Stereo-Typing
Posted by Kyle Jacobson , Tuesday, June 1, 2010 12:01 PM
Let's take a step back and look at stereotypes. What is a stereotype? And how could we use it to our advantage? First off, a stereo type can be one of two things: 1) a new wave version of typing in sync with music. OR 2) Stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people whereby we attribute a defined set of characteristics to this group. In order to thoroughly analyze the ideal of stereotypes, we must take into consideration one test group. We'll start with homeless people. Stereotype #1: They smell bad. Not always true. There is an homeless gang in east Chicago,
called the Gnever Gnasty Gnor Gnude Gnomads," that use all of their begging money on old spice and Axe. They also occasionally land gigs at "Lover's Rock". Stereotype #2: All homeless people are homeless. Possibly False. One word: Method acting. Stereotype #3: All they want is alcohol. I met a homeless man that was saving up for a Phantom 2 Wing suit. Which, by the way, is the coolest thing you could ever save up for, ever, just check out THIS video. So as you can see, homeless people can be surprising. Especially when you don't notice they're there and they grab your leg as you walk past. If this wasn't proof enough that stereotypes are as lame and horrifying as furbys , keep reading. If it was proof enough, then....keep reading anyway. The second test group we will take into consideration are cereal slogans. Stereotype #1: silly rabbit, trix are for kids. Little known fact is the target audience of TRIX cereal. Using the latest in reverse psychology, advertisers created the "silly rabbit" to pose as the antagonist. In reverse psychology, everything is backwards. Thus, the antagonist really is the protagonist and the fact that adults "can't" have tricks causes them to go wild with want. This takes us to a much deeper topic that as we get older the idea of not being able to get something becomes more frightening because adults can't throw things while screaming AND keep their day jobs. Stereotype # 2: "They're after me lucky charms." First, terrible grammar. Secondly, They really aren't. Lucky suffers from a
According to mentalhealth.com, Paranoid Personality Disorder is a condition characterized by excessive distrust and suspiciousness of others". It causes some pretty severe complications in one's life, such as: "Individuals with this disorder are generally difficult to get along with and often have problems with close relationships because of their excessive suspiciousness and hostility." Stereotype #3: "Gotta have my pops." Many people are misled by this creative little crazed burst of need. The guy, steve "pops" jenkins, who created this slogan was going through withdrawals at the time. Later he was arrested for illegal possesion of over, under, and around-the-counter drugs.
Now that we have cracked the code of stereotypes, lets all take a step back before jumping to conclusions. Unless of course someone is trying to take away your delicious bowl of overly-sugared-monthly-budgeted cereal. Then jump to all the conclusions you want. Make sure he pays for what he's trying to do.
Pathologically,
Kyle
