Posted: July 25th, 2022

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From the three shows I watched, I noticed several trends. For instance, a majority of the characters were white. Also, most of the characters were males. The shows mostly depicted heterosexuals. This made me to conclude that the media industry is overwhelmingly white and male. As such, white people and males are some of the best represented identity groups on television. However, women and minority groups, i.e., Latinos and African-Americans as well as homosexual groups are still under-represented.
I noticed some trends in how people were portrayed. For example, in the shows, whites usually tended to hold reputable and well-paying jobs like doctors, accountants, scientists etc. Notably, most of these job positions were dominated by men, and very few women. The white characters also tended to be adorned in highly fashionable and expensive clothing. Some of them had a high sense of entitlement and hence looked down on those who were under them (i.e., from lower class). However, most people from minority groups held low wage jobs, e.g., janitorial positions, housekeeping, receptionist, and cafeteria attendant jobs among others. As such, these individuals wore simple clothing and hairstyles. They were also depicted as illiterate, arrogant, and aggressive. One of the shows portrayed a gay couple. One of the males wore women’s clothes and behaved like a woman.
I do believe that the shows definitely perpetuated stereotyping. They showed us that white males still continue to dominate primetime shows at the expense of other groups, particularly women and people of color. I saw a significant portion of the information from the textbook in action in the shows I watched. One such information is the tendency of the media to depict men holding highly esteemed jobs. According to the chapter, when it comes to occupational depiction on television, traditional gender stereotypes remain where the percentage of female characters who hold reputable jobs is very low compared to those of male characters. The other information relates to depiction of negative stereotypes when it comes to minority groups. According to the chapter, films tend to depict African-Americans in a negative way. This is true as in the shows I saw, most people of color held low-class jobs and were perceived as illiterate and lacked decorum.

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