For the most part, white men are portrayed as good people in popular culture. Many of the criminals in television shows are portrayed by minority groups or people of color. Another example that comes to mind is in the show “The Shield,” starring Michael Chiklis. In this show, a police narcotics strike team consists of four white males. They are constantly dealing with criminals who are of a minority group. They deal with gangs of African-Americans and Mexican-Americans. This seems to portray white men as perhaps less likely to be on the criminal side of the law. White men have been portrayed in popular films such as Malcolm X, or Amistad as racist villains. So there is a wide variety of white men are portrayed in popular culture.
In reference to the images of white men being morally sound characters in popular culture, I think there are several reasons. Perhaps one reason revolves around the idea of statistics. It is entirely possible that these television producers or writers are simply representing criminals or villains according to the statistics of criminals in the U.S. Another reason could be purely coincidental. However, in the example of The Shield, detective Vic Mackey patrols East and South Central Los Angeles, which is notorious for black and Hispanic gangs. So this would seem to accurately represent the current situation in those sections of Los Angeles.
When it comes to the representation of white men as racists in such movies as Malcolm X and Amistad, there is another, simpler explanation. In the context of these movies, the portrayal of white men as racists and villains is accurate. In those time periods, many white men were racists and villain-worthy characters.
The ways these portrayals in the popular media affect me are miniscule. The largest affect of these portrayals come from simple stereotypes of white men. Movies called things like White Men Can’t Jump, and having Dave Chappelle tell people that white men don’t know how to dance are a minor inconvenience. They are reoccurring jokes among my friends who aren’t white and like to give me a hard time, but they hardly offend me. I am more accustomed to being labeled as a surfer, skater, or snowboarder. These things are very common assumptions.
As far as how these assumptions make me feel, I am fairly indifferent to them. Being a white male, many assumptions about me are not negative stereotypes. It is very different for African-American males, or ever Asian-American males who are forced to live with negative stereotypes. The stereotypes typically associated with white men are the surfer, or the good guy, or even the racist. There are rarely portrayals of white men in negative positions.
Overall, I am not very affected by any of these portrayals in popular media. I can, however, see the affect of these stereotypes on men or women of a minority group. These images can be harmful to their race or ethnic group as a whole.
