Representation Stereotypes Chart

 

Social Group	Stereotypes associated with the group.	Examples of media texts which use this stereotype.
Popular kids	Cool, confident, and often mean, snobby, or self.	Regina George from the film “Mean Girls.” She acts as the leader of the Plastics and is portrayed as beautiful, confident, and influential.
Outcasts	Different or misunderstood, often labeled as “weird.”	In the movie “Napoleon Dynamite” Napoleon is the outcast of the movie who is socially awkward and an eccentric high school student who is constantly trying to fit in and deal with the dynamics of his small town.
Nerds	Intelligent, socially awkward, and deeply passionate	In the show “Never Have I Ever” the main character Devi is a high school student who is determined to improve her social status and navigate the challenges of adolescence. Devi is intelligent, ambitious, and passionate about her academics which often sets her apart from her peers.
Athletes	Strong and competitive, but not very academically inclined.	In the movie “She’s the Man” the main character known as Viola challenges the traditional gender roles in sports by making herself look like a male to play soccer for a different school.
Gender	Men are seen as strong, overbearing, unemotional, self-sufficient, controlling, and aggressive. Women are seen as the opposite, emotional, weak, friendlier, and are usually more sexualized in films than men.	In the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan is displayed as a self-centered character and prioritizes his wealth above everything else. He also works as a powerful stockbroker. In the movie “White Chicks” the main characters Marcus and Kevin dress up as women and are sexualized more than if they were men. They as well try to fit the stereotype and act weaker and nicer than they would as men.
Race/ Ethnicity	In some movies African Americans can be labeled as a threat, lazy, dumb, poor, or “trouble.” White Americans are sometimes seen as rich and privileged. Asians are very often seen as academically gifted. Latin Americans and Mexicans are labeled as loud and tempered. British people are said to be stuck up and well mannered. So on and so on.	In the movie “The Boy in The Striped Pajamas” the main character Bruno who is British is seen as rich, clean, and organized fitting the stereotype often created for them, especially considering the time. In the Series “All American” the main character Spencer lives in a below average house and neighborhood for most of his life. Where he lives is crowded with other African Americans where there are many other gangs, and it is a much poorer community fitting the stereotype for black people.
Age	Younger individuals (0-13) are labeled as uneducated and disrespectful due to their lack of experience. Teenagers (13-21) are seen as rebellious and self-centered. Adults (21-65) are depicted as more knowledgeable and conservative. Lastly, elderly people (65+) are depicted as weak and fragile.	In the series “Shameless” it shows all these age stereotypes in the first few seasons. For the younger children there is Liam, Carl, and Debbie who are often seen as uneducated and are easily fooled. The teenagers, Ian and Lip often make poor decisions. Fiona as the adult is illustrated as caring and responsible. Lastly, Aunt Ginger shows the traits of an elderly person who would be weaker and more unable.
Religion	With religion in media the ones often pictured are Christianity and Satanism. Christianity can be pictured as either modest, caring, holy, or pictured as judgmental, hypocritic and homophobic. Satanism is usually referred to as scary, dangerous, or trouble, and often is used in horror movies as a type of cult or ritual.	In the movie “Jesus Revolution” is depicts the viewpoint of the positive side of Christianity showing the good and community that can come from it, and in the movie “The Exorcist” it shows the idea of Satanism by showing the horrifying aspect of it and gives an outline of a religious ritual.
Sexuality	In the media, there are many stereotypes for those in the LGBTQ+ community, such as if you are a gay man, you are more emotional and sensitive, or if you are a lesbian woman, you are more masculine and tough, and if you are a transgender woman, you are most likely a drag queen and look like a “man with makeup”. If you are straight in the media, you are more seen as societies normal or average.	In the film “Heartstopper” the two main characters who are gay men are pictures as sweeter and more emotional. In the movie “Bound” one of the main characters who is a lesbian woman is named corky and she appears more rugged and strong. Lastly in the classic movie “The Notebook” we get the heartwarming story of a straight couple that fall in love, and they appear as a normal or average man and woman together who share interests and start a relationship.

Word Document of Chart:  Activity 3.14 Chart.docx (sharepoint.com)

    In this chart I originally began researching high school social groups and their stereotypes, so I could get more of an idea of what to expect for my two-minute opening scene of a movie final project. I did this because I am hoping to use more of the teenager aged base movie, since many of the people who are going to be cast are in high school, but also, I would like to create a type of horror "movie" with a teenager to mid adulthood audience, and obviously with a younger cast. After these high school directed stereotypes, I tried to look at the bigger picture of representation in films like race, gender, age, sexuality, and religion. I looked at how each of these social groups were represented in films, and created the common stereotype people associate with them.