Chapter Four: The Spread of Ideology:
“Controlling Images” and Racism in the
Media
By Tanya Maria Golash-Boza
Ethnoracial Group Portrayals
• Portrayals are patterned to present particular
characterizations over and over. These can be
considered “controlling images” in media, social
media, and video games.
• These portrayals then represent members of that
group either in flawed or super-human ways. These
are both messages about what groups and
individual members of these groups are like.
• Under-representation is also an issue.
• Portrayals of a group of people also portray
masculine and feminine expectations of that group.
Native American
Stereotypes
Native American Women
Native American Men
Princess
Savage
Hypersexual savage
Noble
Squaw
Wise
Serves white interests
Sidekicks
Matriarch
Shamans
What stereotype do you see in this
description of representations?
A food product that you can purchase at various
grocery outlets is Land O’Lakes Butter. The image
features a slim Indian Maiden in a tribally
unidentifiable dress serving butter on a platter to
whoever is looking at the image. The serving princess
image is part of this advertisement.
Arab American
Stereotypes
Arab American Women
Arab American Men
Exotic
Terrorists
Victim of discrimination
Victim of discrimination
Veiled
Billionaires
Arab American
Stereotypes
“Evelyn Asultany (2008) points out that in the
aftermath of September 11, some television shows
took up the question of whether it was fair to
discriminate against Arab or Muslim Americans in the
name of national security. Asultany contends that this
representation leads to the conclusion that Americans
have to choose between protecting the nation and
discriminating against Arabs and Arab Americans
(who are, according to the subtext, prone to being
dangerous).” (p 103)
Example of Arab
American Stereotype
This is a description of a billboard that was created in
2005. “The ad depicts an individual whose face is
covered by a Kufiya (the traditional male headdress in
some Arab countries,) [sic] carrying a hand-grenade
with what appears to be a blood smear and a driver's
license. The billboard also features nonsensical Arabic
letters that were simply lined up without forming any
words. Additionally, there are two figures in the
background wearing military fatigues, black masks,
and green bandanas on their heads with what
appear to be Arabic words. Superimposed on the
images is a caption that reads ‘Don't License Terrorists,
North Carolina!’” (American Arab Anti-discrimination
Committee, December 7, 2005)
Masculine and Feminine
Black Stereotypes
Black Women
Black Men
Mammy—image of a black female
servant who is nurturing
Athletes—shown as prominent role
for black men
Sapphire—angry woman—who shows Thugs—this is shown through
anger both in words and with body
gangster-type imagery, with particular
language
dress and mannerisms
Jezebel—hypersexual black woman
Rapists—especially shown as rapists
of white women
Tragic Mulatto—a woman who comes
from white and black ancestry who
experiences emotional agony over her
identity and often sacrifices herself
Sidekicks—this is usually a
companion of a white man who
dominates the story line of a film or
presentation.
What image type do you see in this
description of representations?
A comic strip in February 2011 showed a
representation of Michelle Obama eating dinner with
President Barack Obama (Parkin, n.d.). Both of them
were drawn as cartoonish, and Michelle Obama was
depicted as angry, over-indulgent, and aggressive.
Both terms of the Barack Obama presidency faced
such imagery. This representation includes which
stereotype:
a) Sapphire
b) Jezebel
c) Mammy
d) Sidekick
Latina/o Stereotypes
Increasingly, Latinos’ portrayals in media consist of
negative imagery.
Latinas
Latinos
Sexually-alluring Latina:
Cantina Girl
Suffering Señorita
Vamp
Latin lover
Maids and Nannies
Working class:
Police officer
Janitor
Gardener
Criminal:
Gangbanger
Bandit
Narco-trafficker
What image type do you see in this
description of representations?
The Frito Bandito (bandit) character was part of
advertising for Frito brand corn chips for four years in
the early 1970s. Described as “pudgy, greasy,
illiterate-sounding, jolly thief,” the image showed a
gun-toting, short cartoonish man with a twirled
mustache, a large sombrero, and wearing two bullet
belts and two guns (Carrillo, 2003 Summer). The
character prided himself on his ability to steal corn
chips. Here is a You Tube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOUilxJWm24
Have you heard of this character? What other
advertisements show stereotypical imagery?
Asian American
Stereotypes
Asian American Women
Asian American Men
Hypersexual Seductress:
Dragon Lady-evil character
Butterfly- submissive character
One-dimensional
Creepy
Effeminate
Inscrutable Asian
Inscrutable Asian
Constantly mistaken as non-American
Constantly mistaken as non-American
Stereotype Example:
Clothing Line
A series of T-shirts made by a popular clothing
company created controversy as the clothing
reproduced graphics that communicated the
message that Asian Americans were “forever foreign.”
The shirts featured the Wong brothers dressed in
stereotypical hats and what could be interpreted as
peasant outfits, and one shirt sported a laundry
service depicted with “Two Wongs can make it
White.” (The Critical Media Project, n.d.)
More Aspects of
Stereotypes
• Media can also be used to counteract stereotypes
such as through memes.
• “Pop culture representations of people of color
have evolved over time yet continue to propagate
old racial ideologies. While the seventeenth-century
representation of black men as lazy served to justify
slavery, the current representation of black men as
thugs serves to justify the astonishingly high rates of
incarceration of black men today.” (p. 112)
• Images can be particular to certain cross sections
of race, class, and gender
• Members of racial groups can either challenge or
reinforce stereotypes in their own media products.
Responses to Stereotypes
“Faced with these images, we can:
1) internalize them and accept them as reality,
2) resist them and develop our own ideas about black
masculinity or femininity [or other groups by gender],
or
3) ignore them.
Any of these reactions requires some action on our
part and will affect how we think of ourselves and
others.” (p. 114)
References for Images
American Arab Anti-discrimination Committee. (2005,
December 7). Stop Racist Billboard Campaign: ADC
Action Alert. Retrieved from
http://www.naba.org.uk/Content/articles/Diaspora/6
01_BillBoard_Campain.htm
Carrillo, K. J. (2003, Summer). Highly offensive: Karen
Juanita Carrillo Examines the Ongoing Currency of
Racist Curios. Retrieved from
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/links/newslist/offensive.
htm
References for Images
The Critical Media Project. (n.d.). Wong Brothers T-Shirt
About. Retrieved from
http://www.criticalmediaproject.org/cml/media/aber
crombie-fitch-wong-brothers-t-shirt/
Parkin, J. K. (n.d.) Hudnall, Lash under fire for Political
Cartoon Retrieved March 22, 20014 from
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/02/hud
nall-lash-under-fire-for-political-cartoon/