Many people believe that parents are the biggest influence on a child’s perception of other races and genders? However, does media play a part in how children view other races and genders? Are people influenced to believe that what they see on television actually represents an entire race or gender? While watching the evening news and other prime-time television shows, I had the pleasure viewing fifty television commercials. Approximately five percent of these commercials portrayed some sort of stereotyping. Three commercials in particular led me to think that the media does stereotype groups of people and play a big part in how society views each other.
             When thinking of a typical bully, many imagine a guy with big biceps, weighing three hundred sixty-five pounds and stands about six feet tall. The first commercial I observed was on of the famous ‘Got Milk’ commercials. It takes place in a shabby country diner. In walks there provocatively overweight guys, one Hispanic and the other two Caucasian. The first guy barges his way through the crowd pushing and shoving everyone in his sight. The second guy looks around and sees that there isn’t any available seats so he rudely grabs two skinny gentlemen, who were quietly sipping there coffee, and tosses them out of their seats. Everyone in the diner was in fear of these guys. This commercial implied that overweight guys are bullies and like to boss other people around. Could this commercial have been less stereotypical? How would the commercial have appeared if the bullies were replaced with three thin, short and bald guys?
             Do you believe that big trucks are only purchased and driven by men? While watching one of Ford’s renowned F150 commercials, I could not help but notice that all the smiling faces in the trucks were that of men. I did not see a glimpse of a woman, not even in the passenger seat. The commercial consisted of about ten clips of ...