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The danger of single story
The danger of single story
The danger of single story
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In her TED talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks through the role of perception in her life and the way that it changes social relationships. We have all had plenty of experiences that surprise us in regard to perception, such as the first time we meet someone from another culture, or meeting someone from our past in a new light. We have been inundated with stereotypes and preconceived notions since we were children, through stories, media, parents, teachers, and friends. Moreover, these presuppositions that we carry are rarely, if ever, based on anything substantial, yet they show up in every aspect of our life. Adichie calls the notion of this one-sided preconceived bias the “single story.” This “single story” is interesting due to the fact that even if we can overcome it, we are still affected by it. Adichie speaks about how even though she had become enlightened to this dilemma, she is still subject to it. As for her experience, she states that, …show more content…
Adichi’s answer involves power and repetition; the power to create a story for a specific person, and the repetition of that one specific stereotype over and over again. Together, power and repetition will eventually change our thoughts concerning that person. How does this affect the way that we interact with people? During Clint Smith’s TED talk, he shares a story of his childhood, and the way that his parents were forced to raise him so that he wouldn’t become, in their mind, another black culture
Everyday we experience stereotyping in one way or another. Over the years stereotyping has become such a large part of our society that it is a vital part of our everyday communication. It has caused many of us to not really think about who a person really is, or what they are about, but to accept instead a certain stereotype that has already been created by our society and given to an individual. Stephanie Ericsson makes an excellent point in her essay when she says “they take a single tree, and make it into a landscape.” The statement she was trying to make by saying this is that many times, a stereotype is made by an individual because of something done by one particular person in a certain group, but is then given to the whole group as a result. Our society has given a stereotype to practically every form of human being out there. Some examples of this are the blond that is said to be dumb, the kid with glasse...
How are stereotypes formed? Why do we stereotype whole cultures? What role does popular culture play in this process?
The definition of a stereotype is the ”A generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and often offensive, that is used to describe or distinguish a group” (Dictionary.com,2017). It is precisely this unjust generalization of others which Chimamanda Adichie addresses in her speech on Ted Talks. However, Adichie confronts this issue through the telling of stories and through mundane language, rather than through condemnation and convoluted language. Through these stories, Adichie effectively approaches and evaluates stereotyping and discrimination through the appeals to ethos and pathos, as well as her use of parallelism, and her tone.
Besides, in cultivation theory, George Gerbner proposes that heavy users of media treat the content of media as a primary source to perceive the world and assert what they see in media is very similar to the reality (Bryant, Thompson and Finklea, 2013), so there is a high possibility that audience will bring the perception of stereotyped portrayals of African-American from media into the real world. Based on the above unhealthy situations, this paper is going to illustrate how the racial stereotypes in media negatively affect people’s perception, attitude and behavior toward African American in the reality....
Many thoughts come into the mind when hearing the word stereotype. The society has been exposed to too many stereotypes. These stereotypes result in controversial issues, which in turn, affect adults and children. The TV shows, internet, and social media are sources that expose children, as well as the adults, to stereotypes. Examples of those stereotypes are religion, sexism, and race. As children grow up by, the age of four they are able to pick up many stereotypes through those sources and without the perception and knowledge these children carry these stereotypes along with them in their long term memory. Moreover, children are not able to know or distinguish whether those thoughts are negative or positive stereotypes, which in turn, cause
In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group it claims to. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is. At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is being perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate. Some hardly even apply to the particular group people it claims to. It is true that how people are perceived has a big impact on how other individuals interact with them; however, people are not perceiving these groups correctly.
Having interactions with different races and cultures is a big part of what makes someone a well-rounded and cultured individual. Experiences like these give people the ability to make their own conclusions about who people are, instead of relying on negative, perpetuated stereotypes. When the Tyra Banks show was still on air, I remember that one of her segments was in relation to negative stereotypes and perceptions when it comes to race, ethnicity and skin complexion. The segment was entitled Preconceived Notions About Race. In part of the segment, there were for women sitting on a stage.
Stereotypes and generalizations have become the easy way to justify the separation of races, classes, and genders. Creating these ideas about the cultures that are different than our own is a dangerous habit that must be broken by this generation so that our children can play in merriment without the fear of being misunderstood on a day to day basis. So as Adiche said in her TED talk, stories matter, and to only pay attention to specific stories of one’s life, is to overlook all of the other formative experiences of life. “The problem with Stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” I charge you, Millennials, to go listen to the stories that fill this world, so that we might better understand the amazing things happening around us each and every
Chimamanda Adichie, in one of her eye-opening speeches, The Danger of a Single Story, provides the audience with a new insight into the negative impacts that can occur as a result of viewing a story from a single perspective and not putting in an effort to know it from all available viewpoints. Adichie in her simple, yet well-grounded speech, filled with anecdotes of her personal experiences effectively puts across her argument against believing in stereotypes and limiting oneself to just a single story using a remarkable opening, the elements of logos, pathos and ethos, repetitions, as well as maintaining a good flow of thoughts throughout the speech.
During the first quarter of the year in WMST 1172, the most influential reading I read/listened to would be, The danger of a single story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This is because the idea of the single story proposed by Adichie related and linked to my own personal experiences with stereotypes made by others in the dominated white community I lived in for the first half of my life. Correspondingly, according to Adichie, people who know only one part of the story, not the whole story, create stereotypes. In other words, the stereotypes created are from incomplete stories individuals hear. And although they may be true, they should not be used as a way to define a group of people.
In 2009 Chimamanda Adichie gave a TED talk about the ‘danger of a single story’. A single story meaning, one thought or one example of a person becoming what we think about all people that fit that description, a stereotype if you will. In today’s America, I believe that we have all felt the wave of stereotypical views at some point or another. Adichie gives many relatable examples throughout her life of how she has been affected by the single story. Her story brings about an issue that all humans, from every inch of the earth, have come to understand on some level. A young child reading only foreign books, a domestic helper that she only perceived as poor. Her college roommates single story about Africans and her own formation of a single
The purpose of the speech provided by Chimamanda Adichie is to portray the various impacts a single story can have on both an individual and a society. This is because of the usage of stereotypes provided by the media which creates an overall image, that everyone believes to be true. This is prominent when she says “A single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” Having a single story also confines the world to generalized outlooks on cultures, religions and nationalities. Due to this, individuals must seek for diversity and different perspectives, in which everyone should be able to see the world as it is, not just the aspect that the media portrays. Through
Most people find stereotypes to be obnoxious, especially when they have to do with sensitive subjects like gender or race. “Stereotyping is a generalization about a group or category of people that can have a powerful influence on how we perceive others and their communication behaviors” (Floyd, 61). Because they underestimate the differences among individuals in a group, stereotyping can lead to inaccurate and offensive perceptions of other people. Although stereotypes are prevalent in almost every society, becoming aware of our perceptions of others, as well as differentiating between both positive and negative stereotypes can help us overcome those stereotypes.
Men are always stronger and smarter than women; all teenagers are rebels and rarely follow parents’ instructions; all Chinese are good at math—all of these statements are spread through the entire world although most people know they are not completely true. On the opposite viewpoint, when we evaluate those statements, it is controversial to judge and blame the individuals who spread these kinds of information out and keep saying them over and over again, because most of these things are partly true. This is that we call stereotypes, “which are types of generalizations, or assumptions, that people make about the characteristics of all members of a group, based on an image about what people in that group are like” (Burgess).Also, Chimamanda Adichie, the famous renowned writer, scholar, and the speaker of “The Danger of Single Story” in Ted Talks, once said, “stereotypes are created by single stories, the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but they are incomplete.” At this point, single stories are the pattern of the lack of understanding, uncorroborated assumptions, and some special cultural myths. Thus, at a certain level, stereotyping is an approach where people show their misunderstanding with each other based on their own personal, regional, and cultural perspectives, which is the consequence of the institutionalization and socialization of their environmental backgrounds.
With the modern day fad of being politically correct, stereotyping is seen with a negative view. Oversimplifying people can spawn many different reactions, but many aspects of the world are built upon the foundation of stereotyping. It can not only be a useful thing, but it can also be a very effective way of deciding how to react to someone. While stereotypes may seem rash and uneducated, many of them have been created for a reason.