Passage One

Definition and Characteristics of“Stereotypes”

1．A stereotype is a standardized conception or image of a specific group of people or objects．Stereotypes are“mental cookie cutters”^[5]—they force a simple pattern upon a complex mass and assign a limited number of characteristics to all members of a group．While we commonly use the term as it is applied to human beings，it is quite possible to stereotype objects as well．In popular culture we can examine both types of stereotypes so that we often find people stereotyped around characteristics of age(“All teenagers love rock and roll and have no respect for their elders．”)，sex(“Men want just one thing from a woman．”)，race(“All Japanese look and think alike．”)，religion(“All Catholics love the Pope more than their country．”)，vocation(“All lawyers are greedy weasels．”)and nationality(“All Germans are Nazi warmongers．”)．Objects can be stereotyped around characteristics of places(“All cities are corrupt and sinful．”“Small towns are safe and clean．”“In England，it rains all the time．”)and things(“A good house has a large lawn，big garage，and at least two bathrooms．”)．Because objects are studied more rewardingly as icons，however，we will use stereotypes primarily as a tool to examine popular beliefs and values about people．

2．The standardized conception is held in common by the members of a group．Popular stereotypes are images which are shared by those who hold a common cultural mindset—they are the way a culture，or significant sub-group within that culture，defines and labels a specific group of people．

3．Stereotypes are direct expressions of beliefs and values．A stereotype is a valuable tool in the analysis of popular culture because once the stereotype has been identified and defined，it automatically provides us with an important and revealing expression of otherwise hidden beliefs and values．This means that stereotypes are especially useful in tracing the evolution of popular thought—the way in which the beliefs and values associated with specific groups change over time．American attitudes toward Russians，for example，can be easily marked by the changing nature of the popular stereotype associated with them—from WWII(“furhatted vodka drinking comrades-in-arms”)to Cold War(“Godless communists in an Evil Empire”)to the break-up of the Soviet Union(“poor，hungry victims of a disorganized and self-defeating socialist system”)．

4．The term stereotype initially referred to a printing stamp which was used to make multiple copies from a single model or mold，but the great journalist and commentator Walter Lippmann adopted the term in his 1922 book Public Opinion as a means of describing the way society set about categorizing people—“stamping”human beings with a set of characteristics—as well．In his pioneering work，Lippmann identified four aspects of stereotypes．They are:

(1)Simple:certainly more simple than reality，but also often capable of being summarized in only two to three sentences．

(2)Acquired Secondhand:people acquire(and absorb) stereotypes from cultural mediators rather than from their own direct experience with the groups being stereotyped．The culture“distills”reality and then expresses its beliefs and values in stereotypical images which convince audiences of the“truth”of the stereotype by placing it in a carefully controlled context in which there is a measure of truth to the image．Of course women can and should be and are thin and beautiful—there's Barbie!There's the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue，and Jane Fonda's exercise tape is number one on the charts．

(3)Erroneous:all stereotypes are false．Some are less false than others，and(more importantly)some are less harmful tan others．But all are rendered false by their very nature．They are attempts to claim that each individual human being in a certain group shares a set of common qualities．Since an individual is different from all other individuals by definition，stereotypes are a logical impossibility．Even countertypes are false when they are presented as the“new”truth about a group and escape this label only when they are presented as possibilities rather than actualities．

(4)Resistant to change:during the last twenty-five years the difficulties with racial and gender inequalities in American life have alerted most people to the tragic consequences lurking in beliefs about popular stereotypes．Yet，even after more than a quarter of a century，oldstereotypes still stubbornly color our perceptions．During 1992，for example，two sensational rape trials dominated the headlines in the popular press:William Kennedy Smith was tried and found innocent of raping Patricia Bowman，and boxer Mike Tyson was convicted of raping Dessiree Washington．In both cases，stereotypes assumed by both the prosecution and the defense dominated the public images of both the accusers and the accused．

5．Despite the fact that stereotyping is a natural method of classification and despite the fact that stereotyping has some useful functions under certain circumstances，all too often stereotypes are the festering rot in the American mindset．It is not very pleasant to study them and it is even less pleasant to study their horrific effects．But study them we must．Common stereotypes directly reflect our beliefs，and like other more pleasant beliefs，we must understand them if we are to understand ourselves．

Questions for Understanding

1．Is stereotype a semiotic(符号学的)phenomenon or a cultural phenomenon?Why?

2．From the examples given in paragraph 1，do you think that all stereotypes are false?How do you like Walter Lippmann's opinion on stereotypes?

3．According to point(3)in paragraph 4，what leads to the conviction of Mike Tyson's guilt?

4．Can you think of a few of examples of the stereotyped Chinese or stereotyped foreigners?

5．What，according to this passage，might stereotype cast light on?