Art

The article deals with the negative effects of media, specifically the stereotypes shown on television. Viewers do not accurately interpret the messages shown on television.  Television shows present a variety of gender and racial stereotypes that leave a negative impact on its viewers because these stereotypes have negative connotations. Women, for instance, are normally portrayed as  sensitive, nave, weak, emotional and constantly seeking for love.  Television also packages various races in negatively inaccurate ways Asian Americans, for example, are portrayed as unattractive nerds. In this manner, television contributes to racism, violence and various disorders among women such as eating disorders.

Various stereotypes are manifested in The OC, a teenage drama television series revolving around the lives of teenagers and their families who live in the Orange County. Ryan Atwood, one of the main characters in the show, is a teenager from Chino who was arrested for stealing a car. He had to pretend that he was the Cohens cousin who was visiting from Boston because it was what the Orange County circle found acceptable. Sandy, Ryans lawyer and acting guardian, openly accepted Ryan but his wife Kirsten had doubts of accommodating a teenager with a criminal record. Sandys son, Seth, did not seem to have biases against Ryan but when he found his love interest clinging on to Ryan, he humiliated him by revealing the truth about his past in public. Summer Roberts, Seths crush, immediately changed her feelings toward Ryan because he came from Chino. Ryan became a victim of stereotyping because people believed that those who come from Chino are criminals.

Seth was also a victim of stereotyping.  As an awkward and nerdy teenager, he had a difficult time relating to his peers. In one scene, he did not want to socialize with the other teenagers so he sat with the children. After walking out on Ryan, he proceeded to the beach where he was beaten up by a group of boys because he was an outcast.  The teenagers never saw the better side of Seth, except Ryan and his own parents.

Marissa and Summer are two of the biggest stereotypes in this show. They are part of the popular clique because they are beautiful and rich. People perceive them to be almost perfect.  Unfortunately, they did not see past the girls beautiful appearance and wealth. Marissa, for instance, was constantly battling alcoholism, anorexia and substance abuse. Her family was far from perfect and her relationships were often tumultuous.  Summer, on the other hand, put up a catty, snobbish front to conceal her insecurities and keep up with the lifestyle of her circle.

As the article said,  appearance is potentially the highest concern among teenagers and women  (Author, 3). As a result,  eating disorders and an excessive fixation of personal appearance have become common among women and teenagers.  Stereotypes have ingrained a distorted notion of perfection in television viewers.  Television and other forms of media have proven to be a powerful influence in shaping minds, especially the young ones.  Stereotypes also have the power to instill inaccurate impressions of people from different races and different socio-economic backgrounds.  Consequently, people who come from the minority group or those who have a lower social status are often oppressed because of the  inaccurate pictures that media paint about them.  This is due to the fact that viewers do not know how to draw the line between fantasy and reality because they have been  desensitized by media  (Author, 1) the stereotypes have become a normal part of their lives. Overall, television has proven to be powerful in shaping minds and nowadays, it seems as if television is controlling the viewers, when it should be the other way around.  The viewers should be discerning when watching television and must know the difference between reality and fantasy because stereotypes normally just exhibit one aspect of a person.