racial+stereotypes

This image explains the role of racial stereotypes in American society extremely well because people are broken apart, yet are still unified by a common goal. Whether YOU are aware of it or not, racial stereotypes are working to separate the people of our country so they can no longer agree and be productive in society. Unless we are educated of these influences now and begin to see race [see Daniel's page to clarify your idea of race] as it is in reality, there is no hope for the future of America. However, by understanding more about the history of race and how we've been conditioned to believe these racial stereotypes, we can work to come closer to the idea of equal opportunity for all citizens.
 * __What is the effect of racial stereotypes in the United States? __**

From movies to television to posters to video games to Google, racial stereotypes are abundant in the media. This is a well-done wiki page by Maryam and Nicole that explores how race has been portrayed over time in American Films and Movies.] So far, research shows that the **media** is the leading impact on the formation of racial stereotypes in the USA, along with law enforcement methods, politics, and religion. Here are some examples of racial stereotypes in the media. A prime example of this is the stereotype of Muslims/Al Qaeda after the September 11 attacks in New York. Citizens treated others such as Hindus and Mexicans with violence, suspicion, and slurs because of their limited perspective on race. Here is some of my own annotated research related to this topic.

You may be wondering how racial stereotypes form in the first place. In America, people face racial stereotypical packages every day. For example: The books they read, the movies they watch, the television they’ve viewed, and the semi-racist jokes that come up. (Watch[| this video] that deals with how Disney portrays racial groups. There are stereotypes represented in the 7 minute long video that will aid in your understanding of how racial stereotypes exist in the media, no matter how discreet they may be. It also gives insight to the influence of the media in children's entertainment and lives.) As a consequence of this, people start to view white as the norm and colored people as “secondary.” The way race is presented in the United States does play a part in the judgments that we form as human beings. It is not that people want to be prejudiced. Sometimes, the information is so persuasive that we don’t even realize the presence of stereotypes. Here are some common racial stereotypes in American society.

Why do people form racial stereotypes? Here you can read a pair of interesting comments by psychology professors (explain who each one is and where he professes) [|Jost] and [|Banaji] that explains a reason why stereotypes seem acceptable in the minds of those who carry them out. There is much speculation about how we could work to reduce, and possibly **eliminate,** racial stereotypes. First, we need to think critically about how our minds have been impacted by them. Another important point to consider is the importance of race. [Read about whether or not race matters on Catherine's wiki here.] Then we can begin to understand how to avoid that mindset in order to think for ourselves and treat all people fairly.

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