Images That Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in the Media

Images That Injure provides an examination of a particular set of pictures that do harm to others,and in turn to all of us. These images—media-promulgated stereotypes of various and diverse groups of people—cause harm in both direct and indirect ways by presenting oversimplified, mostly negative, and often deceptive depictions. In this collection of new and revised essays, noted scholars explore the ways in which these images are created, viewed, and ultimately ingrained into the American culture, examining newspapers, books, films, advertisements, commercials,television shows, magazines, and the Internet. Groups as diverse as African-Americans, women, the elderly, the physically disabled, gays and lesbians, and Jewish Americans are considered here; also included is a special section on post-9/11 stereotyping in the media. The specific examples presented in these pages provide a wealth of material for students and professionals in journalism, advertising, public relations, ethics, gender studies, and a great many other fields. The authors give thoughtful and creative conclusions concerning alternative representations—arguing that, contrary to what we might believe, media stereotyping is hardly a necessary byproduct of mass culture. Finally, these discussions illuminate how each of these media and each of us individually and collectively participate in a sea of meaning that is simultaneously personal and social, unique and shared, linked and independent.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Everette E. Dennis Introduction by Paul Martin Lester and Susan Dente Ross A General Overview Moral Responsibilities and the Power of Pictures by Deni Elliot Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination by Willard F. Enteman Media Methods That Lead to Stereotypes by Travis Linn Unconscious, Ubiquitous Frames by Susan Dente Ross Images That Heal by J. B. Colson Stereotypes from September 11, 2001 Visual Symbolism and Stereotypes in the Wake of 9/11 by Paul Martin Lester Terrorists We Like and Terrorists We Don't Like by Deni Elliott Unequal Combatants on an Uneven Media Battlefield: Palestine and Israel Susan Dente Ross Post 9/11 Discrimination Against Arabs and Muslims by James W. Brown Arabs and Arab Americans: Ancient Middle East Conflicts Hit Home by Nancy Beth Jackson Ethnic Stereotypes Media Stereotypes of African Americans by Linus Abraham Ethnic Stereotypes: Hispanics and Mexican Americans by Ramon Chavez Exotics, Erotics, and Coco-Nuts: Stereotypes of Pacific Islanders by Tom Brislin Native American Stereotypes by Lucy A. Ganje Jewish Images that Injure by Marsha Woodbury Images of Irish-Americans: Invisible, Inebriated, or Irascible by Susan Dente Ross Gender Stereotypes Women as Sex Partners by Kim Walsh-Childers We've Come a Long Way Maybe: An Analysis of the Portrayal of Women in Super Bowl Commercials from 1989-2002 by Bonnie Drewniany Age Stereotypes The Child as Image: Media Stereotypes of Children by Kathy Brittain McKee Growing Old in Commercials: Not Always a Laughing Matter by Ted Curtis Smythe Physical Stereotypes The Invisible Cultural Group: Images of Disability by Jack A. Nelson The Blind in the Media: A Vision of Stereotypes in Action by Lee Wilkins Sexual Orientation Stereotypes Recapturing the Archetype: An Inclusive Vision of Sexuality and Gender by Marguerite Moritz The Avocado and the Asparagus: Searching for Masculine and Feminine Archetypes within the Stereotyping Theater of Sexualized Mediatypes by Julianne H. Newton and Rick Williams Miscellaneous Stereotypes Drawing Blood: Images, Stereotypes, and the Political Cartoon by Keith Kenny and Michael Colgan Transformation of a Stereotype: Geeks, Nerds, Wiz Kids, and Hackers by Olan Farnall Stereotyping of Media Personnel by Walter B. Jaehnig Conclusion Common Ground and Future Hopes by Clifford G. Christians Notes Bibliography Index About the Contributors

About the Author :
PAUL MARTIN LESTER is Professor of Communications at California State University, Fullerton. He co-authors the monthly column Ethics Matters for News Photographer, the journal of the National Press Photographers Association. He has given keynote speeches, presentations, and workshops throughout the United States and in Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands. SUSAN DENTE ROSS is Associate Professor at the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University, where she directs the undergraduate program in Media and the Law. In addition to conducting research on media portrayals of minorities, she is a First Amendment scholar and the former head of the Law Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.