Underclass stereotypes in the media.

STEREOTYPING IN THE MEDIA: A response to Gregory Mantsios' essay Media Magic: Making Class Invisible For decades media has helped stratify culture by serving as a means to inform the public of the occurrences that take place in our society. "The mass media is arguably the most influential in molding public consciousness" (Mantsios 101). The more media plays a prominent role in highlighting situations in our society the more media stereotypes become inevitable. Stereotypes in the …

…working class, the minorities, and their problems- 'we' are also victimized by the poor" (Mantsios 107). The article portrays the under-class as incompetent people who make-up the low-income population while the upper-class create the dominant images of the world with their power, wealth and success. The continued construction of biases and stereotypes in the media are what sustain the social hierarchies created by the misleading representation of the cultural and ethnic diversities that encompass our nation.