STEREOTYPES_

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Insulting caricatures or useful generalisations?

 

This shouldn’t be the only question we ask ourselves when it comes to stereotypes. Stereotypes can only be thought of as an insulting caricature or useful generalisation if you are aware that you are using stereotypes in your work. Therefore there is a third question, which in my opinion should be the first; Do we have the knowledge and education required to recognise a stereotype?

 

ster.e.o.type

n.

1. A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

2. One that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type.

In illustration stereotypes can work to your advantage, if for example, your purpose is to exaggerate the message you are trying to convey in your illustration. But as I have mentioned before in the question I raised, is that you must be aware that you are using these stereotypes and why you are using them. If you are using them unconsciously – you are at risk that your work will look typical, not modern, uneducated, cheesy, possibly tasteless and politically incorrect.

I am generally against the use of stereotypes because I think it is, in many cases that I have seen, a waste of time and unproductive. But mostly dangerous because I believe it isn’t serving us well in educating the general public on the multitude of people that we have amongst our population and the rich and different cultures which due to stereotypes, are reduced to being represented by only one thing.

But I can definitely recognise the humour in using stereotypes. And that’s where it is dangerous, because many times humour tends to take out the seriousness of the matter or issues being treated and talked about in the illustration and other contexts. That’s where  poor education starts happening. The general public will look at this and take that for the truth, or something of small importance, because it is funny and we take it lightly.

For example, Owen Jones speaks about this very well when it comes to Vicky Pollard notorious character from english TV show Little Britain, as he says that ‘it gives the middle-class viewer who has no real contact with people from different backgrounds little opportunity to understand the broader context behind the issues raised.’

This perfectly explains how much TV, or media in general accounts for a great part of the general public’s education, therefore it is quite self explanatory why, in my opinion, stereotypes are a dangerous path to take when talking about certain issues or matters.

I am of those who will try to break stereotypes but I fully understand why and how it is so difficult and probably impossible to break them. Here is a quote from Pitcher that explains this very clearly and reflects my opinion on the matter and finishes off well this discussion:

”Jameson suggests that because our idea of another group is necessarily based on a generalisation from particular contacts and experiences, this will always result in the production of stereotypes… It is not possible to get rid of or ‘correct’ stereotypes, for when we ‘challenge’ stereotypes, we are simply replacing them with bother stereotypes… If we don’t engage with difference, the integrity of that difference remains intact and the stereotype is not challenged.”

(Pitcher, 2014)

 

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