Assignment task:
One of the topics that come up when thinking about Racism is that of stereotypes. Films and TV shows and all sorts of other media outlets have been guilty of portraying different ethnicities and races with old fashioned stereotypes. ("races" as in culturally speaking, of course---because as you are leaning there is only 1 human race in terms of the science!) Let us remember what stereotypes are. They are beliefs or expectations that people have about a particular group or category of people and are usually unfair and untrue. They lead to prejudice and discrimination. Stereotypes can be based on various characteristics, such as personality, appearance, ability, morals etc.
Your task for this discussion board is to think about fictional characters in films, tv shows or online shows that you have seen and select a character that you think represents a stereotype about a certain race or ethnicity.
Complete following and answer the questions in as much detail as possible.
1. What is the name of the film or program (or other type of media if you prefer)?
2. What is it about (general theme or genre)?
3. Is it available in the USA or is from another country?
4. Describe the character and explain the stereotype (s) they have been written with. What is or are the stereotypes being portrayed? Explain to us the problematic characteristics or storylines of the character.
5. If you could re-write the character, explain to us how you would positively change how they are represented
6. You may find a character is very positive and new, but still falls into old stereotypic storylines and traps. If that is the case, explain it to us.