with you Endrit. To be honest, I've only read the first 10 lines. But.. I would like to point out that not all "black" people are portrayed as bad people in the media, especially in movies. Maybe there's like one or two, but I have seen many movies that shows "black" people are hilarious, heroic and not at all "bad". It would be really nice if you could send me a movie link or two that portrays african-american descendants as a criminal.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of films portray Black males as thugs and dangerous people. I don't know what kind of movies you watch but if you watch action movies and comedies you will see where I am coming from. If you watch movies that aren't violent and that don't involve swearing, that's why you have a different perspective on Black males from the media.
DeleteTo question 1, there are negative stereotypes about every race on this world. Although all of them are not true, many people still believe these false facts and act appoint them. I believe the example in the video where, the women held her purse closer and tighter the second the black male stepped into the elevator, happens in everyday life. I have witness similar situations such as this example many times and have wonder why this happens and how do these stereotypes even start? Although society is becoming more educated about stereotypes, incidents like these continue to happen.
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ReplyDeleteI would like to add to this post regarding question 3, my parents most of the time and now,warn me not to get too friendly with black males, it implies they see black males as dangerous human beings. I disagree, i have intellectual black friends that share common interests that are "harmless", it is the media at fault here for causing stereotype in our parents minds. Of course, many of our parents watch the news almost everyday, it would be difficult to convinced them otherwise when media is portraying stereotype strongly.
DeleteI know what you mean, I remember a time when one of my friends told me before she met me her overall view of black people was people who were bad, skipped school, had a bad attitude, mean and listened to rap( not that rap is bad or anything).
DeleteBeing a person who has noticed how black are negatively stereotyped in society, I agree with your post. After looking at the video, I have been a third party witness to the same act done, but in a different setting, and even I have in some cases felt nervous, uneasy, or unsafe around a black male in public, even though I am black. I had never thought to think that it can be because of the media, but when I think about it, the media has fed this idea that blacks and mainly male ones are dangerous, criminals and uneducated fools. I believe that the dominant discourse has gone so far in stereotype of blacks being dangerous and criminals that it seems nowhere near to ending these beliefs. Although, like in America, white males outnumber black males in jail. The only thing I disagree about is your point about film, I find that in film, it shouldn't be blamed for feeding these negative stereotypes into people because in film it's showing a fictional story in which the creators show what they had in mind.
ReplyDelete-Lydia
I somewhat agree with your post, there are some movies that do a really bad job at portraying black people there are an equal amount that do not portray them as the bad guys. I believe every race represented in the media in misrepresented in some way or other. I believe I said this on another post but I'll say it again. The media cannot be fully blamed for misrepresenting because they can only account for a small enough portion that they are able to grasp. We as consumers need to deconstruct what we are fed and realize the these portrayals are not accurate. We need to be able to view these medias with the appropriate lenses that are able to pick them apart.
ReplyDeleteI think all the dominant discourse of black people being dangerous dates back to the 1800's when the slaves were freed. You had the KKK spreading false propaganda about black people and the regular white folk ate it up. There was change in the 60's with the civil rights movements where people got tired of the traditional ways and wanted change but the stereotype did not die out. The black man in the 70's had a jump suit and an afro, that was due to how black people were seen in the movies. In the 80's and 90's rap music really just destroyed the reputation of the common black family. You had musicians bragging about how many hoes they fornicated and how many ninjas(i don't really mean ninjas) they killed. With the east side west side beefs and the rise of gangs in the low income area of the cities the dominant discourse for black people became that they were gangsters. Its like the Italians, when we think the word Italian the mafia comes to mind because mafia movies are such a crucial part of pop culture. There was a very small population of Italians that was in the mafia but that does not change the media, they care more about entertainment than accuracy.
ReplyDeleteI see the point in your post Endrit, and I do agree that stereotypes are becoming embedded in the minds of the public almost to the point of no return. Media is so easily accessible and it reaches a huge percentage of the world population, where I feel like most stereotypes are universally accepted, at least in the western world (Europe, NA, Australia etc.). How can you fight something that has spread itself so far? In any case I do feel that the stereotypes surrounding black people has gone too far, and we need to do something to break it.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your first question I believe that there are many other races that are being affected by this issue, for example Hispanic people being claimed as drug lords, and middle eastern. This is racism and it should not be permitted in our society since we are all equal. This dominant discourse has gone to far since media has portrayed certain minority groups in a negative manner, also there are certain races that have been stereotyped in media. For insistence, we see Black males as a perpetrators. Therefore many people who watch these types of movies think of black males as criminals. Therefore, just because of media we have this mixed message embedded into our minds about black people.
ReplyDeleteI remember once I had a conversation with “Black-Males” stranger at the bus stop. When I got home, I told my mom about the conversation and she started to freak out, afraid he might kidnap me. And from then, I kept distance with stranger, especially “Black-Male”. But as I grown up, I realize that it’s wrong to judge someone just because of their skin. I think dominant discourse has gone far, that every time, we heard of the shooting, murder case, drug we think there must be a black – male in it. Due to the way how we judge them, it makes them feel apart, & therefore they like to find group that they think are suitable.
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