The Misrepresentation Of Minorities For The Mainstream...

The misrepresentation of minorities for the sake of the mainstream film industry has existed since the foundation of the Hollywood industry. While the industry favors the white male as the ideal for audiences to cheer towards victory, those who once played both racist and stereotypical characters are now taking the opportunity to speak out against the mainstream ideal. Out of the several minority groups working to change the definition of mainstream media to favor minorities, â€Å"†¦ the recent expansion of Asian-American roles on television has paradoxically ushered in a new generation of actors with just enough star power and job security to speak more freely about Hollywood’s larger failures†(Hess). Unfortunately, the mainstream film industry seems to continually work against the sense of positioning minorities into leading roles, or much of any role in the big blockbusters Hollywood, and other mainstream productions, bank upon each year. The Asian male has lon g been the victim of racism, misrepresentation, and emasculation by the mainstream, and it continues to exist. Although, films are coming out, mostly from independent filmmakers, that counteract the racist Hollywood foundation, even if it’s in a very small degree. One film to have been held up as an opposition to this victimization of the mainstream film industry, Better Luck Tomorrow, directed by Justin Lin. By using an all Asian cast of young men to tell a coming of age story, Better Luck Tomorrow is praised forShow MoreRelatedLatino Gender And Gender Diversity1560 Words   |  7 Pagesfor only 4.9% of the roles in the top 100 films of the year. From the beginning, Hollywood had always been dominated by white men and women. However, as time progressed there was a very slight change in cultural and ethnic diversity. Though it is more likely now than ever to find a Latino or Latina in a Hollywood film, their roles are often small, stereotypical, and almost entirely unimport ant. As if it wasn’t hard enough to get any role in any Hollywood film regardless of ethnicity, Latinos have toRead MoreMedia s Influence On Gender Relations And Sexuality1230 Words   |  5 Pages(Bonvillain, 1995, 210). Mass media, in their turn, portrayed gender relations and sexuality according to the dominant cultural view on gender relations and sexuality. This is why it is possible to trace the evolution of those views through the analysis of films, for example, created in different time. At the same time, media have always had a considerable impact on the society, its cultural norms and values, including the development of gender-related biases and stereotypes which were accepted and promotedRead MoreFilm, Art And Literature Essay1338 Words   |  6 Pagessociety, many of us are able to retrace historical patterns through television, film, art and literature. The development of cinematic film and moving images in the nineteenth and twentieth century has proven to be a very influential tool to engage mass amounts of people. Motion picture serve as a gateway to fantasies, allowing audiences to enter a world filled with various types of characters and vivid scenes. Films have also been utilized to transmit truths about humanity in a way that is easierRead MoreGendered Medi The Influence Of Media On Views Of Gender, By Julia T. Wood1405 Words   |  6 PagesThey believe the industry is in need of â€Å"leaders† meaning â€Å"heroes† who are willing to take a step forward to increase the percentage of women on and off screen. To put it another way, women are highly needed in television to represent an environment of equal opportunity for both sex. However, the majority of women that are currently represented on television are Caucasian female. Additionally, there’s still an absence of diversity and inclusion as there’s not a lot of minority group being portrayedRead MoreComic Books And Their Influence On Society1626 Words   |  7 Pagesalthough comics and their adaptations have a history of contradicting this reality. Comic books and their related renditions have often overlooked minority characters, like influential media has a tendency to, without regard to their audience (Aucoin, 2014). Superheroes have become an integral part of popular (pop) culture: the cultural preference of the mainstream populace, which holds considerable command on cultural and moral values of a society (Crossman, 2014). Because superheroes have such a powerfulRead MoreAsian Americans And Asian American Actors311 2 Words   |  13 Pagesthe media industry when the original â€Å"Siamese Twins† Chang and Eng Bunker became naturalized citizens of America. Roles in television and other media were scarce for Asian Americans, only available roles were very stereotypical. Early Asian American actors such as Bruce Lee and Sessue Hayakawa could only land stereotypical supporting roles in prime time television. While minority actors have progress through the years, Asian Americans in the media remains an issue. The misrepresentation of AsiansRead MoreAnalysis Of The Film Blaxploitation Films And Chappelle s Show 1633 Words   |  7 Pagesexploited the cultures and stereotypes of Native American’s and African Americans for the sole purpose of profit and increased entertainment value. In American society, there has been the era of â€Å"Blaxploitation films† in which African American’s society was shown through raunchy and low budget films. Sports teams, colleges, and p ublic schools have turned Native Americans into an irresponsible excuse of a mascot the can offend and can be considered disrespectful by those in their society while being calledRead More Latinos, Politics, and American Cinema Essay3885 Words   |  16 PagesLatinos, Politics, and American Cinema Feature films in the United States influence American viewers attitudes on a wide variety of topics. Americans attitudes toward politics are shaped by films, and specifically the politics of racial interaction. The history of modern feature films begins with Birth of a Nation (1915), a film that misrepresents the Black race by justifying the existence and role of the Ku Klux Klan in American society. From this racist precedent, producers and directorsRead More Discrimination and Misrepresentation of Minority Races in Film2457 Words   |  10 PagesDiscrimination and Misrepresentation of Minority Races in Film Racists often believe that alternative races are inferior. Stuart Hall, an expert in the field of cultural studies who is also interested in media studies, believes that it is difficult to completely eliminate race as a floating signifier because it is impossible to remove the obvious physical differences of distinct races. These distinctions are made increasingly aware by filmmakers to their audiences in such films as West Side StoryRead MoreEssay about Multiculturalism in America3204 Words   |  13 Pagesmulticulturalists. Unfortunately, the advertising industry and intellectual print journalism reflect these attitudes. Print advertisements often reinforce ethnic stereotyping, use provocative racial imagery, or exploit those with â€Å"exotic† appearances. Perceptions about culture in America held by those in intellectual print journalism, like the widely disseminated New York Times, Atlantic Monthly and The Nation follow and are often derived from those of mainstream America. Rarely do these entities attempt