Stereotypes

What is a hero? It could be a comic book superhero, a parent, or even yourself. How do we determine who is a hero and who is not? Most people would argue superman is definitely a hero. He fits the stereotype and the archetype of what society considers a hero to look like and behave. Superman actions are selfless, and he typically is successful at doing good deeds. He wears a costume that allows him to fit the role in which he is expected to fit.

In Stereotyping written by Richard Dyer discusses four forms used in sociology to explain how we organize and make sense of others. These four forms are, role, individual, type, and member. Role refers to the set of actions a person performs. this can include dress, speech, and gesture. An example of this could be how a professor stands at the front of the class and the students sit in the seats facing the professor. This is an example of the individuals taking a role. Individual is reference to the sum of all of their roles. One may take on several roles and the sum of this is what makes the individual. Type is the assumption that certain type of person performs a certain role. For example, a common thought of a professor may look like an older white male with gray hair wearing a sweater vest and a tie. Finally, member is the given class or social group of a person. Dyer goes on and pulls reference from Klapp’s book titled, Heroes, Villains, and Fools. Klapp distinguishes the differences between stereotypes and social types. Klapp states that stereotypes are outside one’s social world and social types refer to things in which one is familiar. Say Superman decides to save a town from destruction via comet. He is fulfilling this role society placed him in. If Superman decided “oh, that is way too dangerous I cannot and will not try to stop this comet.” Society would most likely not consider him a hero because he is not fulfilling those stereotypes and archetypes. This is also an example of ideology.

Something else to consider is, is a hero a hero if they do not succeed at the task at hand? What if superman did try to stop the comet from destroying an entire town and failed? This would result in many lives being lost. I would argue that even though Superman performed a heroic act he would not be considered a hero. I believe the stereotypes and archetypes around hero’s relies heavily on the success of the hero. I challenge you to put this to the test. Ask someone who a hero and what act specifically makes them a hero. I would bet these answers would be based off the success of their good deed. It is just another prime example of the stereotypes and archetypes society creates. Something else Dyer hits on is that the acknowledgement of these is not enough. Yes, it is great to recognize and dismiss stereotypes as truth. This does not eliminate them though. Stereotypes are greatly consumed and established through media and need to be eliminated the same way.