Stereotypes in THE SIMPSONS
At some point in the course of human events, America decided that the television was their Dali Lama, their cultural and spiritual leader. Overlooking its obvious entertainment based purpose, Americans have let the television baby-sit and rear their children. I do not recall a manifesto from the television industry, but society put television in a role it does not have authority in. The only thing television set out to do was provide the passive entertainment American society wants. True, television does not accurately reflect race in America, but it is not the job of the television industry to do so. Too much importance has been put on television to provide guidance and information that American society has grown too lazy and too indifferent to find for themselves. When society finds that their information is wrong or tainted they blame television instead of finding truth and accuracy for themselves. Although television does not reflect race accurately, Americans have become too dependent on television to provide everything they know. In one of this generation's most popular TV shows, The Simpsons, it is easy to find stereotypes. There are numerous examples throughout the series, mostly toward Apu, the Indian storekeep
Lipsitz finds this "degrading, insulting, and implicated in the most vicious and pernicious form," as he is expected to. The problem is television ridicules everyone, and it is a source of entertainment, not culture and politics, which is what seems to be expected of TV by society. TV is even criticized for not taking sides in ideological debates, the reason being that it is not TV's job to tell people what to believe. That is each individual's responsibility to develop themselves. Indians and African Americans are not alone. All minorities are depicted inaccurately. Asian Americans, for example, are represented "as perpetually foreign and never American." They are depicted "as murderous and mysterious, as amorous or amoral... symbols of danger, refuge, inspiration, and forgiveness." "[Lipsitz] The stereotypes continue redundantly. Jokes about Indian films, food, and other things fill the script. Then there is the grand finale, where Homer, the main character, and Apu go to India to ask for Apu's job back at the main office. The president and CEO very closely resembles a Hindu leader, making Indian and convenience store clerk appear synonymous. Other minorities are also misrepresented in The Simpsons. In the same episode, for example, Homer is watching an African American comedian who stereotypically stereotypes "white" guys. Reverend Jesse Jackson says that the media depicts African Americans in "5 deadly ways: less intelligent...less hardwork
Some common words found in the essay are:
Dali Lama, Lipsitz Lipsitz, Homer Apu, Soon American, African Americans, Hopefully Internet, India Apu's, Asian Americans, Americans TV, Jokes Indian, american society, tv designed entertainment, indian convenience, television industry, tv simpsons, tv designed, convenience store, reflect race, african americans, asian americans, television provide,
Approximate Word count = 986
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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