Tuesday, March 8, 2016

The Perception of Sterotypes in the Media

One of the first places a child is exposed to stereotypes is through the media.  Sometimes there are aspects of the stereotypes in the world around them but it is not until the media points it out and highlights the way to react to certain stereotypes. I think that Hollywood puts a major focus on depicting various aspects of and different stereotypical groups like African Americans, LGBQT, and people with disabilities. However a group that I feel who rarely gets positive reinforcements are the Latinos.

One of the most prevelant stereotypes are the career paths of Latinos.  Whether it be the women working as "maids" or the men who find their money working as Drug Lords.  The 2002 film Maid in Manhattan, stars Jennifer Lopez as young Latino woman in America working as a maid.  Another example of the stereotypical jobs of Latinos can be found in the Netflix original series Narcos.  

Another stereotype are the Latino thugs especially in the music industry.  There are a lot of songs written about Cholos and the Latino women that are associated with the thugs are extremely identifiable as well. Many times dressed in provocative clothing, painted on eye brows and big gold hoop earrings.  Cholos are identified by their pimped out cars, baggy apparel, and often times grilled smiles.

4 comments:

  1. These are different ways then I first thought of looking at the Stereotypes of Latinos. Great use of Pop Culture media to show this!
    Maid in Manhattan (heart emojis)
    Lean Like A Cholo = Such a great and accurate example.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The career paths perception is so true. So many people look at Latinos as people that do less-than-desireable jobs and not much else.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is sad that media has to place the thought about what Latinos can become or will become in the minds of young children. When in fact it is not true and only limiting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's a crazy complication to see biographical portrayals, which is what I understand Narcos to be, and artists just being themselves as stereotypes. It can perpetuate stereotypes... even though its just showing some entertaining examples of instances when they are true.

    ReplyDelete