Evaluate Perkins theory about stereotypes in Hotel Babylon.

                                                     

1) Stereotypes aren't always negative  

In Hotel Babylon the Asian woman has the stereotype of being intelligent, this is a positive stereotype especially compared to the stereotypes of other groups. The audience expect her to be intelligent, to take charge and help out with the situation. If the audience were worried about the immigrant characters then they relax knowing that she is smart enough to prevent them from being arrested. The stereotypes of her character make the audience like her rather than dislike her, this shows that there can be stereotypes that don't result in negative expectations.

2) They are not always about minority groups or those less powerful

There are stereotypes about white people in this programme as well even though they aren't a minority group and are considered as being powerful. For example the immigration officers have the stereotype that people do associate with white people, and that is that they are racist. This is a negative stereotype and makes the audience dislike the characters no matter what ethnicity they are themselves. There are some cases where even though they are considered as powerful and not being part of the minority, white people do have negative stereotypes as well which does result in other ethnicities not liking us.

3) They can be held about one's own group

In the programme the woman who works behind the desk is white and has blonde hair, there are different stereotypes that come along with having these two characteristics. White people are considered to be powerful and good people. The female character in this particular scene is in charge, matching up with the powerful stereotype. Also, she takes charge in the situation to help the immigrants and make sure that they are hiding - again showing that she is a good character. There are stereotypes that come with being blonde, e.g. she is expected to be dumb, but her character isn't portrayed as being dumb at all. The BBC are trying to beat the stereotype and present her in a way that she appears to be intelligent and creating codes with workers so that nobody finds out what they are doing. However, at the beginning of this particular scene when she is talking to the immigration officers she is putting down one of the black workers and suggests that he is stupid. This isn't necessarily a characteristic of her character but it does show that when in the company of others we may change and fit into the stereotype of our group.

4) Stereotypes aren't rigid or unchanging

Stereotypes do change over time alongside changing attitudes that people have towards certain types of people. In Hotel Babylon there are examples of stereotypes that have changed over time. For example, the stereotype associated with Black-Africans has changed over time as we are no longer as racist as we used to be. This has meant there has been in the stereotypical view of Black-Africans. Years ago they were portrayed as looking like monkeys whereas now that would never be done because now it is considered to be wrong. Their current stereotype still has elements that haven't changed, e.g. being uneducated, but there are added ones that would be considered as being a lot more positive than past views of them. They are now regarded as being strong and if they are in a sporting event we expect them to do well because of this stereotypical view of them. In Hotel Babylon there is a Black-African man who beats the uneducated view as he explains that he was a former Doctor and helps a woman who fainted. The audience like his character and the other Black-Africans in the programme without really knowing much about them, this is as a result of the change in the way they are stereotyped.

5) Stereotypes aren't always false

The stereotype that white people are racist may not always be false, even if it is for the most part. There is still racism and the majority of racism has come from white people, like I said before this doesn't mean that every white person is racist but a small percentage of us are. That small percentage may not seem like much but it is enough to prove that stereotypes aren't always false. In this programme the immigration officers are portrayed as being racist. This may be true in real life to an extent because they are trying to kick people out of the country that weren't born here and sometimes this may result in racist behaviour towards them.