Stereotypes: Perception and Globally Connected World

Persuasive Essay: Stereotypes exist because they are grounded in truth The term stereotype has been derived from the Greek words “stereos” and “typos” meaning solid and impression respectively. Hence stereotype means “solid impression” (Henry George). Nowadays this term refers to generalizations or assumptions that people make about the characteristics of all members of a group based on an image of what people in that group are like.
For example, black people are considered stronger than white people, Americans are considered friendly, tolerant but arrogant. Clearly these are assumptions and generalizations which are not applicable to everyone. If we just assume what a person is like and don’t judge them individually we are likely to make errors in estimating their characters (Stereotypes). There has been a lot of debate on this topic that stereotypes exist because they are grounded in truth.
Although supporters of this view base their argument on the inherent nature of the people and how these stereotypes didn’t just come out of nowhere they fail to take into account the other side. Media, educational institutes and science can show why such stereotypes exist and that they are not based on truth. One of the dominant reasons of majority’s belief in stereotypes is the existence of an influential media that shapes the perceptions of this globally connected world.

It indoctrinates the dominant views of the society into the minds of people. An example would be the Muslims image as seen in the west today. This stereotype regarding this that all Muslims are terrorists became prevalent in the west after the 9/11 incident and the media is directly responsible for this. After this incident a number of movies have been made which portrayed Muslims as terrorists and considering the amount of people who watch these movies, it becomes evident that such a stereotype is likely to be engrained in their minds.
Besides, there are several other stereotypes promoted by media which have plagued the human society. Cartoon movies thoroughly enjoyed by children are full of stereotypes. For example the movie Cinderella reinforces the evil character of stepmother as is generally perceived. In Lady and the tramp, Siamese cats negatively portray Asians with heavy voices and odd accents, Arabs are shown as thieves and bad people as in the famous movie Aladdin