MEDIA REPRESENTATION & CULTURAL STEREOTYPES

   Mass media play a significant and important role in this modern world, by broadcasting information in a fast pace and giving entertainment to the audiences. Mass media consist of press, television, radio, books and the Internet.Our society organize and manage their knowledge about the world around them by sorting and simplifying information that they received.

An example of a stereotypical image in media that has caused harm is gender stereotypes in mass media. In the past , man have a  dominant role as family model, they are the  financial providers, career-focused, assertive and independent, while women have been shown as low-position workers, responsible for raising a child and doing housework, loving wives and mother.Because of that, our societies have established the hegemony of males by institutionalizing of male dominance over women.  As what i have already mentioned above, men have been perceived as the head of the household and women were mainly housewives. Even though, nowadays the differences between male and female roles is getting smaller, mass media still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes. Due to the mass media great influence on the societies's attitudes, they can depict certain social groups in negative and unrealistic manner.

An example of a stereotypical image in media where no harm has been caused is that there are cultural stereotypes that Asians are good at math and that women are good at nurturing. This shape the society ideas that Asians people are really good at math and women are good at nurturing. A positive stereotype led to greater feelings of being depersonalized for everyone.

The differences between this two examples is the way the media led and shape the society perception and behavior towards one stereotypes that they show.It is whether at the end it is a positive affect or it is a negative affect  

The question is, is it necessary for the media to create a stereotypical image that can led the society way of thinking and behavior in  such a negative way?