Home > Ethnic stereotypes in popular culture

1 Music

In recent years, ethnic stereotypes in popular music have come under fire. This is often associated with Hip Hop culture, but goes back much further; Prince for example was widely criticized for his portrayals of African American women, particularly, in his music videos.

2 Movies

For years, Hollywood's unofficial but de facto casting policy limited actors of color to character roles based on ethnic stereotypes. These roles ranged from bit parts to supporting roles or secondary leads.

In the 1970s, a series of feature films that came to be known as blacksploitation movies brought stereotypical black American culture to the screen. Proponents argued that at least African American actors were getting work in leading roles, opponents believed the perpetuating of stereotypes was more harmful than helpful.

In the 1990s, film director Spike Lee received critism for his portrayals of African-American females based on ethnic stereotype. In the same decade, Quentin Tarantino was castigated for casting Pam Grier in a 'blackspoitation'-type role ( Jackie Brown), particularly by African American male film directors. Feminists rallied to the director's and the actress' defence, countering that the same black male directors did not themselves make a point of providing work for black actresses.

3 List of stockA stock character is a fictional character that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for its personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to members of a given culture. Stock characters i film roles based on ethnic stereotypes:

• submissive Asian female
• black maid
• black butler
• petty criminal (African American, Latino, Italian)
• Mexican sidekick
• Italian gangster
• Chinese launderer
• Asian (usually Chinese) cook
• 'houseboy' (Asian, African)
• Noble Savage (American Indian, African)
• American Indian sidekick
• bearer (African, Asian)

4 List of significant stereotypical characters in television:

• Hop Sing in BonanzaThis article discusses the television program. For the airplane see Beechcraft Bonanza. Bonanza was an American western/ cowboy television program starring Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts, and Victor Sen Yung. It was the first r
• Florence in The JeffersonsThe Jeffersons was an American sitcom broadcast on the CBS network from January 18, 1975 until July 23, 1985, lasting 11 seasons. It was a spin-off from All in the Family in which Louise Jefferson first appeared in 1971, with George making his first appea*
• Silas in The Big ValleyThe Big Valley was a television Western which ran on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) from 1965 through 1969. It starred Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley, the widowed matriarch of the Barkley family of Stockton, California. Richard Long played
• Tonto in The Lone RangerThe Lone Ranger was an early, long-running radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle of Detroit, Michigan and developed by writer Fran Stryker of Buffalo, New York. The basic premise is about a masked cowboy in the Old Wes
• Benson in SoapSoap was a sitcom which ran on the ABC network from 1977 through 1981. The show was designed as a weekly, primetime half hour comedy whose format was similar to that of a soap opera. The format was augmented by the introduction of real-life soap opera act*

Note: Although cast in stereotypical roles, both Marla GibbsMarla Gibbs (born June 14, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress, most known for her role as the sarcastic maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons as well as the starring role of Mary Jenkins in 227''. She starred in a series of commercials and Robert GuillaumeRobert Guillaume (born November 30, 1927) is an American stage and television actor. Guillaume was born as Robert Williams in St. Louis, Missouri. He studied at St. Louis University and Washington University and served in the United States Army before pur successfully played them against type.