How Stereotyping Still Holds Us Back

As seen in the case study in this week’s reading, there has, for a very long time, existed a habit of stereotyping different groups of people within advertising. From men who can’t get by without a beer in hand, to women who can’t even operate around their own house without the guidance and advice of a ‘competent’ male narrator; many of us are still old enough to remember how awkward these commercials made us feel. Despite what Campbell, Martin and Fabbos may believe, these stereotypes are long from dead. While they are much less common today, digging under the surface reveals that they are not entirely extinct.

So this brings up the question of: do these stereotypes do anything helpful, or contribute to society as a whole? The answer, of course, is obvious: no, they don’t. They leave the impressionable close minded, and unaccepting of ideas that may break what stereotypes have been ‘forced’ upon them, and it doesn’t stop at product advertisement. It carries over into the advertisement of ideas, ideals and people, too, and unfortunately, people are willing to believe whatever they see on TV, or in a magazine. All these stereotypes, and the outright lies seen in some other adds, lead to is an ignorant, intolerant and influenced population that has yet to learn to think for itself.

So we once again see a return of the need for media literacy, in debunking the myths and stereotypes reinforced by questionable sources of information, and even by sources that we should be able to trust. With an increase in media literacy, we can finally bring about an end to the intolerance and ignorance that so fully permeates this country. We can put into motion the end of intolerance, and create a society worth defending. We can begin to see the untruths and outright lies fed to us by many companies and corporations and by people in a position to be able to do so, and debunk the falsehoods we may now believe.

We can bring about a more truthful society, one where we know that we can trust the information that is being given to us, no matter the source. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to worry about where a company got its statistics or how a political candidate arrived at her or his final numbers presented in a particularly effective speech? We can make this happen, but we have to act as a responsible society, one that cares about the well-being of its future, and one that is not completely absorbed in the here and now.