Isabella Mann 1/12/15

5th and 6th period

Media Controls the Mind

The medias the most powerful entity on earth. They have the
power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent,
and thats power. Because they control the minds of the masses.
Malcolm X said this quote, and I believe he accurately explains how big
of an influence media has on people and the way people think. I
believe media perpetuates stereotyping in many ways about many
things, including gender stereotypes, racial stereotypes, and sexuality
stereotypes.
In the media, such as movies, males and females are often
stereotyped and are made into what the people believe they should be
like. Males in media are often shown as heroic, with great measures of
strength and courage. Based on todays thoughts, if a male was to
show emotions it would be considered a sign of weakness. All males on
this earth have emotions, regardless. Men break down and need help,
but the media has made it seem like this should not be allowed. The
media has made a natural human tendency negative, and this should
not be. As well as the many stereotypes of male, there are several
female stereotypes as well. The media depicts a bias representation of
how women should typically be and look like. For example, women are
more often used in commercials then man, because women are seen
through societys eyes as the gender that completes everyday

purchases. However, this stereotype is not always true. There are

many men that shop for the household, yet media does not tend to
show this. Gender stereotypes in the media are very common, as well
as racial stereotypes.
Racial stereotypes are major in the media. According to the
Entman-Rojecki Index of Race and Media, 89% of black females movie
characters are shown using inappropriate language, while only 17% of
white women are. Black women are shown as violent in movies 56% of
the time, while white women are only shown 11% of the time. As well
as the stereotyping done unto white women and black females, an
African American male, and often Hispanics are viewed as violent,
criminals, lazy, and intelligence lacking, These two racial stereotypes
are depicted in many movies and shows. If you watch a movie, the
African American character is often viewed as uneducated and
dangerous, and the white people are viewed as wealthy and well
known. The media does well with keeping these stereotypes
consistent, even though they are not valid all of the time. Not all
colored people are considered what the media make them out to be
and not all white people are either.
Many people may argue for the media and say that the roles are
just chosen based on what the director or creator wants, and this can
be true at times, however most decisions made by the directors are
based on known stereotypes that have been influenced by the media.

The media is powerful. Whoever controls the media, the images,

controls the culture. People can argue that our thoughts do not have
to be controlled by media, but it is very hard not be influenced by it,
because media is everything. Media can contribute stereotypes into
many things, but to some media, they dont notice they are
stereotyping, Media controls us as a whole. Perpetrating stereotyping
in media is easy and people do not even realize it is happening,
As well as the several gender and racial stereotyping in media,
sexuality stereotyping is prominent in media too. In televisions shows
and movies, when a homosexual character is in it, it is often looked
upon as a stereotypical fashion. Homosexual male characters are
usually formed based off the stereotype of femininity, whereas
homosexual female characters are based off the stereotype of
masculinity. The media views homosexuality in a certain way, so
people think of homosexuals to only be this one way, and if they are
not, they do not know what to think of them.
Media perpetuates stereotyping all of the time including gender
stereotypes, racial stereotypes, and sexuality stereotypes. As once said
by Jim Morrison, Whoever controls the media controls the mind.
Media is powerful and can control what one person thinks. Stereotypes
are harmful and it does not help that they are constantly being
broadcasted through our everyday media. Often we do not even

notice, because we are so used to the horrible judgment of

stereotypes.

Works Cited Page

"3 Male Stereotypes in the Media by Geeky
Gentleman -." The Good Men Project. 5 July 2012.
Web.
http://goodmenproject.com/comment-of-the-day/3male-stereotypes-in-the-media-by-geeky-gentleman/
Cox, Ericka. Negative Images in the Media Lead to
Racial Stereotypes. June 12, 2006.
http://voices.yahoo.com/negative-images-medialead-racial-stereotypes-43491.html?cat=9
Graham, Vernae, and Lorena Hernandez. New
Studies on Media, Girls, and Gender Roles. Last
modified April 30, 1997.
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/loader.cfm?

url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=1451
6
Jones, Mike, and David Gelb. Utah State University,
Homosexuality in the Media. Last modified 2008.
http://ocw.usu.edu/english/introduction-to-writingacademic-prose/homosexuality-in-the-media.html.
"Media Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 12 Jan.
2015.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/media.
html
Portrayal of Women in the Popular Media. Global
Status of Women. no. 9 (2009)
http://worldsavvy.org/monitor/index.php?
option=com_content&id=602&Itemid=1049