Media stereotype

Media stereotype is inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotype acts like code that gives audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.

From my personal experience, Simpsons are packed with stereotypes within its broadcast of half an hour. In the Simpsons, the character such as  Apu are highly discriminated and stereotyped. On this show Apu is characterized as an Indian immigrant, who prays to Ganesh, and holds a highly noticeable and dissimilar accent. This is a stereotype which is observed by young children and is perceived as humorous; they apply this knowledge towards those they meet in real-life. Another common stereotype, from the Disney movies is that of the Native American. In Pocahontas, she represents the positive stereotype who respects the earth and communicates with the trees and animals. Although Pocahontas is portrayed in this more positive role, it still typifies a stereotype. Another major issue with this film is the historical inaccuracies it depicts. Pocahontas was a real woman, but very different from the Disney image. She was a child when she met John Smith and there was no romance between them.