Racial Gender Stereotypes Portrayed in Film

There is no doubt that racial stereotypes negatively affect how we perceive others. These types of negative stereotypes are usually depicted in film and television. It’s easy for audiences to pick up these racial perceptions of others and incorporate it into their everyday lives. Since this is normalized in Hollywood, us audience members need to understand just exactly what racial stereotypes are being depicted into such films and need to be acknowledge them. The one racial stereotype against black men is “the Magical Negro”. This character tends to be played by African American men with “special powers who make appearances solely to help white characters out of crises” ( ThoughtCo) . This reinforces the argument that these characters aren’t as valuable or important as the other characters depicted in these films. They are deemed as uninteresting. For example, the movie Evan Almighty , Morgan Freeman played the role of God. God, a supreme being, is played by a famous black male. This ...

Nobody is born ignorant nor racist. Racism is passed down through older people by teaching the younger generation stereotypical claims. The same goes for Film/TV; by portraying false assumptions about a specific race or gender. An example stereotype that is portrayed in many films and television, is the “Awkward Indian”. A famous stereotypical role is, Apu, from The Simpsons . Apu is an Indian convenience store owner played by a white male actor, Hank Azaria. Azaria portrays this character with a heavy, thick Indian accent. Throughout the series, creators fail to mention that Apu is Hindu. This can lead to major religious controversy which can then depict Hinduphobia. Although there is some unfortunate truth to this, the main problem with this role is that it’s a modern day stereotype for brown face. Even though it’s only a cartoon, it continues to be offensive and racist.  

In recent years, there has been an increase of racism showing in Hollywood films. Many famous films are guilty of perpetuating racial stereotypes that reflect on common prejudices. For example, the most common perception of Asians is the “small-eye” stereotype. Even though this stereotype is used for prejudicial behavior, this is a false assumption. An example of the “small-eye” stereotype being used, is character Mr. Yunioshi, from the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s . Mr. Yunioshi, a charismatic caricature, was portrayed through this common stereotype during the scene where he kept bumping into all sorts of objects. This scene refers back to the “small-eye” stereotype and gives the portrayal that asians are hard of seeing based on their “small-eyes”. You would think that Hollywood would end it here; well, you’re wrong. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Mr. Yunioshi was played by white actor, Mickey Rooney; making this role an example of yellow-face in a popular Holl...