Stereotypes are an undeniable aspect of the world we live in; not only do they allow individuals to make snap judgments about others they do not know, they also "distort people's perceptions and interpretations of the behavior of group members" (Brehm, Kassin, Fein, 136). Related to stereotyping is the concept of tokenism, or the effects felt by an individual who is admitted into any organization or social setting based grossly on an aspect of the self that is different from the rest of the group, such as race. For example, when many all-male universities were forced to become co-ed, the few females they were required to admit became the "token" females due to the fact that they were included in the group based solely on their gender. Tokenism is felt even more strongly when the individual is part of a minority group, as illustrated by the film Not Another Teen Movie. .
The character of Malik, played by Deon Richmond, in Not Another Teen Movie provides a fitting example of the effects of tokenism on an individual. The film uses the idea of the "token black guy," seen in a great amount of today's horror and comedy films directed at teen audiences, as the basis for this character. Malik's contributions to the movie are limited to lines such as the ones included, which address only the racial aspect of the character. Not Another Teen Movie, while humorous, addresses the all too-real phenomenon that allows racial stereotypes to persevere and has extremely negative effects on both the "token" individual as well as the way he/she is perceived by other members of society.
Signs of race and ethnicity appear everywhere in our media culture, shows on the media are trying to merge races; however the shows still target audience by race and ethnicity. Clearly, things have improved since the days of an all white media in the 1950's, but the only difference is now there are ...
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