Since its inception, television has been one of the largest mediums through which people learn about the lifestyles and ideals of others. In many instances these idiosyncrasies have been emphasized in the name of entertainment.
Bernadette Wegenstein, assistant professor of media studies at UB, stated via e-mail that the mass media emphasizes and reinforces what stereotypes are already in society, which leads to ethnic segregation in the United States.
"Mass media don't have a 'good soul.' They are effects and tools of the capitalist mind-frame," stated Wegenstein.
From 1962 to 1971, CBS ran 274 episodes of the classic sitcom, "The Beverly Hillbillies." The comedy depicted a poor backwoods family, lead by patriarch Jed Clampett, who struck it rich and moved to Beverly Hills, where hilarious culture clashes ensued.
Now, in 2003, CBS is taking this concept one step further, with "The Real Beverly Hillbillies," a new reality show where CBS plans to move a rural family from the Appalachian Mountains to a mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. Cameras and interviews will document the various situations that will arise as a result of the family's lifestyle change.
NBC's new crime-drama, "Kingpin," is a fictional show that portrays "the struggles and machinations of a powerful Mexican drug-trafficking family ... in graphic detail," according to the NBC Web site.
"Kingpin" and "The Real Beverly Hillbillies" are prompting protests from viewers and activist groups who are disputing the exploitation of racial and ethnic stereotypes on television. The Center for Rural Strategies, a Kentucky-based group, is protesting the airing of "The Real Beverly Hillbillies," because of its portrayal of Southern residents as poor and uneducated.
Michael Saz, a freshman computer science major, said he has noticed the media's depiction of racial and ethnic stereotypes.
"You never see an American terrorist. They're always either Russian or Middle Eastern or Asian. They're always someone we were at war against at one time or another," he said.
Joe Whittaker, a sophomore chemical engineering major, said this portrayal of racial and ethnic stereotypes have affected American society.
"I think that when I meet a person, I make a judgment on them based on how they look ... I guess it's wrong to do, but I'm guilty of it. I'm sure most people are. You make a judgment on that person before you really know who they are," said Whittaker.
Whittaker said that while passing judgment on other is human nature, "judgment is influenced by the way I see them on television."
Michael Lichter, assistant professor of sociology at UB, disagrees with Whittaker, however. He stated via e-mail that though these stereotypes are an important part of our early socialization process, they are not created by the media, although they are often reinforced by it.
"To portray some Latinos as drug dealers and prostitutes is not in itself a stigmatizing act. Some Latinos really are drug dealers and some really are prostitutes - as is true of some people from any ethnic group you can name," said Lichter.
"The vast majority of Latinos, however, are neither drug dealers nor prostitutes. If the proportion of Latino characters who are drug dealers and prostitutes greatly outnumbers their proportion among real-life Latinos, then the media is giving a distorted picture of Latinos as a group and enforcing negative stereotypes that many people already hold."
The media is in a position to fight racial and ethnic stereotyping by limiting the number of stereotypical characters and balancing the stereotype by creating characters for negative roles, according to Lichter.
"For example, many white Americans have participated in terrorist activities - take Terry Nichols or Ted Kaczynski, for instance - so why does the terrorist need to be an Arab?" said Lichter.
Some students agree that racial and ethnic stereotyping creates unrealistic assumptions about ethnic groups.
"I just hear ... pothead people saying, 'I wish I lived on an Indian reservation because they always smoke pot and they can get pot really easily because it's part of their religion.' I hear that all the time and that's ... the most untrue thing I've ever heard," said Saz, who is Native American.
Students like freshman biology major Van Yannas, however, believe the depictions in the media are accurate portrayals of people's lifestyles.
"I think that's how people really are. People that don't like it don't want to admit it so that's why they say there's actually a problem," said Yannas.
Lichter said he believes college students are at a stage where they can critically analyze what they were taught regarding ethnic and racial stereotypes without being too biased by the media.
"At places like UB, (students) are in a social environment that is more ethnically, politically, and socially diverse than most communities in America," he stated. "University students should consciously try to discover the prejudices they grew up with and take steps to unload them."
"In addition, most university students will never have had - and will never again have - as much personal freedom as they do while they are in college; they should take advantage of this opportunity by learning more about how our society works and if they think they know what's wrong, trying to fix it."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
