Use of Stereotypes in Cinema and Literature

The word ‘stereotype’ is today almost always a term of abuse. A pattern of stereotypes is not neutral. It is the guarantee of our self-respect; it is the projection upon the world of our own sense of our own value, our own position and our own rights. The stereotypes are therefore, highly charged with the feelings and attached to them. They are the fortress of our tradition, and behind its defenses we can continue to feel ourselves safe in the position we occupy (Richard Dyer, 1999).

It is my purpose in this essay to analyze the different kind of stereotypical patterns used in cinema and literature and their representational connotations. Therefore, many aspects will be analyzed starting with a brief research on the differences of the resembled stereotypes in ‘Dead Man’ and ‘Do the Right Thing’, continuing with some different kinds of analysis in various literary texts we had previously worked on in class, such as ‘Indian Radio Days’ and finishing with the multidirectional aspect that stereotypes contain.

‘Dead Man’ is an American Western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch in 1995 and is completely shot in monochrome, while ‘Do the Right Thing’ is a comedy drama film produced, written and directed by Spike Lee in 1989. At first sight, the viewer can we aware that in both films, the roles of the characters are mainly constructed by stereotypes. ‘Dead Man’ is the story of a young man's journey, in a physical and spiritual manner, into a remarkably unfamiliar territory. When he is lost and badly wounded, he encounters a very atypical, outcast Native American, named 'Nobody' who leads William Blake through situations that are as well as violent, comical. The story of ‘Do the Right Thing’ goes around many characters from Brooklyn; the main one, Mooki, works at a pizzeria whose owner is Italian. The lower-class neighborhood is full of different people, not only regarding their personality, but also their race. Most characters in the film are black, together with people from other races and cultures, like Chinese and Italian, for instance.

‘Dead Man’ incorporates conventional stereotypes of Native Americans and ‘Do the Right Thing’ combines conventional stereotypes of Italians but mostly African Americans. In addition, in both films, the stereotypes of the characters are mixed, meaning each of them has a different amount of qualities that fit into the stereotype that belongs to their personage and another ones that do not fit. In general, I have concluded that the characters of ‘Do the Right Thing’ fit more into the stereotypical African American or Italian than the characters of ‘Dead Man’.

There are many examples which support my idea and firstly, I will look into ‘Do the Right Thing’. The main character, Mookie, resembles the stereotype of an African American citizen at a first sight because of his appearance, concretely, his clothes and because he talks and sometimes acts like that imaginary African American. Furthermore, he does not have an aim or purpose in life and has a lack of ambition regarding his job, which he does in order to maintain himself and his family economically, this aspect is linked to the stereotypical character. Nevertheless, he is not totally violent, for instance, after Sal destroys Radio Raheem’s radio at the pizzeria and police come, he does not get in trouble, he stays out of it, even though, after the murder of Radio Raheem, he is the one who explodes and throws the can over the pizzeria´s window. What is more, he does not really make it in an aggressive way. Besides, Pino´s character is a totally stereotypical one, we can even say that he is the most racist person on the film and does not feel comfortable in the neighborhood, he even wants to move out. Searching into ‘Dead Man’ I can argue that the characters are nothing but plane. Nobody is pictures as an individual, he really does not care about fitting into the community. Before knowing his name, he is presented in a stereotypical fashion, as he is dressed with a dress. What is more, he is portrayed as a savage who threatens the white hero, and he serves as a healer and guides Blake to his destiny. Nonetheless, he names himself Nobody, which is not of course a Native American name, with this, the writer achieves his aim, for the viewer to pay attention to the character as an individual not as a Native American. Nobody changes his name in order not to be identical with his socially assigned identity. Additionally, Blake changes his way of life and goes against his own nature, he becomes what is said to be a Native American character, not literally, but in his actions, because he becomes a violent character and connects with nature and wilderness.

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Likewise, the connotations of stereotypes introduced in each movie are distinctive, the stereotype´s connotation in ‘Do the Right Thing’ are more likely negative. For instance, the lack of ambition of Mookie that I have already mentioned, the violence and aggressiveness of Radio Raheem or even the racism of Pino. Whereas in ‘Dead Man’ Nobody for example is described as more attuned to their surroundings and more enlightened and happier than the white characters. This portrayal can be guessed to be a critic to the society because it pictures Native Americans in a positive manner, moreover, we can even say that the writer almost destabilizes stereotypes.

When it comes to the characters breaking the stereotypes, we can say that the examples given in the previous points prove the destabilization, but I would also like to add that Blake´s character, is completely converted into a new one, which does not fit the stereotype in all the possible aspects. In the case of Chicanas, apart from being victims of racism, they have also been victims of sexism. For this reason, one of the means to oppose and redefine their identity has been literature. We can clearly see this in the work of ‘How to Be a Chicana Role Model’ by Michele Serros. This literary text goes against the stereotypes of what is a Chicana supposed to be like. Moreover, in ‘Indian Radio Days’ by Leanne Howe and Roxy Gordon, the need to define the ethnicity of a Native American and the desire to know which stereotypes would define the character can be clearly seen in this extract: “Narrator: ‘If you aren´t an Indian, who are you? Can you tell us the name of your tribe?’. First character: ‘PEOPLE! It is important to remark that what has to be presented always, are individuals, not stereotypes’”. It is important to conclusively remark that what has to be presented always, are individuals, not stereotypes.

The use of stereotypes in order to challenge the society and to show that they have no importance is crucial in the literary texts and movies, for that purpose irony and humor are used in them. In ‘Dead Man’ the writer uses stereotypes as a joke, he tries to make the viewer understand that no matter to which race or ethnicity you belong, you can or cannot entirely fulfil the stereotypes. I believe Jim Jarmusch may have used some aspects to introduce the ridiculousness of such stereotypes because he sometimes tries to fit them into the surreal context of the film. Furthermore, in ‘How to Be a Chicana Role Model’ by Michele Serros both of them are really present, Chicana writers have used irony to break stereotypes, enabling them to argue about social issues in a less aggressive way and reach larger audiences.

Not to mention the multidirectional property, it is particularly present in the movies and various literary texts. In ‘Do the Right Thing’ Spike Lee represents racism among all the characters by means of their relationships and actions. The truth is that the characters are really complex when it comes to their race and ethnicity. In the film racism goes through all the possible directions. Spike Lee wants to show the world issues regarding racism and stereotypes through all the characters and by all the possible perspectives. Intersectionality is an overlap in oppression of minorities as the text ‘The Concept of Intersectionality in Feminist Theory’ by Anna Carastathis mentions, it also clearly explains that all kind of discriminations are linked, the identity markers cannot be examined separately.

All in all, we are creatures of routines and habits and have emerged to find patterns when sometimes they don’t really exist. Ask yourself, how often do we fit a stereotype and why?

Stereotypes are at the end constructed by the society and prejudices and even though they may sometimes be true we, people do not need to generalize them. Besides, I would even dare to say they play an extremely negative role in our community, and people of course do not need to feel as they are supposed to, as people suppose how they have to feel or even act. I would like to conclude the essay with this statement that remarkably represents the damage that stereotypes do in literature and films, but also in life: “A cinematic Indian is supposed to be a warrior. I haven't been in a fistfight since sixth grade and she beat the crap out of me. I mean, I knew I could never be as brave, as strong, as wise or as visionary, as white as the Indians in the movies” (Sherman Alexie, 1998).