Stereotypes in American Film

Stereotypes have been around since the beginning of the film industry. Though they may have become less obvious in most instances, they are still present today. The stereotypes that people seem to notice the most are of ethnic groups other than whites, especially if the stereotypes are particularly negative. As part of our country's struggle for civil rights, negative racial stereotypes are frowned upon and appear much less often in today's media.

However, today there are also many stereotypes of Americans that are considered "white." These stereotypes sometimes go unnoticed because "the average moviegoer thinks about issues of race only when seeing a movie about a racial or ethnic minority group." (Benshoff & Griffin, 2009). Among these are Italian Americans (who appear as restaurant owners or mobsters), southern Americans (who appear dull and idiotic, and speak with a slow drawl), and one that hits close to home, Scandinavian Americans.

Scandinavian American Stereotypes in Film



"Fargo" (1996) is probably the most well-known film that uses Scandinavian American stereotypes. The film portrays the characters as small-town folk with a thick, unique accent. The characters are also portrayed as having stereotypical "Minnesota nice" attitudes and at times seem dim-witted or naive.



A less known film, "Drop Dead Gorgeous," (1999) is about a local teen beauty pageant in Mt Rose, Minnesota. Though it is a much different type of movie than "Fargo," the characters are portrayed the same way. However, "Drop Dead Gorgeous" also seems to suggest that the characters are "white trash". They live in trailer parks and they like to hunt and farm.

The stereotypes in these movies are rooted in truth, as all stereotypes are. However, they have created some misconstrued ideas of how Scandinavian Americans talk, act, and live (for example, lutefisk served in the cafeteria every Wednesday in "Drop Dead Gorgeous." I am more than 50% Norwegian and have never been served lutefisk in my life).

"New in Town," a new film starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, is about a city girl from Miami who is sent to New Ulm, Minnesota to oversee restructuring of a manufacturing plant. This film also employs the thick accent, and the characters are blue collar workers whose favorite activities include ice fishing.



This shows that the stereotypical Scandinavian American continues to serve as a comical character in film.

Aspects of Form in "Wanted"

"Wanted" was one of the most successful films of 2008, and is centered around three characters played by well-known actors: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman. A summary for the film on www.imdb.com says:

"A young man finds out his long lost father is an assassin. When his father is murdered, the son is recruited into his father's old organization and trained by a man named Sloan to follow in his dad's footsteps.

The anxious, clumsy and abused office clerk Wesley Allan Gibson has a hell and boring routine life: his obese boss humiliates him all the time and his girlfriend betrays him with his colleague and best friend during working period. When he meets the sexy Fox, Wesley is informed that his father was a professional killer that belonged to an ancient organization called Fraternity and killed by the skilled and powerful Cross, a hit-man that has betrayed the Fraternity. Wesley learns that his anxiety actually is a manifestation of his latent abilities and he joins the society under the command of Sloan. Trained by Fox, he changes his personality and attitude, being prepared to face the dangerous Cross and find a hidden secret. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil"

In this blog, I will discuss the use of editing and sound editing in the film and trailer.

Editing



In the trailer, editing was used to attract audiences (most likely fans of action films) by making it look like it is fast-moving, includes sexual content, and chronicles the rise and ultimate triumph of the underdog. The trailer uses short clips, many showing action and/or violence, making it seem like a movie with a lot of that content. This is pretty accurate to the film, although there are some slower-moving scenes as well.

The trailer also shows a close-up scene of Wesley and Fox kissing, making it seem like a romance buds between the two. However, this is not true in the film, but sexual content is a desired aspect of most action movies.

Third, the trailer uses editing to display that the film chronicles the rise of an underdog. Wesley is depicted as weak or incompetent throughout most of the trailer - until the end where he is shown confidently leaping through a window, wielding a gun in each hand. Also, Sloan's voiceover where he is telling Wesley that he needs to make a choice, be a "sheep" or join the fraternity, the trailer shows what Wesley's life looks like in each situation and makes it clear which is the better choice.

Sound Editing



In this scene from "Wanted," sound editing is used to clarify what action is happening, and who the "bad guy" really is.

During the car chase, the sounds of the tires squealing, engine running, and bullets shattering the window are all enhanced to make it clear what is happening. If those sounds were dulled or hard to hear, it would be more difficult for the viewer to pick up on some of it, since there is a lot going on.

Also, the man in the limousine smoking a cigar could be just about anyone, but the Italian music that he is listening to makes it clear to the viewer that he is supposed to be a member of the Mafia. The viewer probably doesn't even realize that they pick up on this, it is basically subliminal.

Femininity and Ensemble Casts on Television

The concepts from this class can be applied to so many texts in everyday media consumption, it’s almost hard to keep track. This entry will use three concepts discussed in “Media, Gender and Identity” by David Gauntlett: traditional femininity, modern femininity, and ensemble casts. These will be illustrated using examples from the “reality” television show (if you can truly call it that), “The Girls Next Door,” and from the drama “The OC.”

The first two concepts, traditional and post-modern femininity, will be discussed using this clip from the first episode of “The Girls Next Door.” This clip introduces the three girls individually and discusses the lifestyle that they have chosen at the Playboy Mansion.



First of all, this video brings up some interesting aspects regarding femininity. The outward appearance of the three girls is sort of a feminine ideal: blonde, thin (yet curvy), tan, and beautiful. Also, the fact that they don’t seem to work and depend on a man financially is a more traditional way for women to live.

However, the fact that even their everyday life is laden with nudity and sexuality is not traditionally considered feminine. However, it could be argued that modern femininity includes sexual freedom a la “Cosmopolitan.” Also, while Holly seems to be the most traditionally feminine “girlfriend” and is very focused on her relationship with Hugh Hefner, both Bridget and Kendra have personality traits that are not traditionally feminine. It would seem that Bridget (at one time in her life, anyway) was very career-driven. She earned a Master’s degree in communications. Kendra, on the other hand, is very athletic and even described in the video as a “tom-boy.”

What is interesting about these women is that despite the fact that they seem to be perfectly capable and intelligent, they choose a lifestyle which most people would consider degrading to women. While Hefner dates all three of them, it seems, on the show, that they can only date him. Since they even live in his house, it gives the impression that he has ownership over them.

However, recent tabloid magazines have reported that two of the “girlfriends” are dating or engaged to other men and will be leaving the Playboy Mansion. Perhaps the impression that Hefner treated these women as property is incorrect, and it is simply a different lifestyle than most are used to. As we discussed in class, feminism is about women having the right to choose, and this is simply the lifestyle that Hefner’s girlfriends chose.

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When we discussed the third concept, ensemble casts, in class, the first image that popped into my head was the front cover of the first season DVD box set, shown here:



The number of male and female characters shown on the front is nearly equal (five men and four women), and they all fulfill pretty traditional gender roles. The cast members shown consist of two typical teenage girls, three typical teenage boys, and two married couples. The only character that is arguably not the “norm” is Kirsten Cohen. She is the main breadwinner for the Cohen family, and is a terrible cook. However, the main focal point of her role on the show is that of the “mother.”

The young people on season one of “The OC” are a good example of an ensemble cast because they provide an array of stereotypical characters. There is the jock, the nerd, the rough-around-the-edges kid, the ditzy girl, and the socialite. That isn’t to say that the characters are one-dimensional, but people who are familiar with the show would easily be able to pick out which characters I am referring to by the descriptions above.