Theorists

Tessa Perkins

Perkins's theory is that stereotypes are not all that simple. They can often be challenged and they are not a simple process. So she came up with five different generalisations that could be challenged or considered as 'wrong':

1. Stereotypes are not always negative. e.g The french are good cooks
2. They are not always about minority groups or the powerless. e.g "Upper class twits"
3. They can be held about ones own group.
4. They are not rigid or unchanging.
5. They are not always false.  

Earlier this year we completed a textual analysis on a clip from Hotel Babylon where we focussed on the representation of ethnicity. With in the clip there are a lot of negative stereotypes which are typically aimed at the migrant workers, such as they are uneducated, powerless, from a lower class and have poorly paid jobs. There is no evidence of positive stereotypes in the sequence that we have studied there is no evidence of positive generalisations. In the clip the migrant/police officers are presented through mise en scene as being the antagonists. This is a stereotype that White people, who are a majority as it is a British TV series, can be mean spirited and unsympathetic to those in a worse situation to them. This demonstrates that stereotypes are not always aimed at minority groups.

Leon Festinger  

Festinger is responsible for the theory of 'cognitive dissonance'. The human race often stereotype due to the way that the media portrays certain groups of people in a certain. However we are inquisitive beings that are desperate to prove every theory and idea. Therefore we like to justify the generalisations that we have of a certain group of people. This is the theory of 'cognitive dissonance' which is where we seek out conformation of out beliefs and that they are not usually changed unless we are faced with overwhelming evidence.
This can often explain why TV dramas similar to Hotel Babylon are so popular. Generalisations play such a huge role as there is diverse representation between groups. People enjoy seeing there stereotypes justified in the media particularly film and TV.


Alvarado's Racial Stereotypes theory


His theory is that stereotypes regarding race, can be presented in four different ways.

1. Pitiful - Some certain racial groups are often presented as being powerless, poor and victims of poverty. A typical example of this is when adverts and documents are released that raise awareness for the African children who are suffering form poverty and starvation. The impression that this gives to the audience causes them to feel pity ad want o help them.
2. Dangerous -  Certain characters in film and TV can often be presented as dangerous. For example, a person from a certain racial background could play an antagonist in a TV drama, this means that the audience will associate that ethnical group with evil acts.