When trying to figure out what my weekly post should be I Google searched "stereotyping in the media" and the first thing to pop up was this Canadian website. It has an index of some areas in which the media stereotypes and what to look for, why it is harmful, even about white privilege.
Look through this site and some of the links and let me know what you think.
Do resources like this that inform others about media bias/stereotypes make a difference? IF so, why aren't there more of these kind of programs out there?
How big of a role does media play in our every day bias and stereotyping?
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/index.cfm
Look through this site and some of the links and let me know what you think.
Do resources like this that inform others about media bias/stereotypes make a difference? IF so, why aren't there more of these kind of programs out there?
How big of a role does media play in our every day bias and stereotyping?
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/index.cfm
I visited the website and I found it to be a very useful resource for learning or teaching about the ways in which the media shape stereotypes. Social psychological research has shown that people use categories in their everyday lives, including categories for other people or groups of people (Allport, 1954). After categorization, people learn information that becomes associated with each of the categories, coming from sources such as formal education institutions, the family, and the media (Devine, 1989). Thus, the media shapes our ideas about other people, ideas that can be either positive or negative, and that will influence our subsequent judgments and behaviors. Questioning the media’s messages becomes crucial for the reduction of negative stereotypes.
In this website, there is an analysis of all the ways in which media presents and represents groups of people such as native peoples, minorities, women, men, and persons with disabilities. I found the analysis concerning the presentation of native peoples to be very complete. The analysis mentions that natives are portrayed in movies and T.V. shows mainly in four ways: romanticization (e.g., “the Indian princess”, “the noble savage”, “the native warrior”); historically inaccurate; omission in contemporary settings; and simplistic characterizations. The analysis also includes comments about the portrayal of native people in the news, which present almost exclusively bad news associated with the group: “Of course, the fundamental nature of news and news reporting is that the bad news gets all the attention. Tragedies, conflicts and crises get reported; success stories rarely do. But the end result is that a non-Native audience may well come to the conclusion that Aboriginal people are a troubled, plagued and contentious people.”
This resource is very useful because it can help people question what they see in the media, and not believe that it is an objective portrayal of people. I think that this the greatest benefit of resources such as this one for the reduction of bias.