Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Stereotypes
Watching the documentary clip about the stereotyping of indigenous peoples was eye opening. I think we're all aware of the current issues facing indigenous peoples in the Americas but I never really thought about the reasons. I'm doing my essay paper based on a poem about capitalism and it's effect on non white peoples so it has been very enlightening to think about all of the direct facets of our society that I never considered to be dangerous (such as the film industry or our economy) but in reality are contributing to the continuance of colonization.
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I was always aware of how various industries would make negative stereotypes about many races, not just Native Americans. But no one ever really considers how damaging such practices can be until someone calls them out on it and by then it has usually been accepted as a standard that is ultimately difficult to break. Once people get something in their minds, even if it's not true, people will consider it as the truth despite all the evidence out there to the contrary. As you said, that documentary clip really opens up your views on how the world really sees some cultures when it almost usually isn't true.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, I've never really though of the reasons either. There are so many different policies from the government that affect Native Americans but I didn't really consider those things either. I agree with snkaedude that once an idea gets out and is believed to be true it's almost impossible to change the publics view, even if what is believed is really a lie.
ReplyDeleteYeah, sometimes even minor things affect people to a great degree. The sad thing is that when the general public believes a stereotype about a group of people, that group begins to internalize it and make that stereotype come true. The media and its oftentimes false depictions do not help at all.
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