It must be admitted that the appearance of specific stereotypes connected with a certain country is completely inevitable, for such stereotypes, predetermined by the specifics of the national culture, traditions and peculiarities, signify the uniqueness of the state and its awareness of its own identity. However, some of the prejudices embracing entire nations are based on the biased approach towards the foreign culture and, hence, harm considerably the reputation of the state, distorting its image in the eyes of the other countries. One of the most striking examples of such prejudices is the stereotype of a “drunken Indian” that still shapes the attitude of different nations towards Canadians.
Therefore, it is necessary to research whether the given prejudice has certain grounds to base on, track the measures that are being currently undertaken to eliminate the stereotype and offer other efficient ideas that will allow to tackle the issue and restore the reputation of the Canadians in the eyes of the rest of the world.
According to the existing evidence, the stereotype concerning the fact that Canadians consume excessive amounts of alcohol is mainly based on the events that took place long time ago. Dragged into the modern life, the given facts are completely out of date, yet people still stick to them. As Knopf claims, the issue is old indeed, stemming from the epoch of colonization, when the settlers lulled the Indians’ suspicions, offering the latter the fire water, and continuing further on as the first Indian reservations were created. As time passed, Native Americans slowly gained control over the state, yet were still addicted to alcohol: “Images of depressed, alcohol-addicted “Indians” on reservation or rich casino owners, relieving non-Natives of a handful of dollars, are quite common” (Knopf 132).
The Current State of Affairs: Drinking Indians Are Gone
It is important to keep in mind that the grounds for the prejudice have been considerably exaggerated. As CBC News clarifies, a historically insignificant event might have led to the current misconception: “The Conservative staffer apparently assumed that because one aboriginal person, possibly a protester, showed up on her doorstep and had been drinking, then she was justified in scolding Matchewan, the lead and sober protester” (CBC News).
However, exploring the grounds for the prejudice concerning the high rates of alcoholism among modern Native Canadians, one must admit that the rumors have much to do with the real state of affairs. Even though the epoch when the Native Americans were separated from the rest of the population and the representatives of the Native Americans are treated equally with the rest of the population, the prejudice concerning the “Drinking Indian” principle is still alive, which gives certain reasons for concern. According to what the results of the recent research certify, the level of alcohol consumption in the country is becoming increasingly great.
In the Eyes of the World: As Drunk as a Lord
Taking a closer look at the issue, one can claim with certainty that the perception of the Native Canadians as the people with the addiction to alcoholic drinks has become even stronger over the years that have passed since the prejudice was born. Considering the recent researches, one should admit that the claims of the people who picture the Native Canadians as people consuming excessive amounts of alcohol have certain grounds to base their prejudices on. One of the first and the foremost reasons for foreigners to consider the Native Canadians addicted to alcohol is the fact that the Native Canadians often use traditional medicine, which involves consuming “spirits,” to treat a number of diseases, as Smillie-Adjarkwa claims:
The Aboriginal way of treating alcohol and substance abuse encompasses more than the biological and experiential explanation provided by mainstream medicine. Traditional healers perceive alcohol as a spirit that has been destructive to Aboriginal ways of life. It is believed that the alcohol “spirits” continually wage war within the spiritual arena and this is where the healing needs to start (Smillie-Adjarkwa).
It is also essential to mark that in modern Canada, even children are subjected to the usage of alcohol drinks, which is further on developed into alcoholism, as most of the researchers emphasize: “When a child is treated negatively in the public school system this treatment can lead to students dropping out or turning to alcohol or other substances to cope with this negative treatment and negative environment” (Smillie-Adjarkwa). Therefore, it goes without saying that the situation in Canada must be tackled. Considering the existing means of handling the situation, one can fin the ways to fight the widespread prejudice and improve the reputation of the country among the rest of the states.
The Existing Means to Fight the Prejudice
It cannot be doubted that the widespread prejudice, as well as the reasons for the latter to be created, can and must be eliminated. With the help of a well-though strategy and the time-tested means to prevent the usage of alcohol drinks by the Native Canadian youth, one can achieve the dropping of the level of alcohol consummation among the latter; moreover, the positive example of the youth might have an effect on the older generation that is still addicted to alcoholic drinks consummation.
It should be admitted, though, that the government is trying to find the way out of the complicated situation, developing various programs aimed at decreasing the level of alcohol consummation among the Native Canadians, as Knopf certifies: “… the Federal Government has set up additional programs (e.g. drug and alcohol abuse-prevention programs)” (55). It is also known that currently, drug and alcohol counselor along with the Native justice worker and the family support worker are researching the problem of alcohol consummation and the means to eliminate it (Knopf 41).
A Toast to the Achieved Results
According to the existing data, considerable results have been achieved since the fight against the “drunken Indian” stereotype began. It is worth marking that, no matter how high the rates of alcohol consumption are now, they have dropped considerably since the outburst of alcohol and drug consumption that started in the 60ies. According to the existing evidence, “There are lots of examples of how community-based healing is helping aboriginal people cope with their histories of abuse and residential schools and various other forms of colonialism, without turning to alcohol or other drugs” (CBC News). However, there can be no doubt that, despite all achievements, Canada still has a long way to go to convince the rest of the countries that the cases of alcoholism among the Native Canadians are rather exceptions than the common rule.
Conclusion: A Long Way to Go
To sum up, according to the obtained data, the prejudice concerning the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages by the Native Canadians has certain grounds and is greatly widespread not only in the other states, but also within Canada, which has its effect on the employment rates of the Native Canadians and their future prospects. Fighting with the reasons that cause alcoholism, one can eliminate the myth of the “drunken Indian” successfully.
As a reading, I selected “No Girls Allowed: Unraveling the Story Behind the Stereotype of Video Games Being for Boys” by Tracey Lien. This article is relevant for the class because it studies the problems in media products (video games). It is also relevant for my interests because the author writes about gender problems in media.
In the article author speaks about the problem of different video games that designed for boys and for girls. The author tries to find out why video game for girls are about princesses but not superheroes and why the number of girl games is smaller than boy games. To answer this question, the author studies history of the video game making and the marketing of this production. Lien studies tendencies in marketing and how the marketologists learn about their audience for video games.
Then she tells about what was with the game industry in 1970s: there were few female designers and few girls played video games. The industry was weak and the game makers wanted to have a secure market, so they decided to rely on boys. In later times (80s and 90s) this became a “chicken-and-egg situation”: girls do not play video games because advertisement does not relate to them, and the marketing has no interest in girls because they are not video game players.
In this article author explains that gender difference in the video games is a marketing strategy of the companies. It is done because people want the product be designed “exclusively for them,” and it allows the companies sell more products. The main point of Lien’s article is that this strategy is not working now for video games because nowadays some girls want to play superheroes and some boys can play with princesses. The companies should start making games “about superheroes” and “about princesses,” not “for boys” and “for girls.”
This article is about video games, and there are some definitions that are not clear for the people who do not play video games. For example, video game console is a special machine which people use to play video games. Aisle is a simple video game in which you can only make one move to get a result. Arcade game is an action game in which you need to use your reflexes to do something very quickly. Coin-op machine is a video game machine set in public places (usually bars), in which you need to drop a coin to play.
The historical reasons that nowadays video games are designed in an extremely polarized gendered way are the following. First, marketers know that people always like products that are made just for them (for example, just for their gender), and to have a safe market audience they had to design different games for men and women. Second, aggression is associated with men, and because of that the designers think that aggressive games are for men and nice calm games are for women.
The article tells that marketing is very strong in shaping consumer desires and expectations. The author writes that because video game marketing was not addressing girls, girls paid small attention to video games, and this became a never-ending circle (Lien par. 56). The author says that painting packages in different colors and placing products in “boys” and “girls” sides influence our choices (Lien par. 9-13).
I was impressed by this article because the author studied historical context, explained marketology problems, and interviewed some specialists in this field. With this information she presented a full picture of this problem.
The study is conducted on children within the age group of 7 to 13 years and the effect stereotypical depiction of women in home video games have on this age group. Video game as a part of new media is also responsible in portraying women in a typical way which shapes the children’s view of women, especially girls. Existing research and theory are reviewed including how gender roles develop, how general mass media affects gender identity and beliefs, and how contemporary video games influence children.
Description of the research
The cognitive study suggests that in the age group of 7 – 13 years children formulate their gender roles and become conscious of their sex. The previous study of video games and their effect on children showed their depiction of violence against women, but this study tries to analyze the effect it has informing the gender role in children and specific effect on girls. Studies involving girls and video games have has become important as scholars believe that video games are one way to encourage girls to participate within the technological domain while others argue that video games possess the potential to familiarize children with computers, and thus may encourage the pursuit of a career in technology.
Children between the years of seven and thirteen have a new and growing interest in their gender identity and external forces influence attitudes and beliefs. Mass media have been shown to influence girls’ perceptions of women and, therefore, self. Girls’ image of women has traditionally been formulated by teen magazines or television role models. Here the study takes an implicit hypothesis that girls’ perception can be molded differently through video games. The methodology used by the author is a first content analysis of the video games, identification of the protagonists, and then studying the effect it has on girls.
Generally, it has been found that video games have been developed as a boy’s toy. But with the recent inclusion of girls in the gaming arena new games targeting only girls have been developed. Traditionally, video games target many genres of interest (e.g. action, adventure, role play, fighting), girl games only change according to the target age. The protagonists in girl video games are usually characters like Barbie. Girls often identify with video game protagonists. Research has shown that creating video games teach math skills to younger students. When designing game characters the girls overwhelmingly created a “generic you.” Children’s view of their own gender identity begins with a general conception themselves and is affected by and modeled on the child’s conception of a particular person. There is an absolute dearth of female gaming protagonists who can act as role models to girls.
Results
The result of the author’s research that has been conducted about the effects of video games on the sex-role beliefs and the identity of girls is inconclusive. Though studies have argued that video game stereotypes provide images that influence children’s attitudes and beliefs about women some researchers have found that girls playing video games invent their images of self and women, regardless of what is presented. A study conducted through interviews and observations with a sample group of children from ages six to twelve involved with video games showed that children do not blindly take the absolutes of the video game imagery, but rather shapes it to reflect their own beliefs and attitudes about gender. Hence the study concludes that video games for girls do not shape their ideas about women, but rather it is the image of the protagonist which does so. Further, the games which carry a stereotypical image of women are mostly designed for boys and do not affect girls as much.
References
Field, A. E., Cheung, L. Wolf, A. M., Herzog, D. B. Gortmaker, S.L. and Colditz G.A. “Exposure to the Mass Media and Weight Concerns among Girls”. Pediatrics; 103; e36 1999: pp. 1-5.
Brown, J.D., Halpern, C.H., and L’Engle, K.L. “Mass media as a sexual super peer for early maturing girls”, Journal of Adolescent Health 36, 2005: pp.420–427.
Dittmar, H, Halliwell, E, and Ive, S. “Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-Year-Old Girls”, Developmental Psychology, Vol. 42, No. 2, 2006: pp. 283–292.
Cohen, S. “Media Exposure and the Subsequent Effects on Body Dissatisfaction, Disordered Eating, and Drive for Thinness: A Review of the Current Research” Mind Matters: The Wesleyan Journal of Psychology Vol. 1, 2006: pp. 57-71.
Okunna, C.S. “Portrayal of Women in Nigerian Home Video Films: Empowerment or Subjugation?” Department of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. 1996.
Fredrickson, B. L. Roberts, T.A. Noll, S. M. Quinn D.M. and Twenge, J.M. “That Swimsuit Becomes You: Sex Differences in Self-Objectification, Restrained Eating, and Math Performance” Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyVol. 75, No. 1, 1998: pp.269-284.
Martin, C.K. “Girls, Video Games, and the Traditional Stereotype of Female Characters” Communication 270, 1999.
Peterson, R. and Jun, M. “Eating Disorders and Advertising Effects: an Exploration” Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, Volume 8, Number 1, 2004.
Ward, S. Buck, M. Hofman, B. Tanjic, S. and Whyte D. “Baby You Got Me in the Shape I’m In: Factors Which Determine Body Image” ANZMAC 2000 Visionary Marketing for the 21st Century: Facing the Challenge 2000.
Stice, E. and Whitenton, K. “Risk Factors for Body Dissatisfaction in Adolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Investigation”, Developmental Psychology, Vol. 38, No. 5, 2002: pp. 669–678.
Stereotype refers to oversimplification or even generalization of the many qualities attached to groups of persons such as nationality, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion or tribal affliation mentioning just but a few. Some of the qualities regularly used in day to day life to describe individuals for instance creative, intelligent, hardworking, brave, feisty, good in maths, good in athletics or seductive usually pose no particular threat.
However,this references can also be stereotypes when they generalize groups of individuals in ways that will lead to them being discriminated and therefore ignoring diversities found in groups. It is therefore crucial that stereotypes are avoided as much as possible.
The issue of media perpetuating stereotypes is not a matter of assumption but of fact since that is same measure for all the criterion of stereotyiping mentioned above but in a well calculated way and has in most cases achieved the persued mission.
Most of the media houses studied have perpetuated these stereotypes by race, nationality, gender, religion, tribe and sexual orientation in order of listing with race as nost covered and sexual oriention getting least coverage (Adorno, Horkheimer & Max 2003).
Some of the aides that the media has used as it continues to further stereotypes are televisions stations, radio stations, music, magazines, documentaries and movies. As the media advances these stereotypes, the society continues to do nothing to combact them. The problem with the society is the fact that they continue to be numb about these stereotypes.
The society ignores them as if they were not there while they continue to put peoples lifes in jeopardy. One of the leading grouping the media uses most of the time is race. These involves grouping individuals by their skin colour which are black and white just to quote the most dominant races in the world today.
Most international media houses especially in Europe and even those operating in Africa describe the black race that occupy most territories in Africa as weak, lazy, less intelligent, unreliable and even go ahead to describe the continent as the dark one. This has been evident in the way black Africans,black Americans and the Australian blacks have continued to get a raw deal in comparison to their white counterparts in same countries they live in.
These is depicted in the employment sector where black people cannot secure employment permits to work in white dominated countries or if they do so it has to be proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the person has qualifications. Black australias for instance have continued to suffer in their own countries while the country has potential to provide for all the citizens in equal ways.
Despite human rights, charitable and church organizations campaighns to ensure that all people are given the same status regardless of their race the media has given these organizations less coverage so much so that racial discrimination has become a leading stereotype perpertuated by the media and most shows aired enforces this kind of stereotype (Althusser 1971).
Media has continued to use nationality in grouping individuals together and therefore creating a lot of discrimination by people’s nationality.United States (US) nationals have always been depicted in most media houses as being superior to individuals belonging to other nationalities in the world.
They have been described as superpowers and their leaders opinion has always been followed and at times taken as law especially in developing countries that rely on donor funds from the developed countries like the US itself. Nationals of other countries have therefore been taken as less citizens and therefore discriminated in most cases.
The effect of these has been the denials to nationals of most African countries travel documents to Europe and America whlist nationals from these continents travel unhampered to Africa.
Media plays a critical role in these because of its unrelenting labeling of Africa as a mass of flourishing corruption,disease and hunger. These problem can be solved by reversing the trade and airing those contents that display the best image of the nationals from African countries that have been marginalized historically.
The situation has in the recent past been seen in Africas largest country, sudan, where they had to go for a referendum to decide how they want to be governed. Prior to the vote there had been civil wars linked quest for all people to be recognized as having same nationality. Southerners who are Christians were regarded as less nationals as compared to their northern counterparts who are muslims (Kareem 2000).
Stereotypes are also known as generalizations as mentioned earlier. Oversimplification of gender by the media has too passed as a stereotype. The female gender has been aired as a weaker sex and that which is not able to do some things which are done by the male gender.
The effect of these generalization is lack of women in positions of leadership and the tussle seen in property ownership. In a continent like Africa there is only one female president despite the population of the women being more than men in all the countries.
The media has continued to give less coverage to the women who come out to express interest in going for position of president in general elections. Oversimplification of gender is mostly and likely to be circulated in all or in certain sections of the society by the media. The solution to this stereotype can only be reversed by the media since it can reach many at a short time to display all genders as equal to each other. Research has shown that men and women have same abilities in academics and leadership (Wallace 2009).
Stereotypes in media have been seen in religion. Overtime, people affliated to Islamic religion have been caught up in some acts of lawlessness which have widely been aired by the media. Few and not all muslims have been involved in acts of terrorism in the world. The victims have also been linked to Islamic countries and these has gone ahead to display all muslims and those who confess Islamic religion as terrorists.
These stereotype has been conveyed widely by the media which has consequently created problems to most muslims who have had to endure sanctions,searches and in other cases being rounded up in police cells without any reason to justfy.
In some countries muslims cannot travel without identification documents and if they travel and are caught will have to face full force of law.The solution to these kind of stereotype perpetuated by the voice and print media can be got through the media using the same channels to air what is good about the muslims and islam but not what is negative (Rosenshiled 2008).
Media has continued to group people by their tribes and the effects of the tribal stereotype is mostly felt in the less developed world.Some tribes have been displayed as more able to take care of wives than others. This has led to single women looking for husband in only one particular ethinic group, which lacks basis in theory and practice since only one person formed the opinion and spread the message as the gospel truth which cannot be backed by evidence.
Some have got titles such gluttons, short, wise, rich, poor and peaceful to approach. The result of these labels by the media has been tensions, conflits, entanglements and at times civil wars that never end and many people have ended up losing their lifes. Sexual orientation has also been advanced by the meda so much so that it now passes as a stereotype.
Gay men lack space in most societies due to the way the media displays them.The acts have been aired and published as unnatural and satanic with most media houses taking sides on debates touching on sexuality.This has resulted in hostilities which at times lead to lyching of people perceived as gay.
They have been denied the freedom to assemble and exchange views on social,political and economic matters and this has led to them meeting secretely. These secret and quiet meetings have led to spread of sexually transmitted disesases such as Hiv/Aids among the gays (Wallace 2008).
In conclusion,stereotype can be combacted in media. However these is not easy because you can get rid of one stereotype but have another one crop up immediately. People should therefore be able to realize the stereotypes and seek ways of outgrowing them.
School going children should be made aware from tender age the stereotypes that exist and this will reduce the possibility of them reproducing the stereotype when they become adults. They should also be cautioned against taking everything they encounter as they watch movies,visit the internet or in the press as pure truth.Stereotypes are very complicated and what most people ask themselves is can a stereotype can be good?
Well, negative and positive ones are harmful due to there ability to limit and leading to lack of space for individuality. They basically limit people in what they have potential to offer to the society.
People will also feel intimidated to do things the way they know them since the media has already given to public their abilities and that means also they can no longer trust themselves. From the public opinion its only the media that can reverse the trade by ensuring that things people do are what they have capability to and not fabrications (Wallace 2009).
Works Cited
Adorno, Horkheimer & Max. Enlightment as Mass Deception. Marxist internet archives. 2003. Web.
Althusser Louis. Ideology and Ideological state Apparatuses.Paris, Macmillan. 1971. Print.
Rosenshield Gory. The Ridiculous Jew: The Expolation and transformation of the stereotype in Gogol, Turgerner, and Distoesvsky. Stanford, Stanford University Press. 2008. Print.
Wallace Kimberly. An Angel of Vision: Women writers on their poor and working class roots. Michigan, Michigan University Press. 2009. Print.
Wallace Kimberly. Mammy:A century of race,gender,and southern memory, Michigan, Michigan university press. 2008. Print.
This paper tries to explore the white female stereotypes in the media and thereafter gives the consequences. However, before the explanations, it is necessary to give the meaning of stereotype. It refers to a belief about a certain group of people with regard to their style of doing things. White females are perceived to be superior to the black females and this forms the origin of this racial stereotype.
The media has made profound efforts to make sure that white women are used particularly in advertisements and entertainment to capture the attention of the audience. White female stereotypes in the media have made children to believe that white women are beautiful than black women (Collins126).
Consequently, the use of white women in the media, for example, in television and the newspapers has enormously contributed to the growth of the media industry. Today, images of white girls and women are normally portrayed in the media, and they are empowered. On the other hand, black women and girls tend to think that they are ‘less women’ since in the course of these adverts, their self-esteem is lowered (Collins149).
In most instances, the images that are in the media are of exceptionally slim white girls and women, and this sends a negative image to those women that have bigger bodies. Thus, although there are many media stereotypes, white girls and women stereotypes are the most prevalent and the media use it mostly to influence the society negatively.
Apparently, images of white women that are scantily dressed are everywhere. Advertisements that are aired in the television have images of white women that are seductively displayed, with the degree of seduction varying with the nature of the product being advertised. In addition, there are also magazines that have articles that have images of slim white women.
Some of these images try to explain how women can easily lose weight as well as give the importance of weight loss. These advantages may include a sensational sex life, healthy children or a comfortable marriage. The main challenge that faces the audience is failure to realize that the beauty that is displayed by these white women is almost unattainable and they should not try to imitate them (Collins141-142).
Some of the black women are even depressed by their ‘incompleteness’ and they may even end up skipping meals all in an effort to slim. This is because they feel their bodies are insecure, and they can purchase beauty products at whatever cost or even adopt expensive dietary measures in order to boost their self-esteem. This makes the cosmetic and dietary industries to make exorbitant profits.
White girls and women stereotypes have also been used to portray sex and relationships in the media. Through advertisements, these women and girls are displayed to be sexually attractive by exposing their body parts. This sends an extremely negative image to the audience (especially men), and they may use it to compare the attractiveness in different women. Provocative images of white women are used to lure men.
The image of these women is belittled since they are viewed more as sex objects than human beings. However, the media, like any other business, is profit oriented and it makes good money through such displays. The idea of media stereotyping has made most young people believe that the media is better placed in explaining sexual matters. As such young people mostly rely on the media to be informed on such matters.
Therefore, many women have an impression that for one to be sexually attractive and physically admirable, one must be thin. On the contrary, there are images of women that are displayed in the advertisement, to show the other side of romance. Images of women who are sexually harassed are common in either magazines or television.
Interestingly, here the media is concerned with the life of young people and it illustrates how sometimes relationships are disastrous. By so doing, the media plays a particularly crucial role in educating the youths. Stereotype tries to show that women are vulnerable to sexual abuse and they should always be keen since they are potential victims.
White girls and women stereotypes in the media have adverse effects to the social world as a whole. This can be explained by the fact that it is through adverts that are displayed on televisions and magazines that young people develop an element of associating being slim with beauty, for example. Consequently, the girls may even go without food in order to be sexually attractive.
On the other hand, since most images of the white girls and women are linked with products that are thought to add beauty, women have to buy expensive products in order to live up to these ideal images. In cases where there are financial constraints, women may even sacrifice the most essential needs. The other effect of this stereotype in the media is that morals in the society are eroded (Amundson 34-35).
Women are used as sex objects in advertising matters relating to sex and relationships. In some instances, women have been coerced to sexual activities or abused sexually by men. Indeed, white women stereotype is the most commonly used by media.
Works Cited
Amundson, Daniel. Media Coverage of Religion in America. New York: Center for Media and Public Affairs. 2000. Print.
Collins, Patricia, Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge. 2000. Print.
Perceptions of alien cultures are normally formed through a series of impressions from varied sources. Some may be newspaper articles written about people from that land; others may be books on the same while others are television programs or movies about that culture.
Every contact that an individual has with any of these avenues can either contribute to a deeper and true understanding of the alien culture or it may lead to a prejudicial and mistaken image or perception of the group. This research will focus on the Chinese as the alien culture and western audiences as the reference group formulating these images. Movies will be the communication medium that gets this information out.
An analysis of Chinese stereotypes reflected in movies – Background of the research
China has had a tumultuous history over the past five decades. It underwent a cultural revolution in which its leaders tried to eliminate foreign (especially western) elements of culture in their land. This has the result of isolating China and Chinese culture from the rest of the world (Spence, 2010). Its people were inaccessible and many people did not understand them subsequently.
Much has changed in China since the 1970s because the Chinese have travelled around the world and the world has gone to China. Nonetheless, these interactions do not guarantee accurate and well grounded understandings of the Chinese people.
Some westerners still choose to look at them based on their past political, social and cultural misgivings and these perceptions get conveyed through communications and media. Alternatively, others may see them for what they are but may choose to focus on the negatives inherent in their culture and this leads to formation of stereotypes (Terraciano et. al, 2005).
Further still, most westerners may not have the time to visit China and may therefore rely on television and movies for information on its culture (Sheridian, 2006). What audiences see on the cinemas or across their screens will eventually determine their treatment of the Chinese people if they come into contact with them. Indeed, it has been asserted that several movie roles containing Chinese actors have some commonalities.
It is critical to examine whether these roles are tolerant or prejudicial and whether they lead to a better understanding of the Chinese people or a distorted image of them (Cogan, 2005). Societies can either get along with another or be more alienated from each other depending on their perceptions. It is therefore critical to look at how these perceptions are created.
Purposes of carrying out the research
The main research objective will be to: “Analyse Chinese stereotypes in movies”
The specific objectives will include:
To identify the various stereotypical depictions of the Chinese in movies
To determine the relationship between Chinese stereotype roles in movies and their real life roles
To assess whether Chinese stereotypes in movies harm or contribute to an understanding between China and the western world
The specific objectives in this case focus on unravelling the nature of stereotypes of the Chinese with particular emphasis on movies as the source of the stereotypes; this particularly refers to specific objective one. The objectives also focus on comparing these stereotypes with actual social roles.
In other words, the research will be focusing on placing the stereotypes in context and showing whether there is a gap between the actual and the perceived. This will demonstrate whether these stereotypes actually are a misunderstanding of the Chinese people or not.
The comparison lies in specific objective two. Lastly the research aims at relating these stereotypes to cultural tolerance by examining whether the stereotypes are promoting an understanding between westerners and the Chinese or whether they are actually alienating them from one another as seen through specific objective three.
Research questions
In the focus group, the following questions will be asked: “What are the common stereotypes on Chinese intellect in movies? What are the common stereotypes on the kind of lives they lead? What are the stereotypes of the Chinese on their attitudes towards food? What are the stereotypes on their values systems?
What are the stereotypes on their attitudes to work? What are the stereotypes on their personalities? What are the stereotypes on gender roles? How do these Chinese stereotypes in movies help or hinder an understanding of the Chinese?”
In the questionnaires, participants will be required to answer these questions by selecting a response between 1 and 5. The questionnaire will require Chinese and non Chinese participants to respond the research questions below: “Do you agree that the Chinese tend to conform to authority? Do you agree that the Chinese are passionate about food? Do you agree that gender relations in China are unfair?
Do you agree that the Chinese live dull and boring lives? Do you agree that the Chinese are hardworking? Do you agree that the Chinese fear confrontation? Do you agree that manners are very important to the Chinese?”
Responses to these questions by the Chinese participants will constitute the x variable (which represent actual Chinese roles in real life) while responses to the same question by non Chinese participants will constitute the y variable which will be the Chinese stereotypes reflected in movies.
Possible ethical challenges in the research
Since this will be a research involving human subjects, then a range of ethical issues need to be covered by the latter group. First of all, informed consent will be an important part of this process because the information under analysis will not be public information.
The research participants will be specifically picked and they need to be aware that the information they provide will be part of a research publication which will be available to the public (Sharf, 2006). Participants in this research will be told what the research entails and their express permission will be sought.
The contributors to the research will also have some privacy concerns which need to be incorporated during the research process. In other words, some may feel like some questions are too intrusive or relate to their personal lives. In the actual research, precedence will be given to questions that only relate to the research objectives. Very little attention will be given to unnecessary or intrusive questions.
Also, other participants will require a certain level of anonymity especially because culturally related studies may be sensitive and controversial. To this end, all the subjects will be identified by a number rather than their names throughout the research process and in the research report as well.
Issues of responsibility from the part of the researcher will need to be considered as well. Sometimes, the researcher will have to mislead the participants in order to get what he or she is looking for but this should be kept at a minimum. The researcher will conduct the investigation in an honest way.
Numerous issues will have to be covered in terms of copyright infringement and authorship. Taking credit for another researcher’s work is not tolerated and will therefore not occur in this research. All the external information will be properly referenced. Also, issues of fabrication may crop up. Some researchers may decide to change data or may use personal biases if the research is qualitative.
The subject matter which is Chinese stereotypes in movies could expose some biases in western audiences and these cannot be neutralised or exaggerated through interventions made by the researcher so no such things will be done. It is not ethical to overstate the number of subjects and this will not occur in the subsequent publication (Hobbs & Wright, 2006).
Methodological outline
This research will use mixed research methods, i.e. a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. The quantitative aspect will involve the use of questionnaires and the qualitative aspect will entail a focus group. Because specific objective one is qualitative in nature i.e. the identification of Chinese stereotypes in movies then this will be done through the focus group.
Also, specific objective three which focuses on assessing whether the stereotypes leads to misunderstandings or understandings between western and Chinese cultures is also qualitative in nature because it involves providing an in depth look at a social phenomenon that it is context specific (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006). The qualitative aspect will be through the use of focus groups.
On the other hand, specific objective three will require quantitative analysis because it attempts to make a generalisation about the issues of Chinese stereotypes as compared to their actual roles. Therefore, many cases of these comparisons will be looked at in order to draw out a pattern on their relationships. This part will be done through the use of questionnaires.
Mixed methods for the research were selected because of the advantages they would create in the paper. First of all, they provide room for triangulation. In any research, there is always the possibility of external influencers in the research. Mixed methods reduce the effects of these interferers on the results and therefore contribute towards consistent results.
Additionally, the mixed methods will introduce complementarities into the research. One method may not be that specific and may require another one in order to enrich it (Uwe, 2007).
In this particular research, the quantitative method which employs the use of questionnaires will not offer some additional and deeper issues concerning Chinese stereotype depictions in movies especially on the nature of the depictions themselves and the effects they have upon the two cultures. To this end, focus group analysis was introduced in order to bring in those different dimensions.
Also their open ended nature contributes more to these insights because it ensures that participants are not trapped by the narrow views of the researcher. Furthermore, mixed methods contribute towards a development process in the research. This is because one method can give partial results and then it may need another method to complete it.
In this regard, the focus group method will be a development of the quantitative questionnaires. All in all, the use of more than one method in research will ensure that the paper is rich and detailed. It will also entail the expansion of the study on interactions between Chinese and western cultures.
This research design will bring out better results owing to the fact that most of the strategy entails utilisation of mixed methods. Further still, it is likely that the scope and quality of this research will be much greater than it would have been if it depended on only one method.
The research aims at being more expansive on issues of cultural interactions; by increasing the level of accountability, the research report will be more critical and more reflexive (Neuman, 2007).
Proposed data analysis
Data analysis will need to be done in two phases owing to the fact that two methods were used in the research Focus group data analysis: as stated earlier, the research questions that were qualitative in nature included specific objective one and three which attempted to determine the nature of Chinese stereotypes and to assess the impact that the stereotypes have on understandings or misunderstandings between the two cultures.
These objectives will be analysed through a step by step procedure. First, the transcripts recording all the focus group sessions will be obtained and so will observation notes as well the audio tapes. It should be noted that these various ways of recording were employed in order to capture every single piece of information conveyed by the contributors (Litoseliti, 2005).
The data will need to be organised first. Here, the responses will be arranged in a manner that falls in line with the research questions. In other words, all the key points that the research will unravel will be categorised through the specified research objectives.
Key points will be determined by having a look at the things that the participants wanted to talk about mostly. They will then be coded into certain variables such as gender relations, Chinese value systems, reverence for authority and diligence.
After categorising the key points, the research will then review that information in order to confirm some of the stated objectives. For example, it will look at some of the issues that were assumed to be certain but then challenged in the focus group. It will also look at some of the issues that had been suspected but were confirmed or even challenged by members of the focus group.
New data that had not been thought of certainly will also be reviewed. All the data will be codified under agreed upon codes. Since it may sometimes be difficult to decide this by oneself, it will be essential to look for external parties to help in this codifying process (Silverman, 2005). Neutral individuals can contribute towards better results because they are not blocked by previous conceptions of the same.
The analysis will then be verified by another external party so as to make sure that there is sufficient evidence to make the conclusions in the research report. If the external party will come to the same conclusion as the researcher then this means that the data was properly analysed.
The quantitative aspect of the research will be analysed through the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The data has to be related to the research objective (Piantadosi et. al, 2007) which was to ‘To determine the relationship between Chinese stereotype roles in movies and their real life roles’.
The x variable in this case will be elements that reflect real life roles and the y variable will be the elements that symbolise stereotypes of the Chinese in movies. The ranks assigned to both will be one to five depending on whether participants agree or disagree with each element on the research. 1 will be for ‘strongly disagree’ while 5 will represent the other end of the scale which will be ‘strongly agree’.
The data analysis will commence by creation of two columns first. Column 1 will be labelled Xi – containing of all the elements that will depict Chinese roles as seen in real life and the next column will be labelled xi and this will be an indication of the rankings assigned to each variable. The third column will be labelled Yi and will contain all the elements that are associated with the stereotypes of the Chinese.
The fourth column will contain rankings for these stereotypes as well from 1 to 5 for strongly agree and strongly disagree respectively and will be called yi. It should be noted that some of the elements that will be form part of the Chinese stereotypes in movies include: ‘conformance to authority’, ‘strict gender roles’, ‘overly hardworking’, ‘dull and boring lives’ and ‘fear of confrontation’.
Participants will be required to state whether they strongly agree with these elements or somewhat disagree, somewhat agree or strongly disagree with these variables on Chinese culture. The fifth column will contain differences between columns xi and yi and will be known as di. Finally, the sixth column will contain a squared value of di. The spearman’s correlations coefficient (Ρ) will then be computed through the latter formula
Ρ=∑i(xi-‾x)(yi-‾x)
√{∑i(xi-‾x) 2 (yi-‾x)2}
(Corder & Foremen, 2009)
Significance of the study and proposed result interpretation
This study will be statistically significant if the null hypothesis i.e. there is no relationship between Chinese stereotypes in movies and their actual roles in real life is negated and the Spearman’s correlation coefficient is not zero or has a negative value.
This will indicate that these stereotypes actually hold true and are an indication of how the Chinese really are. Conversely, the coefficient could have a positive value that affirms the null hypothesis. In this regard, the study will reveal that western cultures misinterpret the Chinese way of life by relying on stereotypical images of these people in their movies.
With regard to the focus group, the results on various depictions of Chinese stereotypes will be an eye opener because they will be critiquing a very common and often relied upon information source. These results will be demonstrating that audiences need not embrace some of the communications they receive on face value because a substantial number of them may contain distortions about other cultures (Aronson & Steele, 2005).
The second research objective under analysis through the focus group method will be highly significant. If it has been shown that stereotypes contribute towards a misunderstanding of Chinese culture then westerners will be aware of the source of these misunderstandings and may be prompted to act in order to counter those forces by reforming the film industry.
Alternatively, they may be urged to look for more accurate information about the Chinese culture and this will promote greater tolerance between the two groups.
On the other hand, if it has been found that there is really greater understanding of Chinese culture through these stereotypes, then it is likely that movies as a means of communication will continue to perpetuate the stereotypes and westerners will be a little less closer to the Chinese than they would have been if the stereotypes were found not to be true. Western media will come off as objective and highly reliable.
Conclusion
Generally, the study will contribute towards a deeper understanding of a non western culture through the film lens. In the end, cross cultural interactions will be better understood and perhaps will be smoothened due to this attention given through the research (Ewen & Ewen, 2006).
Reference
Cogan, T. (2005). Western Images of China: Recent travel accounts. Waseda studies in social sciences, 2(1), 24
Corder, G. & Foremen, D. (2009). Non parametric statistics for non statisticians. NY: Wiley
Spence, J. (2010). The Chan’s Great continent: China in western minds, London: Norton
Sharf, J. (2006). Ethics of doing naturalistic discourse research. London: Sage
Piantadosi, J., Bolan, J. & Howlett, P. (2007). Matching the grade correlation coefficient using a copula with maximum disorder. Industrial and management optimization, 3(2), 305-312
Uwe, F. (2007). The sage qualitative research kit. London: Sage
Hesse-Biber, S. & Leavy, P. (2006). The practice of qualitative research. London: Sage
Neuman, W. (2007). Basics of social research: quantitative and qualitative approaches. London: Allen and Bacon
Silverman, D. (2005). Doing qualitative research: a practical handbook. London: Sage
Litoseliti, L. (2005). Using focus groups in research. London: Continuum
Hobbs, D & Wright, R. (2006). Sage handbook of fieldwork. London: Sage
Ewen, S. & Ewen, E. (2006). Typecasting: On the arts and science of human inequality. NY: Seven stories press
Terraciano, A., Adam, N. & Abdel Khalek, A. (2005). National character does not reflect mean personality trait levels in 49 cultures. Science, 310(57), 96
Sheridian, P. (2006). Hollywood, Burbank and resulting imaginings. Journal of public affairs, 5(13), 72-73
Aronson. J. & Steele, C. (2005). Stereotypes and fragility of academic motivation competence and self concept. Competence handbook. NY: Mcmillan
The belief that Black students have worse performance in math in comparison with their White classmates has taken root among teachers, students, curriculum developers and researchers.
It is possible to assume that it rises from the first years of the “post- Brown v. Board of Education case” period when the “separate but equal” doctrine and segregation in education were declared unconstitutional (Martin 121), and when Black and White students began to learn together. Today many pedagogues have accepted this statement as given and adapt their teaching activity to it.
Nevertheless, today the question of Black students’ poor achievement in mathematics remains burning: understanding its validity and, if it is valid, its essence and source is very important, as it may give teachers valuable background for developing appropriate approach to teaching Black students. Besides, this knowledge may be valuable for Black students themselves to enhance their self-efficacy.
The purpose of this research is to find whether there is the evidence of the math performance gap between Black and White students and, if we find that it exists, to throw ling upon its origin. There are several hypotheses that we need to check:
The mathematics performance gap between Black and White students exists.
The existing gap between Black and White students is caused by cultural or cognitive peculiarities of Black students’ thinking and learning.
The existing gap between Black and White students is caused by Black students’ low motivation to studying mathematics.
The existing gap between Black and White students is caused or aggravated by the commonly accepted negative stereotype.
The existing gap is caused or aggravated by some other factors.
We will observe sources devoted to the topic of our research and test these hypotheses.
Existence of Math Performance Gap
Several studies corroborate the statement about existence of the math performance gap between Black and White students; quantitative evaluation of their performance had been carried out for several decades. According to Rothman, the gap has reduced substantially during the 1970s-80s, but in the late 80s, the progress “stalled” (cited in United States Commission on Civil Rights 9).
In 2000, the gap still existed: while about 40 per cent of white 4th grade students’ math performance was at or above proficient, only 5 per cent of Black students performed at the same level (10). Moreover, Fuetsch and Ware (in Hayman and Ware 307) state that during the investigation carried out between 1995 and 2004, each year the gap was bigger than in the beginning of the observation at least in one of the observed grades.
We may also allude to the fresher data on the discussed problem. According to the results of the 2006 investigation of school students’ tests results presented in (Anderson), Black students were 41 points behind non-Hispanic students.
Paige and Witty (35) state that in 2007, the difference between a number of White and Black fourth graders who performed at or above the proficient level was 51 per cent White versus 15 per cent Black; in the eighth grade, 82 per cent of White students performed at or above the basic level versus 47 per cent of Black students.
Besides, the investigation in (Anderson) demonstrated that there is no strong correlation between age and performance in math: the gap varied in different grades. Finally, the gap in math was bigger than that in other subjects, which makes studying of math achievement gap apart from gaps in other subjects reasonable.
This gives us opportunity to state that there are certain factors beyond ethnicity itself and students’ age that impacts Black students’ performance in math. Some suggestions on these factors were expressed in the hypotheses formulated in the introduction. We will discuss them in the next chapter.
Causes and Explanation of Math Performance Gap
First of all, it is necessary to mark that today there is no single answer to the question on causes of the math performance gap. The range of opinions lies in different dimensions, even in such as ideological, racial and political. As for the scientific research, the given issue is mostly studied from sociocultural, socioeconomic, pedagogical and genetic perspective (Paige and Witty 59).
One of the existing theories is the “socioeconomic disparities” (60). According to this theory, the long period of slavery impacted Black citizens’ performance in math. Black people had no opportunity to study for centuries, and the consequence of this situation is today’s achievement gap. Paige and Witty state that the difference in “parenting” skills between parents of different social classes and professions has been corroborated by several researches (61).
However, not only past conditions are considered to impact Black students’ math performance. According to August 2000 NAEP report (in United States Commission on Civil Rights 10), the math achievement gap has connection with students’ current social condition: economically disadvantaged students perform poorer.
Another significant question to discuss is Black students’ motivation to studying math. Significant investigation was carried out by Rech (1994 212-220): the researcher found that the attitudes of Black students, even those having high performance at school, are poorer than those of White students.
Rech argues that Black students demonstrate anxiety towards mathematics and have doubts about importance of learning it. To some extent, this can be linked with the “socioeconomic disparities” theory: analogically to parenting skills, parenting behavior also takes place in families (Paige and Witty 60).
Thus, it is possible to state that Black students have low motivation to studying math. This should be considered by math teachers, as studying mathematics is important for students’ career prospects. Wilkens (in Irons 340) states that this problem has now been taking shape in our society; to get prestigious high-paid jobs, Black students who are the future employees should acquire necessary background and skills in math.
Negative stereotypes and emotional environment also prove to be the factors that aggravate the math achievement gap. Haynes, Ben-Avie and Ensign (94) state that emotional environment is one of the strongest factors that impact Black students’ performance in math.
They emphasize that in many cases teachers have prejudice about Black students’ math skills and expect them to fail, which actually influences their performance. This statement is confirmed by the research carried out by Rydell, McConnell and Beilock (949-966): when Black students were reminded about negative stereotyping about their performance in math, they began to actually perform worse.
The research by Schweinle and Mims (501-514) also showed that Black students have lower math self-efficacy. Thus, there is one more point to consider for math teachers who work with Black students: motivation and self-efficacy in math are the issues that require working on beyond improving math skills themselves, and it is important to struggle against negative stereotypes and anxiety to cope with this task.
Finally, one more assumption about gap in mathematics achievements is that there is certain inherent cognitive difference between Black and White students that is caused by race. Finding the answer to this question is a very difficult task, as studying cognition is much more complicated than studying motivation and attitude.
Thus, despite a series of researches have been fulfilled, there is still no universal opinion on this issue. In (Cwikla 3), we see the comparative histogram of performance of students of different race in regards with different aspects of studying math. White, Black, Hispanic, Asian and other students are compared in being good at measurement, geometry, number sense, probability and statistics, and algebra.
The histogram does not provide clear answer to the question. On the one hand, the author emphasizes that the absolute difference between White and Black students varies in different areas, which may be interpreted as the evidence of cognitive difference between students of different races.
The research results demonstrate that Black, Hispanic and White students had their best performance in algebra, Asian students performed the best in geometry (9). On the other hand, we may notice that despite the absolute difference varies, the general trend is quite neat: Asian and White students have the best performance in all areas; other students have the third place; Hispanic students have the fourth place, and Black students the fifth; exception is probability and statistics where the performance of Hispanic and Black students are quite high and almost equal; besides, there is slight difference in algebra performance. Thus, the difference in performance in different areas exists, but is seems somewhat blurred.
One more point that should be considered is that there is the difference between the notions “cause” and “influence”. Despite we have outlined several factors that prove to impact Black students’ performance in math, it is difficult to state whether they cause the math performance gap or just aggravate it. Answering this question requires further study. Besides, it is important to take into account that these factors may be connected and influence each other.
For example, if the factor of heredity exists in regards with math skills, low motivation may be also “inherited”; negative stereotypes may impact math self-efficacy and thus cause anxiety; finally, social environment may “persuade” economically disadvantaged Black students that they have no opportunity to get high position and well-paid job and that there is anyway no need to learn math.
Conclusion
Having observed the sources devoted to the gap in math performance between Black and White students, we can make the following conclusions:
The gap in math performance between White and Black students exists.
The gap in math performance is bigger than the gap in performance in other subjects.
Despite after elimination of racial segregation in education the gap was reducing quite rapidly, today this reduction has almost stalled.
Several approaches to explaining the gap in performance in math exist, and no one of them has been recognized the only correct.
There is the evidence that math skills and math behavior are “parented” in families.
Black students have low motivation and strong anxiety towards math.
Negative stereotypes influence Black students’ math self-efficacy and performance in math.
The question of inherent cognitive difference between Black and White students remains open.
The points discussed above should be considered by school teachers, as, regardless of causes and factors of the gap in math performance, their task is to make this gap as small as possible.
Cwikla, Julie. “Differential Mathematics Performance on the TIMSS-R across Delaware Students of Color.” Triangle Coalition. Web.
Hayman, Robert L., and Leland Ware. Choosing Equality: Essays and Narratives on the Desegregation Experience. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. Print.
Irons, Peter H. Jim Crown’s Children: The Broken Promise of the Brown Decision. New York: Viking, 2002. Print.
Martin, Waldo E. Brown v. Board of Education: A Brief History with Documents. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1998. Print.
Paige, Rod, and Elaine P. Witty. The Black-White Achievement Gap: Why Closing It Is the Greatest Civil Right Issue of Our Time. New York, NY: AMACOM, American Management Association, 2010. Print.
Rech, Janice F. “A Comparison of the Mathematics Attitudes of Black Students According to Grade Level, Gender, and Academic Achievement.” Journal of Negro Education 63(2) (1994): 212-220. Print.
Rydell, Robert J., Allen R. McConnell, and Sian L. Beilock. “Multiple Social Identities and Stereotype Threat: Imbalance, Accessibility, and Working Memory.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96(5) (2009): 949-966. Print.
United States Commission on Civil Rights. Office of the General Counsel. Closing the Achievement Gap: The Impact of Standards-Based Education Reform on Student Performance: Draft Report for Commissioners’ Review. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Office of the General Counsel, 2004. Print.
Schweinle, Amy, and Grace A. Mims. “Mathematics Self-Efficacy: Stereotype Threat Versus Resilience.” Social Psychology of Education 12(4) (2009): 501-514. Print.
To the objects of high design belong exclusive furniture pieces and interior elements elaborated from modern materials. In his “Culture of Design” Julier states that high design objects may be divided “into two categories: heavenly goods, being objects designed for the rich to buy; and tokens, objects bought by the ‘wish-the-were-rich’.” (Julier 2000) Heavenly objects may be regarded as a combination of exclusivity and high performance; they are the objects which astonish the viewers with their intricate design. What is the most complicated about the heavenly goods is that one and the same object cannot be changed in a way which would distinguish it greatly from the objects of the same kind. “Beyond a certain, relatively low price, the rich cannot buy a better performing camera or home kettle than the wider public.” (Julier 2000) It is hard to satisfy exigent people when it comes to the elements of the interior; heavenly goods are able not only to be expensive, but to look expensive as well. Thus, exclusivity has to be an essential feature of heavenly goods. “Precious metals, unusual leathers or exotic timbers may be incorporated into the product to boost this quality.” (Julier2000) Tokens, in their turn, are the products which strike with their high price rather than exclusivity as such; buying tokens “may be an act in the performance of design tourism: it is the souvenir bought at the end of a day’s cultural sightseeing.” (Julier 2000) A person who indeed knows something about design and who has excellent taste will always be able to differentiate between heavenly goods and tokens.
A chair in picture 1 may be regarded as an object of high design. It is a child-high chair manufactured by Eames Hack. It can be called an object of high design due to its exclusive shape. Child high chairs, irrespective of their price or quality, are all of approximately the same shape. Eames highchair is unique both by its shape and material it is manufactured from (plywood). Its look is special and, which is more important, it combines exclusivity and comfort, which is sometimes difficult to achieve for the high design objects. This high chair may be called an object of high design because it is one of its kind; it is exclusive and is designed for people who can really appreciate it.
Denotation and Connotation
Sometimes it is difficult to affirm what exactly this or that image means. It is often the case that the image (for instance, in photography) was intended to produce an opposite impression on the viewers, rather than the one it produces indeed. As Chandler puts it, “Even the most ‘realistic’ image is not a replica or even a copy of what is depicted. It is not often that we mistake a representation for what it represents”. (Chandler 2006) In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between denotative and connotative meanings. Denotation is the literal meaning of a word; it is what the word exactly denotes without any concealed sense. Connotation, however, is more of association a viewer or a listener has with a definite word or sign. “The term ‘connotation’ is used to refer to the socio-cultural and ‘personal’ associations (ideological, emotional, etc.) of the sign. These are typically related to the interpreter’s class, age, gender, ethnicity, and so on.” (Chandler 2006) Therefore, different people can interpret words and images differently.
Considering the image of a child with a cell phone (picture 2), one needs to understand the difference between denotation and connotation. This image can be interpreted in the most different ways. The interpretation depends on who views the image. On the one hand, the image can be understood simply as child’s having fun. The boy is lying on the ground playing games or trying to call someone. Such an interpretation makes the picture common and evokes positive emotions in the person who looks at it. However, it is hard to determine whether this is what the photographer was trying to capture and express. Perhaps, this is an expression of one of the greatest problems of the modern society. The boy is playing with the cell phone on a sunny day. He is not playing with other kids outside; he chooses cellphone technology instead. This idea may leave the viewer in thoughts making him/her realize the imperfection of the society he/she lives in. Two opposite interpretations of the image under consideration show that connotative meaning influences directly the emotions the image may evoke; the kind of emotion will depend on the viewer.
Stereotypes
People often have erroneous opinions or ideas about objects, images, and notions due to stereotypes. According to Anne Cranny-Francis, “a stereotype is a radically reductive way of representing whole communities of people by identifying them with a few key characteristics.” (Cranny-Francis, Waring, Stavropolous & Kirby 2003) These characteristics are often formed on the basis of the features a person of one nationality (gender, ethnicity, etc.) possesses. Stereotypes are often erroneous, mostly due to the fact that they are formed because of a separate person of a group possessing certain characteristics. Gender stereotypes can be found in any society at any period of its development. The society tends to have stereotyped attitudes towards women. “Women have come to be seen as naturally nurturing, sensitive, emotional and deferring. The fact that women have a womb is linked to these characteristics.” (Cranny-Francis et al 2003) Judging by this gender stereotype, any woman should be caring and family-oriented; this is not necessarily so because not only women but men as well can be “nurturing, sensitive, emotional, and deferring.” (Cranny-Francis et al 2003)
Object at picture 3 presents a stereotypical idea about genders. There exist a number of statues, images, and other objects which present a woman as a caring mother, whereas there are quite a few representing a man with the same characteristics (in other words, men are rarely depicted as caring fathers). Picture 3 helps to understand that a woman’s only lot is rearing children for she lives her life for this. The picture depicts a wooden statue of a woman holding a child. The woman is leaning toward her child expressing the very same “nurturing” mentioned by Francis. Over the centuries any woman’s life has been all about children and housework. It was only at the end of the twentieth century that women got a right to work and education. Nevertheless, certain gender stereotypes are still present in the modern society since it is difficult to eradicate them.
Postmodernism
Postmodernism distrusted all possible theories and ideologies aiming to turn people’s attention to conventions. Postmodernism involved the revival of ideas and imageries which were ignored earlier striving to create the objects which were exciting to look at and which were making the imagination fly. “Postmodernism stressed the search for personal identity, a response to Modernity’s destruction of the autonomous individual.” (McDermott 2007) Postmodern designers used as many colors as it was possible; they revived irrational forms which expressed their individuality and uniqueness and they changed the understanding of art and design.
The freedom Postmodernism offered was similarly liberating for other design disciplines. Textile designers experimented with scale and mixing patterns, often combining diverse imagery on the same design in the manner of a chaotic collage. Graphic design… began to mix typefaces, play around with printing conventions and appropriate imagery from innumerable sources. (McDermott)
Picture 4 represents a room divider performed in postmodern style. The brightness of all the possible colors and peculiar form of the divider seems bold and unexpected. It evokes mixed feelings; looking at this divider the first time, the viewer might have a feeling that it was performed by a child who suddenly realized that colors were not limited by black and white. However, looking at it more attentively, one may see a lot behind the mixture of green, yellow, blue, and red. Boundless fantasy of the designer, his creativity and self-expression resulted in this piece of interior which only a real connoisseur of the postmodern design is able to duly appreciate. This object has all the features of postmodernism; it can be characterized by mixed patterns, irrational forms, and combination of several colors. This everyday element of interior is saturated with self-expression and unbelievably free imagination of its creator.
Images
Picture 1Picture 2Picture 3Picture 4
Bibliography
Chandler, D 2006, Semiotics: the basics, Routledge.
Cranny-Francis, A, Waring, W, Stavropolous, P & Kirby O 2003, Gender Studies: Terms and Debates, Palgrave Macmillan.
Julier, G 2000, The Culture of Design, SAGE.
McDermott, C 2007, Design: The Key Concepts, Routledge.
Canada is the world’s second largest nation on the Northern part of America. Canadians are people who hold many stereotypes. The maple leaf bag is a Canadian stereotype that depicts their identity and origin especially during international trips. The maple leaf has a red color, while the design of the leaf, with eleven sharp points, has unique significance representing their provinces and territories. As a novel cover, the maple leaf bag will give a detailed elaboration on a book titled the Canadian stereotypes.
Canadians believe that when traveling with a maple leaf bag it not only highlights their patriotism but also gives a distinction on their origin.
They believe they are honest, respectful, caring, polite and orderly when compared to other European nations. Therefore, the use of a maple leaf bag in a foreign country gives them an upper hand while interacting with other people. Furthermore, the sight of the maple leaf enables them to have a friendly interaction both at home and abroad.
While in foreign countries as tourists, they receive better treatment than Americans, Australians, and German among others. On the other hand, other nationalities criticize the Canadian stereotype as myths and not practical as perceived.
On the cover of the novel Canadian stereotypes, there will be the image of the maple leaf bag. The image of the maple leaf bag will represent both the flag and the history of the Canadians. The picture of the maple leaf bag represents the origin, culture, behavior and character of the Canadians thus describing their stereotypes.
The flag of Canada has an emblem of a maple leaf on a white squared background and, therefore, the image is for identification. Canadians strive to distinguish themselves from other Europeans proving their patriotic spirit (stereotype).
The red color of the maple leaf gives the origin of the Canadians. Red color symbolizes power and the heroic nature of the Canadians, which the natives believe in. Similarly, its appellant nature shows the strength and bravery behavior of the Canadians. Thus, the use of the red color will enable a non-Canadian or Canadian to relate the book with the Canadian stereotypic culture.
The first part of the novel will show the unique character and symbols of Canadians, which separates them from other white people. Canada as a nation has compiled many stereotypes that receive mixed reactions from the both the natives and other nationalities. Therefore, the novel will outline many Canadian stereotypes.
The second part will involve collecting personal experiences from both the natives and other people who have interacted with the Canadians, it will rule out whether the stereotypes are Myths or not. The third section will be to give personal views through observing the behavior of the Canadian people.
There will be a comparison of the observed behavior with the stereotypes the Canadians practice. The last part of the novel will analyze what other people think about the Canadian stereotypes, and through rating of the interviews, it will close on whether the stereotypes are mere speculations, or not.
Summarily, the cover of the novel will have a picture of a red maple leaf on a bag, which Canadians use while on international tours. The red maple leaf bag is the symbol of Canadian flag; thus, it gives their identity and proves the stereotype about their patriotism.
Stereotypes are considered as the pictures formed in the mind of individuals looking into their social worlds. Individuals hold different views concerning other people’s way of life and what the society expects of them.
They also exist from the point of view of the person who is being stereotyped. The society is made up of different social groups living in diverse geographical areas. Each group perceives itself as being superior and all other groups are regarded to be inferior to it. For example the Americans white perceive the black Americans to be lazy and ignorant thereby denying them employment opportunities.
The effects of stereotypes are much more than the simple perceptions in peoples mind. Certainly, the discriminating individuals have negative beliefs about the targets of their discrimination. The stereotyped individual’s self esteem and worth are lowered as they struggle to fit in the society. When stereotypes are consensually shared within a society, their consequences become much more destructive, because they affect entire groups of people in a common way.
The individual approach to stereotyping has primarily been associated with the prevailing social cognitive tradition. The basic assumption of this approach is that, over time, people develop beliefs about the characteristics of the important social groups in their environment, and this knowledge influences their responses toward subsequently encountered individual members of those groups.
We can therefore say the stereotypes develop as the individual perceives his or her environment. The perceived information about social groups is interpreted, programmed in memory, and then retrieved for use in directing responses. This paper looks into some of the stereotypes held about the Chinese people, how Chinese students respond to these stereotypes,
Problem Statement
Several researches have been conducted on Chinese stereotypes and each of these studies comes up with different stereotypes. Most of these studies focus on the major stereotypes held about the Chinese but forget to address the effects of these stereotypes to the Chinese students especially the ones studying in other countries. It is not clear why people have so many stereotypes towards the Chinese but most people believe that, Chinese have a strong relationship to their culture.
Research Questions
This paper seeks to answer the following research questions
What are the major stereotypes people have towards the Chinese?
How do Chinese students feel about being stereotypes?
Do these stereotypes affect the social lives of the Chinese students?
What is the relationship between culture and Chinese stereotypes?
Literature Review
There are so many perspectives held about the Chinese. According to Rand, et al (2007), “The Chinese are quiet, peaceable tractable, free from drunkedness, and they are industrious as the day is long. A disorderly Chinaman is rare, and a lazy one does not exist.” However, there are some American students who hold that, Chinese are cold, distrustful, and cunning.
They perceive Chinese as people who are like taking advantage. These stereotypes seem to be based more on hatred than the general perspective of many people (Walkey, 2010). Other people believe that, the Chinese are smart people and are born to be leaders. In the classroom, they are perceived to be good in mathematics and science subjects and like helping other students although they rarely participate in group discussions.
Most of the Chinese hold some of these stereotypes to be true although they strongly disagree with others. For instance, they do not believe they are terrible drivers, or that they are bananas as some people call them. There is a strong relationship between the stereotypes held towards the Chinese and their cultural heritage (Nikolas, 2006).
It may look absurd that, cultural teachings are still going on in China consideration the rapid changes that are taking place in the global world. Many radicals have tried to give China new ideologies although they have not succeeded. It was because many Chinese strongly hold to their cultural tradition to a point that it has become almost impossible for them to shake it off completely (Ward, et al. 2001). This shows how significant the Chinese culture is to the Chinese people.
It has managed to persist in the world of western civilization and seems to persist until the end of time. However, the significant of culture and cultural identity in the age of globalization remains a question that is yet to be answered. Some radicals hold that, culture will soon become a museum piece to which they are only ironic references possible, while others claim that, it looks absurd to talk about national cultures in this age of globalization. Walzer (1994), observes that,
Societies are necessarily particular because they have members and memories, members with memories not only of their own but also of their common life. Humanity, by contrast, has members, but no memory, and so it has no history and no culture, no customary practices, no familiar life-ways, no festivals, no shared understanding of social good (p25).
Then, another question emerges, does culture and cultural identity apply to other parts of the globe or is it only applied in China? Do people in other communities share the modern or post-modern Western perspective and anxieties about culture? Walzer only address the issue of shared understanding of the social good but does not address the shared understanding of art and or aesthetics (Witzell & Lee. 1990).
At the begging of 1990s, there was an assertive floods of studies related to Chinese culture including arts, aesthetics, and ethics. These new trend was triggered by the changes in western thoughts and postmodernism. Scholars were determined to know the truth from the western perspective in order to save china and its cultural beliefs. Gsene (2002) notes that, “The main stream of Chinese modernity discourse has always been enchanted by the magical spell of the Western colonial discourse.”
He was one of the earliest Chinese post colonial critics, who worked with the western postcolonial thought to analyze Chinese modernity which has been influenced by the western enlightenment paradigm to recovering a Chinese subjectivity. This subjectivity as is now believed had been buried by a politically correct western modernity discourse and was almost becoming forgotten.
Methodology
This research paper will analyze data from surveys that provide primary data on how the students perceive their fellow Chinese students. They give a clear picture of what is happening in schools especially where the Chinese population is low. Both surveys were delivered to students in the University of Southern California by e-mail. One of the survey was conducted among the non Chinese students from a sample size of 35 students (n=35).
This sample is not big because the Chinese constitute about 6% of the total population in the school. A big sample size would give biased results. The other survey was conducted among 21 Chinese students. The participants were requested to fill out questionnaires in which they gauged Chinese students beside some characteristics for instance, are they polite, hard working, and timid, among others. Participants were given five options, to strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, or strongly disagree.
Data Analysis
According to the survey, the non- Chinese students had very few Chinese students and some did not have any. Other students either do not like associating with the Chinese or are afraid of them. When asked why they did not have many Chinese friends, some students said that, the Chinese often stick together and do not like mixing with other students.
Like seen earlier, the Chinese seem to be connected to a certain culture and do not like making friends with people who are not Chinese. However, the Chinese have been attributed to many positive stereotypes, for instance many students perceive the Chinese to be nice, respectful, calm and polite.
They are also perceived to be hardworking and aggressive and would not stop until they achieve what they want. 54% of the students agreed and 17% strongly agreed that the Chinese perform better in mathematics and science subjects than other students while. In class they are attentive to lectures and are only concerned about their grades and do not care what others students do or say about them as long as they meet their goals.
They are seen to be smart people although very timid and it becomes hard to understand what they really want. Many people are not very sure where Chinese are wealthy or if they are creative, some people believe that, their hard work and aggressive is related to their culture and not because of their creativity. Other stereotypes include terrible drivers, and talented dancers (Tan, et al. 2009).
When the Chinese were interviewed on what they think about the stereotypes held towards them, more than 50% agreed to them. For instances, some believe that, they are polite, shy, hard-working, and timid, while a big number are not sure whether the stereotypes are true or not. 38% of the Chinese students believe that, they are good at mathematics while 48% agreed to that fact that they are good at science subjects than other students.
Most of them agreed that, they like sticking together and have very few Americans friends and are not even willing to make friends with other races. They are tied to their culture which they have been brought up in and are not ready to let go.
One Chinese student responded that, “I have heard Americans say that Chinese can be little weird sometimes in terms of how they try to make friends with Americans or simply just to say hi, but since I am a Chinese, I understand that the reason for this weirdness is just cultural difference and sometimes Chinese do not know what is the best way to approach Americans even though they really want to”.
These stereotypes hinder the Chinese when it comes to making friends with the Americans, most of them would prefer to have a Chinese as a roommate than have an American. Most of the Chinese students agreed that, the stereotypes held towards then affect their social relationship and that’s why they like sticking with other Chinese friends (McCunn, 1988).
They have developed a kind of hatred towards other students and do not like associating with them. However, most of the students are contented with their life in America and believe they are there for a reason; to introduce the Chinese culture, assist other students in class especially in science subjects, and to be leaders.
Discussion
From the above analysis and literature review, it is clear that, even today people have many stereotypes towards the Chinese. They are perceived as polite and nice people although they are very reluctant when it comes to making friends who are not Chinese.
They are reserved and prefer to associate with other Chinese instead of other races. Scholars have been bothered with this situation and are carrying out researches to understand the source of these stereotypes. It is clear that, China can be considered as one of the countries that still respect its culture even in the midst of globalization (Zinzius, 2005).
It has managed to reap most of the benefits that come with globalization although it is not ready to detach itself from its culture. Its culture has evolved from generation to generation and it is instilled in children from a very early age. These children carry on with this culture even when out of their mother country. Most of the students that were interviewed at USC, observed that, the Chinese students like to stick together and do not like associating with other children.
They seem to be tied to something which the other students do not understand. However, these surveys only covered the stereotypes that are related to the education institutions. They did not cover some of the general stereotypes held towards the Chinese for instance; they are believed to be awful drivers. Also the number of Chinese students that were interviewed was a bit smaller than the non-Chinese and this can give biased results.
The surveys should also have included other people for instance teachers, or other employees so as to give a clearer picture. I would recommend that, further research should include as many people as possible from different sectors so as to avoid biased results. It should also seek to understand some aspects of the Chinese culture which make the Chinese to stick together.
Reference List
Gsene, M. (2002). China in the world market. Cambridge: Cambridge university press
McCunn, R. L. (1988). Chinese Americans: A personal view. School library journal, Vol. 34, Issue 10 p50
Nikolas, H. (2006). Chinese: American History through literature 1820-1870. Vol. 1 p220-224
Randall, P. (2007). China Modernizes: threat to the West, or model for the rest? New York: Oxford University Press
Tan, A. et al. (2009). Stereotypes of African American and media use among Chinese high school students. Howard journal of communications, Vol. 20 Issue 3, p 260-275
Walkey, F. H. (2010). An examination of stereotypes of Chinese and Europeans held by some New Zealand Secondary schools pupils. Ritacchi-Ying Chung, University of California, Los Angeles.
Walzer, M. (1994). Thick and Thin. Moral argument at home and abroad, Notre DAME, Ind/London,
Ward, C. A. et al. (2001). The psychology of culture shock. New York: Routledge
Witzell, W. & Lee, S. (1990). Closing the Gap: Computer Development in the People’s Republic of China Technology and Culture. London: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Zinzius, B. (2005). Chinese America: Stereotype and reality: history, present, and future of the Chinese Americans. California: Peter Lang