Written Analysis 2: Rituals and Stereotypes

There have been very few things that have gone mainstream that have had as big of an impact on society as YouTube has. YouTube has fostered the belief that anyone can instantly become a star by uploading videos to its site. It has also pushed people away from traditional sources of news and entertainment, namely television, forcing media companies to hop on the metaphorical YouTube train, or be left behind. And though visiting YouTube is fast approaching ritual status, it still has a ways to go before it becomes a societal ritual. One of the things it has done, though -- and is arguably one of the best things it has done -- is allowing its users to start breaking stereotypes.

Everyone, no matter their age, sex, race, culture, or religion has to deal with stereotypes on a daily basis. Perhaps the group of people that has had the most success in the process of breaking stereotypes is Asian-Americans. On a daily basis, Asian-Americans not only have to deal with explicit stereotypes, but possibly be used implicitly as an Asian stereotype. Asian-Americans are generally seen as taking the traditional route when it comes to careers, such as becoming a doctor or a lawyer ("Stereotypes," 2011). This has left many who are interested in doing something artistic, such as music, film, or art out of luck as the entertainment industry has largely been disinterested. Thanks to YouTube, many Asian-Americans like Ryan Higa, David Choi, Kevin Wu, and even Clara Chung have not only been able to express themselves artistically, but they have also found success in doing so. It is due to their popularity that more Asian-Americans are beginning to see that they can actually show their artistic side and possibly make money by doing so (2011). Elsewhere, even the Mormon Church has taken to YouTube in an effort to break stereotypes about its members (Whitman & Hayes, 2011).

As I applied these concepts to my topic, especially to Asian-Americans, I began to see just how brutal stereotypes can be, and that it actually appears to be a cycle. As explicit stereotypes are made, they begin to catch on until they are a part of society. Once this has happened, it becomes incredibly difficult to break the stereotype. Even if a person does not believe in the stereotypes about X group of people, they could unconsciously stereotype the person just due to an implicit association with something -- such as Asians and studying, or African-Americans and violence. These are the hardest to get rid of, as the implicit stereotypes require the explicit stereotypes to fade away from mainstream society. Fortunately, YouTube users are doing whatever they can to help speed up the process of breaking stereotypes.

Certainly, nothing Earth-shattering has happened yet for YouTube in regards to stereotypes or rituals. However, the groundwork has quite clearly been laid. As more people take to YouTube to express themselves and break racial, religious, and cultural stereotypes, the more these stereotypes will fade into the background for society.  The quicker this happens, the quicker our unconscious stereotyping can go away, allowing us to base our judgment of someone on their qualities alone, not of their race, religion, culture, or sex.

References

Asian-Americans buck stereotypes, find fame on YouTube. (2011). Retrieved June 8, 2013 from http://www.voanews.com/content/asian-americans-buck-stereotypes-find-fame-on-youtube-129113898/165018.html

Whitman, S., Hayes, S. (2011). Mormon church uses YouTube to battle stereotypes. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 8, 2013 from http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/mormon-church-uses-youtube-to-battle-stereotypes/1149640