Representation of Racism in Gone With the Wind Essay

Representation of Racism in Gone With the Wind - Essay Example It is from media that we learn how to dress, talk and act appropriately. The impact media has on our lives is so enormous that it is necessary to learn to understand the message it’s trying to portray, the right way. Media is also a means of integrating cultural values in us. It increases a person’s power with respect to the culture and gives him an upper hand in his culture (Douglas Kellner). Cultural studies have given a lot to the criticism of media and to increase knowledge about it. The University of Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies has built up a number of ways to carry out critical experiments to analyze, interpret and criticize cultural pieces. After a series of struggles, the center of focus of Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies is class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and nationality as represented by cultural media. They study the effect of media and how different groups interpret the media differently and what was the cause of the difference in their interpretations. Cultural studies have made it easier to analyze and inspect the whole culture without having prejudices beforehand regarding some other cultural medium. Studies being conducted about Hollywood movies of mid 20th century show how they are more political rather than cultural (Douglas Kellner). A dumb blonde is one of the many common stereotypes. A blonde is by default assumed to be dumb, yet wildly attractive with a great body and she gets special treatment from men everywhere. This stereotype is highly offensive yet still holds true in almost all scenarios. The act of stereotyping is not a new one neither is the accusation of it being offensive and nor is the defensive blow that it is what the truth is. But the question is why is stereotyping an object of protest even though it is not completely false and why is it different from other simplifications and classifications (Judith Andre). Stereotyping refers to the firmness and the ina bility to change of an object (such as metallic plates, from which the word ‘stereotyping’ originates) being used metaphorically. Concerning modern era, the stereotype is taken to mean an easy oversimplified assumption, which a certain group falls under without any change. Psychologists use this term to define an unyielding personality trait in a person. Stereotyping does not take into account proofs that negate the stereotyping. Stereotypes are made because of the human mind’s resistance in face of change. Color-blind racism was the type of racism which prevailed after the civil war. Colorblind racism is making one look like he’s not racist yet his action says otherwise and having doubts about the blacks anyhow. This type of racism is based on a number of factors. After the civil war, whites had stopped discriminating the blacks directly and with their words, but they strategically used deep meaning words to express their views to discriminate the blacks. Media also helped in projecting colorblind racism and there were some other small factors as well (Eduardo Bonilla-Silva). In the modern times, when whites talk about black with respect to their race, their words are marked with doubt. T