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Jeff Tilley
Ms. Vanderpool
Ms. Engel
2/21/10
Senior English
Black and White
Stereotypes are more then likely the most common thing around in today's society. They
have been around for some generations now. The biggest one is the racial stereotype that
Caucasian Americans and African Americans are completely different from one another. There
is also the thought that Caucasians and African Americans cannot do the same things; as in white
people cannot play basketball. This stereotype is so miscued and far from the truth. "White Men
Cant Jump", "Black people can't swim", and "White people cannot rap" are all examples of how
this stereotype is portrayed. Why does the media think that it is ok to exploit this? T.V shows,
movies, newspaper, cartoons, and even poetry will all exploit the stereotype. There is no
difference in the two ethnic groups. The media is wrong for exploiting the stereotype that
"Whites" and "Blacks" are so different.
"I don't wear tight jeans like the white boys, but I do get wasted like the white boys"
(Gucci Mane). This is one of the lyrics from Rap Star Gucci Manes music hit "Wasted". These
types of lyrics are around all types of music. The main genre of music that this stereotype is
associated with is rap music or hip hop. This one lyric alone in the song is sending a message
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that the "White Boys" are different from everybody else. Gucci Mane is implying that all white
boys wear tight jeans and that they get "wasted". This song was a smash hit, which means that
millions upon millions of people from all ages and backgrounds have listened to this song. This
song has more then likely manipulated people to believe, with this one lyric, that the white boys
are different. When in fact, there is nothing different about them at all
In 2004, director Paul Haggis directed one movie that the United States and the rest of the
world have never seen before. Paul Haggis directed the Oscar award winning movie Crash.
Crash is a blending of many characters backgrounds. It shows each character in their everyday
life. The big difference with this story is that all of the characters stories revolve around how
they handle the racism in front of them. All these characters stories backgrounds eventually
intertwine with one another and they learn from one another how to rightfully deal with the
racism. In the rising action of the film, a character named Officer John Ryan is attempting to
reason with a social worker for his father to keep receiving medical attention. The woman,
Shaniqua Brown, is doing her job and cannot allow Officer Ryan's father to stay any longer.
Shaniqua: [talking on the phone] Mr. Ryan, your father has been to the clinic
three times in the last month. He's been treated for a urinary tract infection that is
by no means an emergency. Now, if you have any more questions about your
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HMO plan, why don't you make an appointment to come in between ten and four,
Monday through Friday.
Officer Ryan: What does my father do about sleeping tonight?
Shaniqua: I don't know. I'm not a Doctor.
Officer Ryan: I wanna talk to your supervisor...
Shaniqua: I am my supervisor!
Officer Ryan: Yeah, what's your name?
Shaniqua: Shaniqua Johnson.
Officer Ryan: Shaniqua. Big f****** surprise that is!
Shaniqua: Oh!
Officer Ryan showed a side of himself that people may not know. He was raised to believe that
all black women names are like that. Mixed with anger he showed racism toward Shaniqua,
though this is only a movie, this type of racism is around everywhere. The stereotype is shown
all over this film. Crash opened up a lot of eyes of people all across the world.
"A stereotype for a member of the white race is the belief that (s) he is superior to
individuals of other ethnic groups in terms of generic or social aspects" (Stereotypes of White
People). This is from an article posted on the website Wikipedia titled Stereotypes of White
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People. The fact that someone would even consider putting something like this on the internet
shows that there is a problem in society. There really shouldn't be a thought of difference
amongst ethnic groups. The media is the main contributor of the stereotypes. In the article there
is a line that states "White will be the minority". Who has the right to say who the minority is?
TV shows and newspaper articles and everything in between all state or show that there is a
minority. Stereotypes that show the differences make people believe that there really is
something wrong.
Shawn Richard is an 18 year old Caucasian student at Carman-Ainsworth High School.
He competes in sports such as swimming and baseball. When I came to Shawn with some
interview questions he answered very honest. I asked Shawn a very straight forward question; do
you think that white and black people are different? He answered, "Yes I think they are different
because we all treat each other different doesn't matter what color you are you will always be
treated different for your race" (Richard). When Shawn was brought with the question that if
there is a difference in sports when it comes down to ethnic groups. He answered, "Yes, because
the coaches are black and they will only play black people in less you're an outstanding white
person" (Richard). He does not believe he is a racist, he just believes very strongly that there is a
difference. The final question I asked him was where he began to believe of this difference in
ethnic groups. He answered, "T.V shows and movies that I have seen throughout my whole life
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make me believe this. Also with walking around and being around the two different cultures you
can obviously tell the difference" (Richard). This is an example of one person in America that
highly believes there is a difference is the two ethnic groups. The main reason for his beliefs on
this is that he grew up watching shows and movies that all portray Caucasian Americans and
African Americans to be different.
The stereotype is getting to a point where it's almost ridiculous. There is a book out
called Stuff White People Like: A Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions. The book is all about
the differences in white people. The book uses terms as "they" which is referring to the
Caucasian people. The Author, Christian Lander, states some examples of specific things that
white people like;
They pretend to be unique, yet somehow they're all exactly the same, talking abut
how they "get" Sarah Silverman's "subversive" comedy and Wes Anderson's
"droll" films. They are also down with diversity and up on all the best
microbrews, breakfast spots, foreign cinema, and authentic sushi (Lander)
Christian Lander is Caucasian. He believes it is hilarious to show the little differences in the
ethnic groups. He is implying that only white people can like the things that he preaches about in
his book. It's now obviously not just the African Americans that are throwing the stereotype
around likes it nothing. Lander believes it is funny.
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In 1992, a movie was developed that was, to say the least, different from any other sports
movie of its time. White Men Can’t Jump starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. The
movies plot is set in the big city. Two young basketball players are trying to win some money on
the courts. Wesley Snipes’ character, Sydney, is a trash talking African American man that
won’t take anything from anybody. Woody Harrelson’s character on the other hand is at first a
real quiet shy Caucasian man sitting on the sideline. Billy, Woody Harrelson’s character, is not
really a shy character. When he is on the court it is all focus on what he needs to do to win the
money he needs to survive. He will do whatever it takes including trash talking or playing dirty.
Billy and Sydney meet up on the courts one day and Sydney throws the idea of playing against
Billy only because of the color of his skin. White people can’t play basketball right? Billy not
only proves Sydney wrong but they together become one of the top teams in the city. Billy didn’t
let the stereotype throw him off his game. He used it against his opponent. “Billy, listen to me.
White men can’t jump.”(White Men Can’t Jump). Billy took this as a challenge which is what
every individual should do when they are faced with these types of stereotypes. Billy showed
Sydney that stereotype was not true. Sydney believed only because of how he was raised to
believe that white men can’t jump. Billy dunked a basketball. The stereotype was no longer
around on the courts.
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Jamie Pierce took a stand on stereotypes. She wrote a poem on how stereotypes will not
put her down. She wrote that they cannot change who she is.
You can’t classify me.
You can’t label me on a list
Or tie me up and put me in your pretty black box.
I’m original
You have never seen anything like me before
I broke the mold
I am a new creation
You can’t place me in a group.
(Pierce)
The author of this poem stepped out of the box by stating that “you can’t classify me” (Pierce). It
shows that she is not going to let the simple stereotypes around the world will not affect her. She
knows that everybody is different yet equal at the same time. “I am my own person” (Pierce).
People need to stop listening to what is put in front of them with the media and take the path that
the author has chosen.
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The stereotype of white and black people is not only in cities but it is down to the south
also. The leader of an all white basketball league has brought forward that he does not hate
people of color. He says this, but the leader of the “All American League” continues to use slurs
such as “colored”. He believes that he is doing nothing wrong but this leader has come out in the
open and stated that he does not want to watch the “street ball” that the “people of color” play.
This is a problem. He thinks he is doing nothing wrong, but he is publicly showing that a
percentage of Americans believe that white people play the game different then black people.
Basketball can only be played one way. The color of someone’s skin cannot affect the way the
game is played.
The Stereotype has reached different parts of the world. In an East Asian country a
company has decided to come out with a product called black toothpaste. The product itself has
absolutely no relation to racism or the stereotype that Caucasian Americans and African
Americans are different. The commercial that is advertising this product is the issue. The
commercials outline looks like this.
First, the little girl loses her balloon. The Black guy climbs up this huge pole and
gets the balloon for the girl. Then the Asian mother screams in terror when she
finds her sweet Asian daughter with the black man. The black guy then goes to
sleep on the bristles of a humongous toothbrush, morphs in the black toothpaste
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on a normal sized toothbrush and then the tagline. And what a racist tagline it
is— “Appearance can be deceiving” (Flumesday.com).
The commercial shows something to be scared about when it comes to black people. Though this
happened in East Asia, this type of behavior is still around in the United States.
The stereotype to me is not a joke. There is no laughing matter when it comes to
this. People for centuries have been trying to make people believe that there are no differences.
This however, has not stopped any type of media from producing what they produce. White
players can’t play basketball. Black people cant like what white people like. White people cant
like what black people like. Is there a difference in what each of the races like? Just because
everybody sees it on TV or movies they seem to think this about life. Nobody should be treated
any differently because of the color of their skin. The media should be able to do this. The media
is wrong for exploiting the stereotype that "Whites" and "Blacks" are so different.
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Works Cited
"Asher Roth biography, bio, story."AceShowbiz.com-Celebrity gossip, celebrity photo, and
movie reviews, DVD, interviews, new release album and other entertainment news. Web. 25
Feb.2010. <http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/asher_roth/biography.html>.
Crash. Dir. Paul Haggis. Perf. Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, and Matt Dillon. Bob yari,
Production
2004. Film. "GUCCI MANE - WASTED LYRICS." Music Lyrics. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
<http ://www. elyricsworld. com/wasted_lyrics_gucci_mane .html>. "Jeff Foxworthy
Quotes." Famous Quotes and Quotations at BrainyQuote. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
<http: //www. brainy quote. com/quotes/authors/j /j eff_fox worthy. html>. Richard,
Shawn. "Black And White Stereotypes." Personal interview. 22 Feb. 2010. "Top 10 Most Racist
Commercials -." Flumesday.com. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.flumesday.com/102906racist.html>. "White Men Can't Jump (1992)." The
Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.imdb. com/title/ttO 105 812/>.
"Whites-Only Basketball League: Ail-American Basketball Alliance Bans Blacks,
Foreigners." 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2010.
<http://http://www.huffmgtonpost.com/2010/01/20/whites-only-basketball-le n 42928l.html>.