For decades now, Hollywood has utilized stereotypes to portray minorities. Stereotypes are a widely known belief about certain groups of people and things. Countless films and TV shows have employed the use of this in order to “simplify” the world we live in; this makes it seem like everyone has a box to belong in.
Minorities often notice these stereotypes, but hardly ever speak about them because of how Hollywood normalizes race, gender, and whatever makes it easier to consume.
“I ’ve seen the Western standard of beauty portrayed a lot, like blonde hair, fair skin, thin on women and tall, handsome, not an average looking guy,” Senior Jocelyn Romero said.
High school students are at an impressionable age. Stereotypes in TV shows and movies often make teens believe they don’t add up to what society wants. There has been a wave of TV shows like; Pretty Little Liars, Riverdale, Teen Wolf, and more that have introduced the stereotypes of the Western standard of beauty.
Stereotyping has made us feel a different way about what we are supposed to see. Senior Paola Garcia Barajas was one student affected.
“It made me despise Hollywood because it institutionalized roles that were unrealistic… it makes me see people in reality as more human and Hollywood like a business,” Barajas said.
The situation with it is that teens don’t know what to believe when it comes to our source of entertainment. High school students are constantly looking for validation from our society and Hollywood doesn’t help with that because of the unrealistic portrayals of life. “It just gives kids false hope on what high school is going to be like,” says Dalena Phan, senior at James Logan.
