Representation revision!!!

Do stereotypes change over time? Answer with reference to specific examples.
(june 03 a)

Some of the stereotypes in the media are: Examples are:

Ø Number of women in domestic job roles such as cleaners or housewives.
This due to feminism- definition of feminism is a social movement that seeks equal rights for women.
→challenges patriarchy

Ø The ‘bimbo’ is used in films, adverts, sitcoms and other media texts. The bimbo is also associated with the blond hair colour.

Ø There is a stereotype that women are passive, weak and inert. This in particular is stereotypes such as the damsel in distress and the strong male hero saves the passive women from the villain in films such as action.

Ø The stereotype that all Asians want to become doctors or the family would want their children to become doctors.

Ø Women were represented as the Madonna and whore. This complex is a term described by Sigmund Freud. The Madonna is the motherly figure and the whore is the care free and takes risks.

Ø They are represented as sex objects/tool of pleasure in order of providing visceral pleasure to the audience. Women are not seen for their qualities such as abilities but how they look.
→Laura Mulvey’s theory on male gaze and objectification

Ø Asians works in a corner shop/own a corner shop. This is a very old stereotype.

Ø The femme fatale is another stereotype women were associated with and were always given in films such as ‘fatal attraction’. They were called words such as whore and if a male did the same they would probably get praised for it. This reflects what the presence of women was and how they were treated alongside males.

The stereotypes that have changed are:

- The domestic roles being associated with women have lessened due to feminism and because of the way they are getting presented in contemporary society such as in films.

- Femme Fatales are not being shown now in films. This stereotype once associated with females has moved on and progressed and this has a lot to do with feminism.

- Women being passive and weak are now changing to a more equal representation of woman. Not long before they were shown as passive, damsel in distress however Alien played a major part in progressing woman’s presence in society. Now there are women in a protagonist role sometimes even saving a passive male (gentlemen in distress) - role reversal
- They are represented with control, power and authority.

Stereotypes that have stayed the same:

- The fact that woman are still being viewed for pleasure makes the society we live in patriarchal. However if this is seen from a post-modern point of view- they are aware of what they are doing and so can be seen as they have the power to control the men using their bodies- body used as a distraction device.

Stereotypes that still are progressing:

Ø The stereotype of Asians. They are always liked with a corner shop. This stereotype is progressing because more Asians are becoming educated which means that they are no longer working in corner shops though there are still some people.

Ø Another stereotype against Asians is the doctor’s issue. Most people assume that an Asian person would want to become a doctor or the family would like the son/daughter to become a doctor. Society has changed and so has the family wanting their child to become a doctor. They now have more freedom to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life but the job needs to have good pay.