It is extremely disturbing to realize and face the haunting truths about the stereotypes that are cyclical in mass media that is targeted to the youth of America. While I would love to say that viewers are not prone to believe this stereotype of the male African American housemates on The Real World, I don’t necessarily think that this is a truth for the masses of viewers that engage in the show. These depictions of African American men are surely taken out of the context of a reality show, and placed on an overall view or opinion of what all African American males are explosively aggressive and oppressed by their pasts. By playing into these stereotypes it just facilitates these perceptions into the current society, it is a vicious cycle. It is clear in the reading that even later cast members have been influenced by previous seasons of the show, and continue to pick up on these perceptions of the African American males that they themselves room with unfairly.
Not only do cast members deal with these stereotypes, but also the viewers and mass popular culture in general. The Real World is unfortunately not the only reality show that plays into stereotypes, which creates a very negative stigma on many different cultures, and proves the ignorance of society in general. While we play into these illustrations of society, it is clear that the shows utilize the national stereotypes for a straight shot at ratings. Production teams aren’t stupid, they know what will bring in viewers, and it is clear that they aren’t going to change their tactics anytime soon. The cycle just continues as The Real World seasons grow. It isn’t hard to predict what the new casts will look like before they are even introduced. Each cast member fits a cookie cutter shape, size, and back-story. Whether it is okay or not to stereotype, it is clearly effective for television popularity, and it is really up to the viewers to understand, and try to prevent their projections from pop culture on the individuals we interact with day to day. Lastly, if I can figure out the pattern of casting on the show, I'm sure many others can as well, so is it safe to question whether the show is even legitimately "real" anymore, or are people acting the stereotypical roles in order to be on the show?
Discussion Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Is it safe to assume that people are actin on the stereotypes of society in order to be cast on reality shows anymore?
2. Can viewers resist these stereotypes in the actual real world after it is infused in so much of pop culture that surrounds us?
3. Will MTV ever change their production strategy if the public demands a change? Is it safe to say we will all keep watching whether there are stereotypes or not, because stereotypes seem to be a recipe for reality success?
Sarah I agree with you when you said that the people who are watching the show don't necessarily believe in the stereotype, but the majority does. Most people don't want to try new things and give others a chance. People associate others by color or race together and the same, which is not right. I like your conclusion because I believe that most people act in order to be on the show. What the production should do is tell the people that are going to be on the show a different story line and only reveal them at the end of the show the true purpose of it. Maybe things will be different around the house.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if the public really demanded a change in the production of the show they would have to change if they wanted to continue producing a show. But I doubt that it will happen because they are using a generalized stereotype of the black male that is displayed in other places other than the television show.
ReplyDelete