Explain how Festinger can be used to explain the popularity of programmes like Hotel Babylon or other similar TV Dramas

Most TV Dramas, including Hotel Babylon, feature characters from all of the main ethnic groups. Typically, there will also be characters that fit into different groups that are discriminated against e.g. the disabled and people that are homosexual. They do this to try and portray these groups in a certain way with the aim that it will make some people change their views of them for the better. You will notice that a lot of the time they do this by challenging stereotypes and trying to beat stereotypical views of these people. However, through the process of doing this they usually end up using stereotypical characteristics and ideas to create these characters and bring them to life. Technically, they're not really challenging any stereotypes or stereotypical ideas if they are still using them themselves.






The reason why the media uses stereotypes is because it makes it easier to create a character that the audience feel like they know and already know a lot about even if they are a completely new character. This makes the story-telling easier for them as back stories don't need to be covered thoroughly as soon as they are brought into the show, the audience can already connect with them and already have views on them. Also, if a TV Drama or any show didn't use stereotypes or stereotypical ideas in some way it wouldn't be successful. Audiences enjoy stereotypes, it helps them to develop views on certain characters and most of all it I just convenient to them. We have grown up around stereotypes and they are a part of our everyday lives, it is impossible to eliminate them.






Everybody has developed a certain attitude and different views towards different people, these are unique to every one of us but have been shaped by the stereotypes portrayed in the media and our experience. Ultimately, these views won't change unless we are shown something that will completely contradict everything that we have ever though. When we watch shows, particularly TV Dramas where these stereotypes are more prominent, we are looking for what we want to see which links to the view that we have. We don't watch something and look for something that will challenge our views, we look for the complete opposite. We want to see something that will confirm what we think we know about certain groups of people to make us feel like we are right.  

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.