The Role Of Stereotypes by Richard Dyer

Bold lettering = Quotations

Why I have chosen this article:

I have chosen this article because it is rich in detail and provides me with enough information to be able to benefit whilst doing my research. I chose an article on stereotypes because my title for my project is homosexuality in film and films which explore homosexuality usually adopt different stereotypes which let the audience know if someone is homosexual.

Who this article was written by and an overview of what it is about:

This article was written by Richard Dyer. He discusses different stereotypes in film for example, black people, women and gay people. Dyer goes onto says how Walter Lippman says there is an 'absolute necessity for, and the usefulness of, stereotypes, as well as their limitations and ideological implications', which shows that stereotypes are needed in film in order to portray a narrative but they can also create problems. However, in the article it reads 'necessary, indeed inescapable, part of the way societies make sense of themselves' which mean this helps people make generalisations, patternings this links to the ordering process.

The main point of the article and include some key quotations:

This article is about stereotypes and how most stereotypes are shown in film however, as my research is focusing on homosexuality in film I am focusing on how homosexuality in terms of stereotypes is presented in the article. For example, it says how stereotypes are needed to identify a character it says how the categories would be 'invisible' as you cannot tell by just looking at a person 'unless the person chooses to dress or act in a clearly and culturally defined manner' which is true in a sense as it allows the audience to fully understand the character. So if someone was homosexual then film would potentially add characteristics about the person which identify him as homosexual for example, if the character was a gay male the they could make this person act more feminine or dress the character in more bold, flamboyant clothing to clearly show the audience that the man was gay by using the traditional stereotype. Another point which reinforces this is that in film we are made to treat being heterosexual and homosexual completely different they are said to be 'sharply opposed' even though, its 'experienced by everybody in their life. 

Whether or not i agree with the quotations: 

I do agree to a certain extent with these quotations because its good to show who the characters fully are in film however, it think that films do rely on the use of stereotypes massively, and they can be seen as offensive to some people, i feel like mild stereotyping is harmless but i do think that films should be able to make homosexuality in film normalised as we experience this in our everyday lives so it not new to anyone so taking the stigma away from homosexuality in film not making it a big deal like they do with heterosexual relationships in film then there would be know need to use stereo types because the people in the film would be treated equally without emphasizing someones sexuality, race or gender.

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