Hollywood's promoting, Sexism,Race-ims , and Homophobia - Essay Example

Hollywood Reflection of Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia Hollywood Reflection of Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia The Hollywoodindustry is a good reflection of the American society. Understanding the main concepts depicted by films and cinematic products from Hollywood reveals the concepts that govern society. Since the 20th century, there has been a heated debate concerning the depiction of features such as racism, sexism, and homophobia in Hollywood products. Cinematic works present varying aspects of a society.

An examination of Hollywood products over the years by anthropologists highlights that Hollywood has broadly depicted racism, sexism, and homophobia. Depiction of Racism Racism is one of the aspects that have been evident in the American population for a long time. Racism emanates from the presence of diverse populations in the American society. The society consists of multiple cultures and races, a factor that ahs presented challenges towards peaceful coexistence. Consequently, the society has developed perceptions and attitudes that have emphasized the differences between the natives, African Americans and Arabs.

The American society has had racial divide that consists of the mainstream population and the minority groups. Analysis of American history reveals that the minority groups have faced discrimination since the slavery era. Throughout the twentieth century, there were multiple opinions that Hollywood products only emphasized the differences between the diverse races among the American population (McMillian, 2010). Majority of the movies have depicted the attitudes and perceptions of different races from the perspective of the other races.

The African American population has received a negative depiction over the years because of the inherent attitude towards the race from the historical setting. The media and the majority of Hollywood products have only served to emphasize on the inferiority of African Americans while fostering the superiority of the white Americans (Wilson, Chao, & Gutie?rrez, 2003). Children have adopted these attitudes over time and attitudes move from generation to the other. However, it is worth noting that the attitudes of the people evident from anthropological studies are easily interconnected.

Hollywood movies depict certain racial cues that people adopt while at other times the industry depicts what racial attitudes that is inherent in society. Depiction of Sexism There are surging accusations of the role played by Hollywood products in fostering sexism. Sexism in this context denotes any cliche present in Hollywood products that translates to a form of discrimination or conveys stereotypes across that put of the gender at a disadvantage. Women have been the usual victims of sexism because majority of the Hollywood products have overemphasized masculine hegemony (Lawrence, 2009).

The characters depicted in most of the movies affect the perception of people towards a specific gender. These attitudes are likely to affect the behavior projected by people in society (Greven, 2009). However, the trend of depiction of women has changed over time. Currently, there are Hollywood products that depict female protagonists. The activism of women towards feminism has become evident in Hollywood. This is a reflection of the effort made by women in the American society to promote feminism and equality advocacy.

However, some products still portray women negatively; a factor that reflects the resistance that feminism has met in society. Some products from Hollywood also depict masculine stereotypes that change the perception of men in society. It is only rational to assert that Hollywood presents aspects of sexism stereotyping both men and women (Greven, 2009). Hollywood products depict that race; gender and the societal definition of sexuality have a high level of interconnection in the American society.

This is evident in films that depict superiority of white men over African Americans. Other films depict white women as being more beautiful than black women are. Stereotyping in Hollywood films has a basis on race, gender, and sexuality and rarely denotes only one of these factors. This serves to ascertain that these factors have an interconnection. Depiction of Homophobia Homophobia in this context denotes the aversion expressed by the American towards the American society. Homosexuality has become rampant in the United States with many states striving to enact rules that govern these types of relationships.

There is heated controversy surrounding the issue because of differing opinions. While some Americans feel that homosexuality has no place in the United States, others consider it a civil right. Generally, there is a surging aversion towards homosexuals among Americans. Hollywood has contributed to altering the perception of people concerning the issue. In the first place, homosexuality depiction occurred across the racial divide. Many films depicted only African American gay men and this increased the adversity that they faced.

This also makes it evident that sexuality, gender, and racism have a close interconnection (Wilson, Chao, & Gutie?rrez, 2003). As described, the media has contributed greatly to the perception of gender, race, and sexuality in the American society. Hollywood products have promoted attitudes, stereotypes, and highlights that have affected the opinion of the people concerning each of these issues. What Hollywood presents affects attitudes of the people. On the other hand, the factors that are inherent in the American society determine what Hollywood products depict.

In addition, gender, race and sexually have a form of interconnection in the American society. References Greven, D. (2009). Manhood in Hollywood from Bush to Bush. Austin: University of Texas Press. Lawrence, C. (2009). The cult of celebrity: What our fascination with the stars reveals about us. Guilford, Conn: Skirt!. McMillian, R. (2010). The mentality of racist white America is the mentality of Black America: And the mentality of men is the mentality of women - sexually. Bloomington, Ind.: Xlibris. Wilson, C. C., Chao, L. M., & Gutie?rrez, F. (2003).

Racism, sexism, and the media: The rise of class communication in multicultural America. Thousand Oaks [u.a.: SAGE Publ.