Lynn Son: Stereotypes

We live in a global village and could be friends without conditions with an open mind. However, we sometimes tend to hesitate because of an article from internet, or magazine, and etc. Even though what we learn may not be true, there is nothing that says that it isn’t. This is what makes us eventually inflexible, and we keep what we call a “Stereotype.”. But what really causes stereotypes? There are many causes of stereotypes, but the main and important ones are the standardization of images and the mass media.
First of all, standardized images are big causes of stereotypes. They are very inflexible. Inflexibility is not a good for understanding of uniqueness. Stereotypes make us ignore uniqueness. They also create dogmatism in us. Prejudice causes stereotypes in us. We have prejudice about ethnic, sexual, religious groups. We sometimes lack diversity among us, so we tend to refuse experience and acceptance. Standardized images blind us.
Mass media is another cause of stereotypes. Often, parodies are based on multiculturalism. Comedians tell jokes, not the truth. In movies like “Remember the Titans” the people in the same town live dividedly depending on their skin colour. Also, in the movie “I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry”, there are people who tend to discriminate homosexuality. These movies teach us not to have stereotypes. Cynicisms make us take bias. What we learn from cynicism becomes the base of our thinking. The mass media is only so big. We usually take in everything we read or learn in the mass media, unless we know it is false. Mass media is probably the biggest and strongest provider of information, however, that is why it is so dangerous.
In my opinion, stereotypes are bad. It is so easy to become stereotypical, but it so hard to become not stereotypical. That is because when we meet new people, we start off with stereotypes, not fresh. Stereotypes are inflexible. The mass media supports stereotypes. The mass media is big, and carries stereotypical information. Do you feel different about your neighbors? It is good if you do.