Myths and Stereotypes Can I understand how newspapers promote myths and stereotypes? What myths or stories were you told when you were younger? Come up with as many as you can in your group...

Why do you think you were told the story? Why do young children believe the myths they are told? Can you think of any myths that adults believe? In what ways can myths be a good thing? Can they be harmful? Let’s think about those myths a bit further...

What is a stereotype?

What myths or stereotypes are there about young people? How do these make you feel?

I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words… When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient. Hesiod 700 BC

What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders; they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them? Plato 500 BC

…complaints of youths hanging around in large groups, criminal damage to shops, broken windows, vandalism and graffiti. 200 pupils kicked out every day Britain’s youth in crisis Young lack the grit to get jobs How might grown-ups act towards young people if this is what they read about them in the newspapers?

Keywords: Representation: the way people/ groups/ places are presented/ put across in media texts Stereotype: a simplified representation which groups people together without allowing for any differences between individuals Keywords: Representation: the way people/ groups/ places are presented/ put across in media texts Stereotype: a simplified representation which groups people together without allowing for any differences between individuals

Read the following two extracts from articles and discuss: When do you think they were written? Who do you think they were written about?

“The problem is that these f****** people are rubbish in their own country and they come over here; they bring nothing except problems; they have no interest in learning about us or our ways; they just live among their own.”

SCRUFFY LAZY ___________ What do you think of them? Go to the airport any day and look at them arriving on the flights. They pour out of the planes. They don’t exactly bring a load of money into our economy – half of them are penniless old people coming to visit their sons or daughters here, or wives and children coming to join their husbands who’ve been working here for years. STINK AND MESS Have you ever got near them? They really must stink! According to the statistics, they only take a bath once a fortnight. Their economy is in a mess. They can’t make money, they have no jobs at home, so they come over here to mess up our economy and to take our jobs. And why is there so much unemployment in their own country? Because they’re a lazy lot, who don’t want to work. Well, let them be warned they won’t be allowed to live on social security here. BORING AND PATHETIC Their women are cold and boring; their men are rude and pathetic. And when it comes to a war, what will they do? We can’t rely on them. Look at their history – they’ve never won a war without the help of other countries’ armies. Well readers,what do YOU think of these _____ who keep coming here? Should we let them into ______ at all? SCRUFFY LAZY ___________ What do you think of them? Go to the airport any day and look at them arriving on the flights. They pour out of the planes. They don’t exactly bring a load of money into our economy – half of them are penniless old people coming to visit their sons or daughters here, or wives and children coming to join their husbands who’ve been working here for years. STINK AND MESS Have you ever got near them? They really must stink! According to the statistics, they only take a bath once a fortnight. Their economy is in a mess. They can’t make money, they have no jobs at home, so they come over here to mess up our economy and to take our jobs. And why is there so much unemployment in their own country? Because they’re a lazy lot, who don’t want to work. Well, let them be warned they won’t be allowed to live on social security here. BORING AND PATHETIC Their women are cold and boring; their men are rude and pathetic. And when it comes to a war, what will they do? We can’t rely on them. Look at their history – they’ve never won a war without the help of other countries’ armies. Well readers,what do YOU think of these _____ who keep coming here? Should we let them into ______ at all?

The first quote appeared in an article in The Guardian in April The comment was made by an angry Spaniard to a Times reporter about the 300,000 Britons living in the Costa del Sol. The second article was published in the Sydney Star (Australia) in 1981 and is about the British – ‘Poms’ is the missing word in the headline. Do you think there is any element of truth in either article? How do people get stereotyped? Are there any benefits of stereotypes? What are the dangers of stereotypes? Do you think there is any element of truth in either article? How do people get stereotyped? Are there any benefits of stereotypes? What are the dangers of stereotypes?

Homework: Look out for stories about refugees and immigration in newspapers, news websites and on television news. Bring in at least one article for next week’s lesson. Homework: Look out for stories about refugees and immigration in newspapers, news websites and on television news. Bring in at least one article for next week’s lesson.