Sitcom Stereotypes

One of my favorite sitcoms (and guilty pleasures) is "The King of Queens." Kevin James plays a working class delivery driver named Doug Heffernan who lives in Queens, NY. Doug leads a relatively simple life, enjoying sports, food, and the company of his wife and friends.

Doug's best friend is Deacon Palmer, an African American delivery driver and married father. The episodes often poke fun at Doug's attempts to secure his friendship with Deacon by acting "black." I've mentioned this dilemma before--the quagmire of defining what is meant by acting "white" or "black" or any other race.

This topic arose in a specific episode when Doug deals with an employee at a Chinese restaurant. The employee has a British accent, and Doug is noticeably taken aback. The employee is receptive to Doug's pause, and he becomes sarcastic with Doug, suggesting that maybe he should use an "Asian" accent in order to authenticate the situation. Doug becomes embarrassed but still seems surprised.

When we deal constantly in stereotypes, we react in ways similar to the way Doug did. Of course, there are British Asians, French Africans, and Australian Greeks, just as there Irish Americans and African Americans. We cannot forget about the beautifully rich and complex cultures that comprise the rest of the world, not just our own American land.

Oprah can't escape the news.

I saw a headline today about Oprah Winfrey's weight. I immediately chose not to purse the article. Yes, Oprah did choose to reveal to the public her new weight, so her privacy was not invaded. Moreover, she seems embarrassed by it and possibly want sot use the issue as a means to informing the public about proper diet and exercise, but I still fail to see how this revelation is newsworthy. The media is using Oprah's weight gain as a means to "educating" the public of the dangers of obesity. However, the media exploits Oprah by doing so. This is utilitarian journalism at its worst!

I wonder how the media would treat a male celebrity's admission of weight gain. Would such a male be ridiculed, pitied, or used as an educational example? Of course, by not reading the article about Oprah, I did not learn how her issue was handled. The headline was enough for me to direct my attention elsewhere.

A cool link

Here is a link to a site that has provided the basis of my final paper:

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/default_archive.asp?fpArchive=110508

It shows the front pages of all the major national newspapers from November 5, 2008.

Thinking more about American Indians in the Media

I'm currently watching "Roberta" with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The opening scene includes a joke about American Indians. Fred Astaire plays a member of the "Indianians" of Wabash, a traveling music troupe. The troupe's name causes confusion for a Parisian man who is looking for a group of American Indian performers he has booked for a show. The man asks Fred Astaire's character if he is one of the Indians. Mr. Astaire's character jokes that his is but that he only wears his "feathers in warm weather."

This comment about feathers is, of course, a stereotype of American Indian culture. Anthropologists who study tribes have proven that feathered garb depends on status and occasion in order to be worn. Granted, I should consider the time in which this movie was made, the 1930s, in order to excuse the stereotype. However, living in the 21st century, I have a hard time hearing such ignorant statements. It disappoints me, especially since I enjoy Fred Astaire movies!

Full Circle

In my Media Ethics class last Tuesday, a student made an interesting point about the Native American presence in the United States today. She said that many Americans abide by the ethic that handouts are unacceptable and indicate laziness and lack of integrity. A lot of Americans subscribe to this mentality because of the history of the nation itself. Colonial Americans worked tirelessly, in terms of both manual labor and politics, to establish their identity as revolutionaries, settlers, and Americans.

The question remains, Where do Native Americans belong in this capacity? Hundreds of tribes flourished for centuries before the colonists arrived. We do not need to be reminded of the atrocities suffered as white colonists pillaged the land of the established tribes. After being forced to live on reservations, tribal members struggled to reorient themselves in society. This included taking work in urban, industrial settings which were virtually unknown to them.

The work ethic of many Native Americans differs from that of white Americans. Historical evidence of tribal structure shows different emphases on time and cooperative work effort from the emphases white workers exemplify in industrial settings. Stereotypes abound of Native Americans being lazy and tardy in the workplace. These stereotypes emerged simply from ignorant interpretation of tribal culture. Moreover, being thrust into the white design of the workplace proved problematic not only for cultural reasons but also for personal issues of pride. Why should Native Americans be forced into jobs just to alleviate the guilt of whites who disrupted the tribal work ethic? This urban job landscape provided financial gain for tribal members, but at what cost? The Native workers took jobs to support themselves but may not have liked the type of work they did. They are accepting handouts, in a sense, from whites who intruded upon their culture centuries before.

Are the handouts justified, or are they just another oversimplification of penance for the mistreatment of America's first people?

Stereotypes

A few weeks ago, I discovered a blog called stuffwhitepeoplelike.com. I found it quite funny because I didn't get offended by the contents of the list. However, when I showed it the guy I'm dating, he laughed because he says the portrayal is true and that I fit many of the categories. He is Mexican-American. I don't look at him that way, though. He is just Armando to me.

What gave me pause is the fact that I tease Armano constantly about "being white." I call him "white" because he is a graduate of Texas A&M University, drives an SUV, shops at Hollister, and watches "The Office." Of course, I'm being ridiculous in my stereotypes. People of any race or ethnic background can do any of these things. I realized that I buy into stereotypes of "whiteness" by labeling the above behaviors as those demonstrated by whites. I tease Armando about being "whiter" than I am because, despite our appearances, he exemplifies the traits of white people more than I do. Of course, I'm only joking in this assessment. People should be able to act as they please and not be labeled accordingly.

What is it to "act black" or "act white"? Why do we need to stereotype behavior? I suppose that in certain instances, it saves time, but it often incorrectly characterizes people.

Ageism?

Cloris Leachman is the latest contestant to be eliminated from "Dancing with the Stars." I'm sure that a lot of viewers anticipated this. Something that bothers me is the way the hosts and the judges draw attention to her age every week. Yes, it is admirable of Ms. Leachman to attempt ballroom dancing at age 82. However, her resume demands more than just acknowledgement of her years. She is an Emmy-winning actress and pageant winner (Miss Chicago) whose talents outweigh the hindrance of her age.

Susan Lucci, I believe, is the next oldest contestant. This week, she was the runner-up with fewest votes. Ms. Lucci may be the next eliminated. Do viewers hold her age against her as well? Or, do they truly take into account the contestants' dancing skills? Above all things, the show remains a popularity contest.

I did not see the season of "Dancing with the Stars" on which George Hamilton competed. I wonder how his age was addressed by the hosts and the judges. Certainly, he was the oldest competitor at the time. Did viewers hold this against him, or was he simply not a strong enough dancer? Does age become a joke at this point? This makes me wonder why Western society does not esteem age, the way other cultures do, and instead makes a joke of it.

Thinking more about American Indians in the media

As I've given more thought to my final project, I have considered the presence or absence of American Indians from the media. Media professionals sometimes tread lightly over this terrain, but I think they need to delve into it more deeply. American Indians, or Native Americans (the debate continues over which term to use), deserve treatment just as any other ethnic group does. Despite the fact that they are outnumbered, they still exist and, tribe by tribe, contribute richly to our American culture.

I follow a sports blog called www.survivinggrady.com. In one post, one of the authors mentioned Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury's interview in an issue of Men's Vogue. I immediately clicked the link to read the article. Of course, the first paragraph mentions Ellsbury's Navajo heritage. While it is of note that Ellsbury is the first Navajo player in the major leagues, I still wonder why that facet of his background draws the most attention. Doesn't his athletic prowess trump everything when it comes to lauding him as a member of the team? If Ellsbury were white, would the writer have drawn attention to that? I doubt it.

This presents my struggle with the topic of American Indian presence/absence from the media. While I assert that they deserve equal treatment, I also do not want them to be exploited. I suppose exploitation manifests itself as the ultimate evil of some forms of journalism. Not everyone believes the media are objective in their methods.

Final project ideas

I've been thinking a lot about my final paper topic. Although most students in our class will expand their mini-study papers to explore topics thoroughly, I think I might choose a new path. Some of the things that interest me is a study of Cabbage Patch dolls and the percentages of white-skinned ones and black-skinned ones (and Asian and Native American ones, if any) that may have been manufactured.

Another topic I'd like to explore is the amount, or lack, of Native American figures in advertising. I might do this from a film angle, too. I need to narrow this somehow. I'm sure there is an abundance of literature in mass communications journals. This topic has interested me for a long time. It still shocks me to consider how Native Americans have not fared as well as other ethnic groups in this country and that their struggles were never self-imposed; they were victims of racism and negligence. No one seems to give it much media treatment, either. It makes me sad.

Identifying Race

Recently, my grandmother sent me a clip from the op/ed section of The Hartford Courant. The piece caught my grandmother's eye because it addressed presidential candidate Barack Obama's race. The writer, Rachel F. Gary, chose to respond to the media's habit of calling attention to Obama's African heritage. Ms. Gary observed that broadcasters label Obama as "the first African American, Democratic presidential candidate." She says this label is inaccurate. Barack Obama is biracial. Calling him "black" or "African American," Ms. Gary notes, does a disservice to his maternal heritage. It also identifies him as something he is not.

Ms. Gary is biracial and chooses to identify herself as such. She does not see herself as half black and half white; rather, she sees herself as a wholly, biracial being. I have struggled with the identification process myself. My father is East Indian, and my mother is Irish. I, of course, look white because of my fair skin. My mother indicated "white" on my birth certificate. My younger brother, however, takes after my father and looks Indian. My mother still chose to identify him as a white baby when he was born, though. Today, seeing Patrick, no one would ever suspect he is Irish.

The problem with these labels is that they rely on stereotypes. What if my brother Patrick were born in Ireland to Irish citizens? Wouldn't he then truly be Irish? The same problem occurs with my identity. Even when I tell some people that I am only half white, they say, "Well, you act white, so you should call yourself white." What an ignorant way of thinking! What is acting "white"? What is acting "black"? What is acting "Indian"? Differences in personality and lifestyle exist across cultures. People are products of their environments, not necessarily their races. Barack Obama has a fascinating background because he was raised in transnational settings. I am sure that he uses those environments, rather than his biracial makeup alone, to account for his identity.

Parentheticals

Responding to The New York Times article, "The Tastemaker," from a journalistic perspective, I find fault with Lynn Hirschberg's writing for two specific reasons. Hirschberg uses parentheticals in the second and third paragraphs to insert commentary about two fashion designers' sexual orientations. Isn't the mark of good journalism the ability of the writer to convey facts objectively and without commentary or speculation?

In the second paragraph, Hirschberg injects the Pilati quote, “I couldn’t tell my parents I wanted to work in fashion,” he said. “They thought everyone in fashion turned out to be gay or a drug addict. And I became both!” in parenthetical form. She does this as an interjection to the statement of Pilati's wanting to become an architect as a child. Is this interjection necessary to the layout of the story, which may or may not have unfolded naturally on a course of revealing Pilati's sexual preference? In other words, is his homosexuality crucial to the purpose of the story?

The third paragraph moves the story of Pilati's life forward to his adulthood, as Hirshberg introduces the reader to Pierre Berge. Pilati explains Berge's prominence in the Yves Saint Laurent fashion market, but Hirschberg chooses to mention, again parenthetically, that Berge was Mr. Saint Laurent's romantic partner as well as his business partner. Again, this mention seems unnecessary.

While some readers may assume that Pialti and Saint Laurent are homosexual because of their work in the fashion industry, this assumption is rooted in stereotypical thinking and may be proven false. Hirschberg, however, wishes to make it known.

Response to Dr. Lambiase's post re: Senator John Cornyn

Senator Cornyn's video embeds the stereotype of "big, bad Texans" and does nothing to unite politicians across party lines. In this instance, stereotypes further their negative connotation. While Senator Cornyn may believe that his image in the video strengthens the character of powerful leaders from Texas, I believe it positions him as a target for jokes. The image of him a a rustling cowboy does nothing to fortify his role as a senator.