Topic 3 :: Media Stereotypes

Well well well, hello again.
For today we will be going into the third topic for the week which i suppose deals with stereotypes.
So i'm feeling blocked today for apparently no reason but at the same am feeling quite content but assignment calls for finishing so let's work on the topic for this week now, shall we?

Let's see...

Give a very short basic explanation of what media stereotype is? (Keep it short please!) From your personal experience, what other media stereotype (besides the example from the article) you have seen either on TV or in the movies?

Before that, there was a link before the question which had information discussing about the Arab representation in US cartoon.

To start, a basic explanation of what media stereotype is:
Stereotype can be explained as something that is fixed based on an impression a certain society exhibits. Mostly it is the way other people exaggerate and express their perceptions towards a community or a particular social group depending on their race, colour, religion, background, etc.
In this case, Media stereotype is how the media perceives the society. Being told back their background story in a stereotype point of view which lacks the information on their real background and telling the viewers or the users of media, their perception of the society stereotypically.
In a way, this could be very misleading depending on how society interprets the media.

In my experience,
From what i've seen, especially in the Malaysian media industry, i quite don't understand why a majority of the local cartoons are always based on the 'kampung' theme. I mean, it is possible to make it in a modern setting but i have yet to see one that is not stereotypically 'kampung'. I don't have anything against 'kampung'-themed media, it's just that it's overly used and some parts of society seem to have some difficulties trying to accept changes or something that is not based on that certain theme. I suppose they did it to show the identity of the country or to relate with the audience in a much clear and better way but they could have found a much more better way to relate it with the current progression of time in this country.

It's stereotype because whenever some people speak of Malaysian cartoons, it will always be something related to the 'kampung'-theme. It's not bad, really. But it's easily seen.

Somehow you could also say that in the media, there's always this stereotype on the living class between the rich and the poor, like for example there's always those high-class rich ladies showing off their jewelries and such, with their children who are businessmen who are top-notch in their own rich world. While the poor are the people who strive on selling nasi lemak on the side of the road. Why is that even there?
The discrimination of stereotype between something that should not be discriminated is shown in television shows and movies where people drive big cars and live in big houses in contrast to the lower class such as maids, young children, people who are not from the urban areas.
Don't you think so?
The way they speak also reflects on how shallow their knowledge on a society is because it is focused on the slang and accent of the society rather than the ability of the society being able to speak and communicate in a smart kind of way. It's like a one-way communication being portrayed where one person is smarter than the other rather than both parties being smart.
It's very stereotype.


As for class,
There's no class for this week since it's a public holiday so no reflections on the class.
Well, i did some reading on media so i guess that's sufficient enough for something not related to class.
Somehow i miss going to class even though it's only one day.
And am pretty tired for this week.
Let's hope that next week's class is good, ya?








Stereotype has pros and cons. And i'm a nerd.