In today’s modern society, television has become a platform that can largely influence the minds of millions of people. Some of the most popular tv shows on the air are reality shows, like The Real Housewives of Atlanta. But, most of these reality tv shows have one very unfortunate factor in common. Most of these reality tv shows show certain racial and ethnic groups in a negative light by expressing negative stereotypes for views. These stereotypes in reality tv are very harmful to the groups affected and to society in general and should not be shown on television because they degrade the group being stereotyped, make people believe that those stereotypes are actually true, and will promote the popularity of even more stereotypes being
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For example, the most stereotyped group in reality tv are African-American women. In shows like “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” African- American women are represented as loud, egotistical, and “ghetto”, when in reality this is not the case for all African-American women. The stereotypes displayed on reality tv shows degrade the rest of African-American women by having them all perceived as this stereotype. Media researcher Sherri Williams comments on this, saying” reality tv shows often show violent stereotypes about women of color”. Another example of how a reality television show can horrifically represent a group in a negative light is the former cliche-ridden reality tv show called” Sorority Sisters,” which spread such negative and degrading stereotypes about African-American women that Black viewers demanded its removal from television and succeeded in doing so. Unfortunately, not only do they degrade the group being targeted, they also can make these cliches seem believable and …show more content…
Due to people seeing their popularity, others will begin to show or use these stereotypes to gain more popularity. An example of this is the expansion of the “Housewives” and “Basketball Wives” series. Since these shows that show harmful stereotypes are popular, people have begun to produce even more of them for economic gain. The expansion of these stereotypes will also make them more popular in daily life, since these shows will make people believe that these stereotypes are true, which will lead to some members of the public perceiving the stereotyped group in a negative light. Greg Samms, a West Virginian a dishwasher who was interviewed by Michael Gonchar of the New York Times, said that stereotypes have influenced other people in other parts of the country to think that everyone in West Virginia are “ Hillbillies” due to multiple reality shows that revolve around this “ redneck and hillbilly”
For example, the most stereotyped group in reality tv are African-American women. In shows like “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” African- American women are represented as loud, egotistical, and “ghetto”, when in reality this is not the case for all African-American women. The stereotypes displayed on reality tv shows degrade the rest of African-American women by having them all perceived as this stereotype. Media researcher Sherri Williams comments on this, saying” reality tv shows often show violent stereotypes about women of color”. Another example of how a reality television show can horrifically represent a group in a negative light is the former cliche-ridden reality tv show called” Sorority Sisters,” which spread such negative and degrading stereotypes about African-American women that Black viewers demanded its removal from television and succeeded in doing so. Unfortunately, not only do they degrade the group being targeted, they also can make these cliches seem believable and …show more content…
Due to people seeing their popularity, others will begin to show or use these stereotypes to gain more popularity. An example of this is the expansion of the “Housewives” and “Basketball Wives” series. Since these shows that show harmful stereotypes are popular, people have begun to produce even more of them for economic gain. The expansion of these stereotypes will also make them more popular in daily life, since these shows will make people believe that these stereotypes are true, which will lead to some members of the public perceiving the stereotyped group in a negative light. Greg Samms, a West Virginian a dishwasher who was interviewed by Michael Gonchar of the New York Times, said that stereotypes have influenced other people in other parts of the country to think that everyone in West Virginia are “ Hillbillies” due to multiple reality shows that revolve around this “ redneck and hillbilly”