Reference no: EM132867895

Stereotyping

Television and film producers have editorial control over their media products; they control all aspects of the TV program and/or movie with the intent to impart a specific set of values to the viewing audience. This is especially true for character development. Certain characters are made to look attractive, smart, kind, generous, and altogether likeable. Others, less so. The characters, likeable or not, are automatically associated with their lifestyle choices and, importantly, the outcomes those choices produce. People tend to like the characters whose decisions lead to desirable outcomes. TV and film producers can develop characters whose appearance and lifestyle choices reinforce familiar stereotypes (e.g., the careerist female who, having forsaken marriage and children, seems destined to live a lonely life). In this way, TV and film producers convey messages about what kind of people we should aspire to be and what sort of lives we should aspire to live.

For this Assignment, you will closely examine stereotypical portrayals in TV or film.

Question 1: Review the Learning Resources for this week and think about how TV and film can function as a vehicle for delivering stereotypical messages (e.g., powerful women who sacrificed family for career and lamented their unmarried, childless status).

Question 2: Reflect on television shows or films you have seen that employ stereotypical portrayals used by producers to condemn or endorse specific lifestyle choices.