Gender and Racial Stereotypes in Media

NOTE: The links in this post are to two episodes of popular TV sitcoms that have stereotypes in them. And, yes, they are absolutely hilarious and critically acclaimed.

NOTE #2: Upon watching the episode of "30 Rock", I realized that the show is jam packed with racial and cultural stereotypes, and, yes, it is hilarious. Read on for my reasoning. It applies.

1/26/09 (date published) - People magazine
Magazine advertisement
USA TV show "Burn Notice"
Shows the protagonist and his attractive female counterpart with the line, "burned man, smoking woman" between them. He's aggressively holding a gun while she is unarmed and walking in a sexy manner towards the reader
Gender stereotypes/assumptions

2/22/09 (date purchased) - Don Miguel's beef and cheese mini dumplings
Logo for product
The logo for this food product is a Mexican man with a mustache dressed in a sombrero, serape, and white shirt and pants riding a donkey. The company who produces the food is located in Anaheim, CA
Racial stereotype

2/23/09 - CBS - Network. 8:30 pm
TV show/sitcom
"Worst Week"
When arguing over whether they even need a sofa, Angela says to her husband, who insinuated it wasn't important, "Well, we certainly do. We're not Japanese, Dick"
Racial stereotype

2/25/09 - ABC - Network. 9pm
TV show/sitcom
"Life on Mars"
All the police officers in the 125 precinct call Anne Norris, a female officer, "No Nuts Norris", among other disparaging comments
Offensive remarks concerning gender

2/26/09 - NBC -Network. 8:30 pm
TV show/sitcom
"30 Rock"
Taxi driver is Arab for no other reason than for comedic effect
Racial stereotype

2/28/09 - espn.com
Web advertisement
Castrol Edge Motor Oil
"Think with your dipstick" ad campaign shows men (no women) being whipped by an angry Scotsman when they allude to the fact that all engine oil is the same
Gender stereotype

2/28/09 (date watched) - DVD
Film
"Blue Streak"
Synopsis: Dopish white cops are fooled into believing that a black criminal is a cop because he knows more about crime than they ever could.
Racial stereotypes abound

3/1/09 (date read) - Esquire magazine
Magazine article
Subject of article: Natalie Gulbis and rebirth of LPGA
Article discusses the new direction of the LPGA based, for the most part, on younger players' looks, not ability (though it notes that the girls aren't at all bad).
Gender stereotypes

3/1/09 - ESPN - Network. 9:45 pm
Television advertisement
Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue
A classic: half nude women in bathing suits shown in the pages of a sports publication, if, for no other reason, to sell magazines to the male majority targeted by the magazine
Gender stereotypes

3/1/09 - HBO - Network. 9:30 pm
TV show/sitcom
"Eastbound & Down"
When looking for steroids, Kenny Powers asks his deadbeat friend if "that black guy who sold him all that Cialis" would have any, signifying that this man was a drug dealer
Racial stereotype

ANALYSIS OF EXERCISE:

I would assume (not brashly, I hope) that most of the people who partook in this exercise knew that the media was chock full of stereotypes. We digest them daily. Yet, having been a part of this, it was amazing how, when forced to take note, the stereotypical material jumps off of the page/screen. Having started this late due to a trip, it didn't take me long to pinpoint numerous accounts of racial/gender driven commentary in the media I personally consume. Though eye opening to a degree, I want to state my opinion on what I observed.

Many of the instances occurred in comedic forums. I laughed. I found them funny. But this does not mean I believe the references to be altruistic. For example, the character of the taxi driver in the episode of "30 Rock" did not have to be an Arab (hell, Arab may be insensitive. I tried to Google it). I have had numerous cabies in NYC that were not Arabs. A good many were. Yet, the character, in this instance, was funny (the actor is a notorious humorist). And, though presumptive, I took little away that would hinder my opinion of any type of people (Sidebar: I did find it somewhat ironic that "30 Rock", known for its trail blazing creator Tina Fey, who is painted as a powerful and liberated woman by many outlets, had this blatantly stereotypical image).

Here's why I didn't have a problem with it: I am media savvy. I don't take everything tossed at me from a magazine or the idiot box at face value (which is a deceptive nickname since I got Discovery HD theatre and the Science Network HD). I find stereotypical humor can be funny. If stereotypes are grounded in truth, however small, why can't we laugh at the outliers in our society? They can be somewhat absurd, no?

Let's draw a line in the sand now that we have this out in the open. I don't condone abusive or mean spirited commentary on anyone. If, using the same example from above, the character of the cab driver would have been an outright caricature with no purpose but to insult someone, then that is not acceptable. That has no value, whereas this option playfully exposed an eccentric truth nestled into a cultural tapestry, of sorts. His character also advanced the plot in ways other than just being an Arab taxi driver.

This idea goes for the episode of "Worst Week", as well. The joke itself is pointed as much at a stereotype that Japanese people don't have sofas as it is at Angela herself, for being so obtuse to not realize modern Japan has, indeed, grasped the useful nature of furniture. As one digests the humor, one realizes that Angela has a picture of traditional, feudal Japan in her head, not the modern nation we see today.

The images I found most confronting, and I would have never uttered this prior to the experience, were those of gender. The use of women as sexual objects to illicit a persuasive reaction in men, or even women themselves, was dramatic. The advertisement for the TV show "Burn Notice" could have been a part of the curriculum in a gender roles class. The man, angry, volatile and armed, while the woman is sleek, gliding towards the reader with a "come hither" look on her features. In between the two: "burned man, smoking woman". Just very low brow now that I ponder it. It's actually a great show...so...

Back to my previous line of thought. I can read that and know how silly the ad is, but still feel fine watching the show because I' not doing it because I was persuaded by some silly ad. Not only that, but the content of the show is going to be scrutinized much like the ad to decided if I like the show or not. In this case, I do. It's not simply T&A laid over a terrible plot (insert any show with Pam Anderson in it). How did I do this? I was taught how to analyze books and film and media through education, but also in the home.

Our media is oft maligned for the images it produces, and, yes, many are irresponsible. If I could wiggle my nose like a stereotypical witch of TV past and make the executives and employees realize that there is a better way (within reason), I would. I like women as much as the next guy, but I don't need to be bombarded with pornographic imagery (classy, sexy is fine with me). Where can we make the dent then? On our end. If we taught our children that the Castrol commercial, though an initial roll on the floor, is violent and stupid (don't women change their oil? Wouldn't they want their cars to last longer? They do own cars Castrol...), and we did this for everything we watched with them, they'd grown into conscientious and wise consumers of this land-mine filled media landscape we live in.

We don't need help from anyone else, just those near us.

P.S. Why could Mel Brooks get away with making "Blazing Saddles"? Because he was Jewish? I think so. And, yes, it's one of the funniest movies ever made. I know it's not based in total truth. Why? I'm media savvyyyyyyyy....