In what way are ethnic stereotypes in children`s films a relevant pedagogical problem?
A critical analysis on the basis of three film examples
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21243/mi-02-19-02Keywords:
children's film, ethnic stereotypes, stereotypes, cliché, precudice, ethnic groupAbstract
In consideration of previous research the following article is concerned with stereotypical depictions of ethnic groups in popular children’s films and deals with the question, how such depictions can be regarded as a relevant pedagogical problem. The focus is on possible options for action of parents and pedagogues as well as the children’s film industry itself. In this context it is argued that appropriate pedagogical conclusions can only be derived when individual characteristics of particular recipients as well as of particular filmic representations are taken into account. To illustrate this thesis in greater detail, stereotypical depictions in three sample films are discussed with regard to possible implications in each case.
References
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Vargas, Lucila (2006): Transnational media literacy: Analytic reflections on a program with Latina teens, in: Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 28, 267–285.
Willets, Kheli R. (2013): Canniballs and coons. Blackness in the early days of Walt Disney, in: Cheu Johnson (Hg.): Diversity in Disney films. Critical essays on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability, Jefferson: McFarland, 9–22.
Yeomann, Elizabeth (1999): ‘How does it get into my imagination?’ Elementary school children’s intertextual knowledge and gendered storylines, in: Gender & Education, 11, 427–440.
Yosso, Tara J. (2002): Critical race media literacy: Challenging deficit discourse about Chicanas/os, in: Journal of Popular Film & Televison, 30, 52–62.
Artz, Lee (2004): The righteousness of self-centered royals: The world according to Disney animation, in: Critical Arts, 18(1), 116–145.
Baacke, Dieter (1997): Medienpädagogik, Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Bodenhausen, Galen V./Schwarz, Norbert/Bless, Herbert/Wänke, Michaela (1995): Effects of atypical exemplars on racial beliefs: Enlightened racism or generalized appraisals? in: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31, 48–63.
Dennis, Everette E. (2011): Preface, in: Ross, Susan Dente/Lester, Paul Martin (Hg.): Images that injure. Pictorial stereotypes in the media, Santa Barbara: Praeger, ix–xi.
Faherty, Vincent E.(2001): Is the mouse sensitive? A study of race, gender, and social vulnerability in Disney animated films, in: SIMILE: Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education, 1 (3), 1–8.
Fisch, Shalom (2018): Mit einer Kindersendung Akzeptanz gegenüber anderen Menschen fördern? in: Televizion, 31, 21–26.
Ganter, Stephan(1997): Stereotype und Vorurteile: Konzeptualisierung, Operationalisierung und Messung (Arbeitspapiere des Mannheimer Zentrums für Europäische Sozialforschung), Mannheim: Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung.
Giroux, Henry A. (1999): Ist Disney gut für Ihre Kinder? in: Beiträge Jugendliteratur und Medien, 51, 3–14.
Gunter, Barrie (1987): “Television and the fear of crime.”, London: John Libbey and Co.
Hobbs, Renee/Cabral, Nuala/Ebrahimi, Aghigh/Yoon, Jiwon/Al-Humaidan, Rawia (2010): Combating Middle East stereotypes through media literacy education in elementary school; online unter: https://mediaeducationlab.com/sites/default/files/Combatting%2520Stereotypes%2520through%2520ML%25206.5.10_0.pdf (letzter Zugriff: 06.04.2019).
Lacroix, Celeste (2004): Images of animated others: The orientalization of Disney’s cartoon heroines from The Little Mermaid to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, in: Popular Communication, 2, 213–229.
Mastro, Dana. (2015): Why the media’s role in issues of race and ethnicity should be in the spotlight, in: Journal of Social Issues, 71(1), 1–16.
Mastro, Dana/Behm-Moawitz, Elizabeth/Ortiz, Michelle (2007): The cultivation of social perceptions of Latinos: A mental model approach, in: Media Psychology, 9, 1–19.
McKown, Clarke/Weinstein, Rhonas(2003): The development and consequences of stereotype consciousness in middle childhood, in: Child Development, 74, 498–515.
Mlapa, Manda (2018): Kinderfernsehen ist vor allem weiß. Analyse von bildungsorientierten Programmen weltweit, in: Televizion, 31, 34–35.
Peffley, Mark/Shield, Todd/Williams, Bruce (1996): The intersection of race and crime in television news stories: An experimental study, in: Political Communication, 13, 309–327.
Pimentel, Octavio/Velázquez, Paul(2009): Shrek 2: An appraisal of mainstream’s influence on identity, in: Journal of Latinos and Education, 8, 5–21.
Polednak, Anthony P.(1989): Racial and ethnic differences in disease, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ramasubramaniam, Srividya (2015): Using celebrity news stories to effectively reduce racial/ethnic prejudice, in: Journal of Social Issues, 71(1), 123–138.
Rivadeneyra, Rocio/Ward, L. Monique/Gordon, Maya (2007): Distorted reflections: Media exposure and Latino adolescents’ conceptions of self, in: Media Psychology, 9, 261–290.
Scharrer, Erica/Ramasubramaniam, Srividya (2015): Intevening in the media’s influence on stereotypes of race and ethnicity: The role of media literacy education, in: Journal of Social Issues, 71(1), 171–185.
Schmidt, Carolyn S. (2006): Not just Disney: Destructive stereotypes of Arabs in children’s literature, in Dary A. Zabel (Hg.): Arabs in the Americas: Interdisciplinary essays in the Arab diaspora,New York: Peter Land, 169–182.
Schwender, Clemens/ Petersen, Thomas (2016): Visuelle Stereotype in der Kommunikationsforschung, in: Lobinger, Katharina (Hg.): Handbuch Visuelle Kommunikationsforschung, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien, 1–23.
Smith, Stacy/Pieper, Katherine M./Granados, Amy/Choueiti, Marc (2010): Assessing gender-related portrayals in top-grossing G-rated films, in: Sex Roles, 62, 774–786.
Smith, Stacy/Choueiti, Marc/Pieper, Katherine M. (2013): Race/ethnicity in 500 popular films: Is the key to diversifying cinematic content held in the hand of the Black director?, online unter: https://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/MDSCI_Race_Ethnicity_in_500_Popular_Films.pdf (letzter Zugriff: 06.04.2019).
Spector, Alan J. (1998): Disney does diversity: The social context of racial-ethnic imagery, in: Yahya Kamalipour/TheresaCarilli (Hg): Cultural diversity and the U.S. media, Albany: State University of New York Press, 39–50.
Sperb, Jason (2010): Reassuring Convergence: Online fandom, race, and Disney’s notorious Song of the South, in: Cinema Journal, 49, 25–45.
Tukachinsky, Riva (2015): Where we have been and where we can go from here: looking to the future in research on media, race, and ethnicity, in: Journal of Social Issues, 71(1), 186–199.
Turner, Patricia A. (1994): Ceramic Uncles & Celluloid Mammies. Black images and their influence on culture, New York: Anchor Books.
Towbin, Mia A./Haddock, Shelley A./Zimmerman, Toni S./Lund, Lori K./Tanner, Litsa R. (2003): Images of gender, race, age, and sexual orientation in Disney feature-length animated films, in: Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15, 19–44.
Valkenburg, Patti M./Krcmar, Marina/Peeters, Allerd L./Marseille, Nies M. (1999): Developing a scale to assess three styles of television mediation: “Instructive Mediation”, “Restrictive Mediation”, and “Social Coviewing”, in: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 1999, 43, 52–66.
van Wormer, Katharine/Juby, Cindy (2016): Cultural representations in Walt Disney films: Implications for social work education, in: Journal of Social Work, 16, 578–594.
Vargas, Lucila (2006): Transnational media literacy: Analytic reflections on a program with Latina teens, in: Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 28, 267–285.
Willets, Kheli R. (2013): Canniballs and coons. Blackness in the early days of Walt Disney, in: Cheu Johnson (Hg.): Diversity in Disney films. Critical essays on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability, Jefferson: McFarland, 9–22.
Yeomann, Elizabeth (1999): ‘How does it get into my imagination?’ Elementary school children’s intertextual knowledge and gendered storylines, in: Gender & Education, 11, 427–440.
Yosso, Tara J. (2002): Critical race media literacy: Challenging deficit discourse about Chicanas/os, in: Journal of Popular Film & Televison, 30, 52–62.
Published
2019-07-21
How to Cite
Hemmerich, F. (2019). In what way are ethnic stereotypes in children`s films a relevant pedagogical problem? A critical analysis on the basis of three film examples. Media Impulses, 57(2). https://doi.org/10.21243/mi-02-19-02
Issue
Section
Research
