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Stereotypes Of Minorities In The Media

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Today, minorities have made significant strides towards equality in the American society. Despite the political rights and power that minorities have obtained, the media today can reverse those advances behind 20 years. Today, television channels such as Paramount Pictures, NBC, ABC and Universal Studios are the propagators of negative stereotypes and inescapable stigmas that were once ended. Unfortunately, they are resurfacing in our sitcoms, newscasts and big screen movies. Historically, the portrayal of minorities in movies and television is less than ideal. Whether its appearing in disparaging roles or not appearing at all, minorities are the victim of an industry that relies on old ideas to appeal to the "majority" at the expense of the insignificant minority." There are many types of stereotypes including gender, religion and race. The two types I will be discussing in my paper are race and religion. …show more content…
The first thing people would ask me is why don’t I sound like Apu from the Simpsons and does my mother wear a dot in the middle of her forehead? These comments made me irritated. You can see Indian stereotypes in everyday television show. One of the most popular shows today is The Big Bang Theory where British Indian actor Kunal Nayyar plays Raj Koothrappali. Mimicking some of the Indian stereotyping he nods his head sideways and portrays a thick accent, he also plays a brilliant scientist. Then we have Kal Penn, who plays Kumar in Harold and Kumar, who is being stereotyped as intelligence and his family expects him to become a doctor. Television shows, as such, sterotypes Indians as being only intelligent or having low- income jobs like taxi drivers or owners of curry shops. Although these are some of the typical Indian stereotypes, there are some Indian actors that are have been successful in making the American Screens. Prinkca Choptra, the star of ABCs hit Quantico, plays an FBI

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