Stereotypical Images Research Articles

Fragile Ties: Spanish Themes in Soviet Porcelain

This article is devoted to the study of the so-called “Spanish theme” in Soviet porcelain. The author analyses the reflection of the stereotypical perception of Spain in small porcelain sculptures of the Soviet period produced by a variety of manufactures. Among the components of the Spanish theme, the author highlights the images of flamenco (Spanish dance), bullfighting, the most recognizable heroes of Cervantes (Don Quixote and Sancho Panza), and the fiery Carmen who was created by Prosper Mérimée and has become the stereotypical image of a nineteenth- century Spanish woman in the popular imagination thanks to the musical and dance pieces of the same name. These traditional components of the perception of Spain in the twentieth century were supplemented by the interpretation of a turning point in Spanish history – the Civil War of 1936–1939 – in propaganda porcelain. This article proposes another perspective on the Spanish theme in Soviet porcelain and considers the formation of the images of Spaniards, men and women. Such images are reflected in all the plots presented in this paper. Most of the sculptural works by different generations of Soviet porcelain masters are devoted to dance. The author concludes that dance scenes, including the ones that refer to Carmen, are fundamental for the Spanish theme in Soviet porcelain.

Exploring French language and culture instruction at an Algerian university: insights from L1 students’ perspectives

Nowadays, it is imperative to comprehend the relationship between intercultural communication and international representations of cultures and nations. This study focuses on exploring the representations that Junior Algerian students hold concerning the French language as well as culture, in order to apprehend students’ attitudes towards the language in question, identify pre-existing stereotypes, and eventually promote a more competent understanding of the culture associated with the language. Through surveys’ responses by 130 juniors at the University of Oum El Bouaghi who have undergone a year of training in French Civilization, researchers attempt to comprehend the impact of the programs followed on the potential reconfiguration of these representations and to identify the relationship of these future educators with the French language. The researchers adopt a descriptive-analytic approach to evaluate the effects of this on students’ conceptions and associated images, concerning the French culture as a whole. The responses exhibited less positive associations with France compared to the French language itself, revealing a positive shift in stereotypical images of French culture among university students. Adopting an intercultural dimension to investigate this underscores the need to prepare learners culturally as well as linguistically in order to effectively interact with different cultures.

Exploring feminist translation in Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Trilogy

ABSTRACT According to the interventionist feminist translation theory, sexist ideas found in source texts should be questioned and corrected. In some materials, signs of sexism are embodied in some unnecessary and inappropriate emphases regarding women’s gender attributes, which are almost related to certain stereotypical images. The present paper aims to explore how these problematic emphases could be treated in a feminist translation praxis applying a contrastive study of the original texts and some solutions provided by translators. To this end, the current work is designed to focus on the study of six specific cases that have been collected from Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Trilogy, a well-known Chinese science fiction novel that has sparked widespread controversy in terms of sexism. In each case, after studying the questionable original Chinese fragment, I will analyze its translations into English and Spanish to assess whether the sexism found in the source text can be attenuated or avoided after the translation process. This study will shed some light on how translators could deal with sexist emphases from a feminist approach.

Us Slavs! A Stereotypical Image of the Slav in Polish Memes

ABSTRACT This study discusses stereotypical distinguishing traits of the Slavs, making up their image that is created by Polish memes. A qualitative analysis of the memes covered their potential to indicate traits and behaviours that are being considered at present as typically Slavic. The analysis is focused on Slavic autostereotypes, showing how today’s Polish Slavs perceive the group with which they identify. The study is aimed to identify the traits defined by the Poles as typically Slavic, and thus to explain who is classified as a stereotypical Slav today. A qualitative analysis of memes depicting the Slavs led to the identification of eight traits attributed to that group of people, namely: the Slav squat, Slavic imagination, the Slavic drinking culture, Slavic culinary preferences, Slavic impulsiveness and tendency to argue, Slavic style, Slavic “technical achievements” and Slavic femininity.

Post-Colonialism: An in-Depth Look at its Cultural Effects in Nigeria

Nigeria has since its independence experienced post-colonialism, which has shaped its culture in all forms including identity, language, literature, traditions, and even media representation. This paper therefore explored the effect of post-colonialism on Nigerian cultural values and practices. The theoretical underpinnings from Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Gayatri Spivak served as the theoretical pillars for analyzing the hybrid identities that emerge from the interaction of these diverse influences of colonial legacy. Nigerian identity is dynamic and complex, with traditions of pre-colonial Nigeria interwoven with colonial customs and values. The dominance of English has influenced Nigerian literature, with authors like Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie using the colonial language to express indigenous themes and challenge colonial narratives. The continuous practice of traditional rites by the Nigerian indigenes, especially in areas like music and festivities shows how Nigerian culture is vibrant and enduring. Thus, the media, especially via Nollywood, have also been seen to provide support in lending a voice to combat stereotyped and negative Western images to construct a more diverse and complex Nigerian society. Drawing from the findings presented in this paper, it can be inferred that post-colonialism in Nigerian culture consists of a constant re-configuration of cultural identity, during which traditional characteristics are maintained, modified and infused with cultural representations from other regions of the globe. This paper further proposed a way forward for future studies to build on the contributions made in this study to explore how globalization and technology has continued to shape the dynamic culture of the post-colonial Nigerian society and other post-colonial African region.

«РЕАЛИСТАМ, КАК И МЕДВЕДЯМ, У ПОЛЮСОВ СПОДРУЧНЕЕ»: К ВОПРОСУ ИДЕНТИФИКАЦИИ РУССКИХ ПИСАТЕЛЕЙ (Два взгляда на проблему)

The article deals with the identification of “Russian realist writers as bears” in Western European criticism, and examines the reception of this identification by Russian writers in fiction and documentary texts: from rejection to comprehension and outplaying stereotypical European images. The principle uniting Russian realists and bears was the polarity - geographical outskirts, as well as the extreme nakedness of the artistic technique of the realists and the extremely daring behavior of Russian bears, bordering on belligerence.

Визуальная репрезентация исторического города в цифровых медиа

The article analyses the visual representation of the historical city in digital media as one of the leading ways of urban identity forming. The author shows that the connection of the image with the city, which is a territorial carrier of visual and symbolic information, and with city digital representation is established and coordinated with the help of an intermediary – digital media, including social networks. On the example of Veliky Novgorod, it is investigated how the image of the city in the media environment shapes the idea of the real urban space for most Internet users. The article identifies the main elements of urban space that emphasize Veliky Novgorod’s status as a historical city: culturalhistorical and natural-landscape. The visual representation of the historic city emphasizes the uniqueness of a place and expresses local identity, which allows to distinguish a certain urban space in the endless flow of visual data. At the same time, the author notes that digital media do not display the entire urban space, but only the part that is recorded and then actively disseminated by Internet users. Such incompleteness of the visual representation of the historical city provokes the emergence of socio-cultural distortions: the reproduction of basic visual patterns works to form a stereotypical image that does not reflect the heterogeneity of the real urban environment.

Aladdin——The Live-Action Version: A Feminist Revolt Against Patriarchy

The live-action version of "Aladdin" (2019) is based on the 92nd edition of Disney's animated film of the same name, giving the audience a great visual treat. As a work in the Disney series, the image of the princess in the live-action version of "Aladdin" is one of the major attractions of the film. Disney's portrayal of princesses is varied. From a feminist perspective, the early images of the princesses embodied the patriarchal and husbandly expectations of women, which is a kind of expectation for women. With the public's understanding, Disney's character and image of the princess have become more diverse. With the advancement and development of feminist thought, the princesses of this period got rid of the constraints of a patriarchal society to achieve more individual autonomy. Aladdin" in the "Princess Jasmine" is the Disney company to change the image of a trend. Based on the text of the live-action film Aladdin, this paper uses deconstructionist theory as the main research method and feminism as the focus of inquiry to investigate the shortcomings of Disney's traditional dichotomous narrative in the modern viewing environment. The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution of feminism over time and to summarize the development of feminism to date. It is concluded that the live-action version of Aladdin challenged the patriarchal status quo, deconstructed the male/female dichotomy in early princess films, and represented feminist values as a film that achieved mainstream success. The film showed how filmmakers struggled with stereotypical images of women in making the film and provided a strong role model for young women to understand that women should not be tied to the home but should find their own meaning. From a feminist perspective, the live-action version of "Aladdin" breaks the patriarchal mold of previous Disney princess films and provides audiences with a strong, self-reliant female figure.

Gender Role and Hate Speech Representation in Web Series

Abstract: In India, media has been an essential component of life. The effect of the media can be seen with this that majority of people across the globe rely on various media platforms to increase consciousness and get information for enjoyment and to gain knowledge about a variety of other global events. Denis McQuail (2000) believes that “the media is accountable for illuminating and fostering systematic exposure, as well as influencing ideas and ideals.” Furthermore, according to the BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) Report, 2019, “web series are defined as popular shows with high viewing that cover a wide range of socio-cultural elements of people's life.” There are several types of streaming platforms for entertainment that broadcast 24*7. India much like other jurisdictions has been struggling with the issue of how to control hate speech on the internet. Regulating internet hate speech is a complex issue. The aim of this study is to examine web series in the perspective of Indian society. The stereotypical images of women and hate speech, including abusive language and rude behavior, and discrimination on the basis of religion and caste, have been portrayed in Indian web series. The current study intends to investigate how the Indian web series content structure continues to impact gender role and hate speech representation on streaming platforms.

Reading of Racial Profiling in Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things

Objectives: This study highlights the notion that racism occurs when people with personal or institutional power use their privilege in defining others based on their skin color or race. Racial profiling, an extension to systemic racism, is any act of stereotyping exercised against people of different race or color. Past studies approached racial profiling in the fields of police inspections only. However, racial profiling in Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things is not studied yet. The study investigates racial profiling against major characters in Picoult's novel.
 Top of Form
 Methods: The study employs Delgado and Stefancic’s Critical Race Theory (2017). The CRT’s tenets of ‘Racism is Common, not Aberrational’, ‘Race is Socially Constructed’ and ‘Unique Voice of Color’ are the methodological tools used in the novel analysis.
 Results: Through the study of racial profiling exercized against “Ruth” in light of Critical Race Theory, this study introduces different acts of racial profiling faced by Ruth in various places besides the police inspections due to Ruth’s African roots. With the help of ‘Unique Voice of Color’, Ruth has created her own anti-discourse to racial profiling and proved the falsification of these stereotypical images. 
 Conclusions: With the help of CRT’s tenets, the study concludes that racial profiling is not solely exercised in the police inspections, but exercised in all aspects in the life of people of color. It also concludes that white citizens do not accept people of color as equal partners in America because of the stereotypical images that trigger racial profiling everywhere againts them.

Image of Russian Pan-Slavism in German Official Press at End of 19th Century

The aim of the research is to reconstruct the image of Russian Pan-Slavism in the German official press during the Bismarck era. The study examines the characteristic features of this image and its evolution over time, with particular attention given to the relationship between the image of Russian Pan-Slavism and the development of Russiangerman relations. The key source for this research is official newspapers, which were used by the German government to influence public opinion within the country and to transmit unofficial messages to ruling circles in other European states. The relevance of this research lies in the significant impact that historically established images and perceptions have on international relations in the modern world. The study concludes that the official press referred to the stereotypical image of Russian Pan-Slavism as a dangerous threat to the European world, which existed in German society, and contributed to its further strengthening. This image was widely used in the second half of the 1880s during a serious crisis in Russiangerman relations.

Push!: Exploring The Myth of Childbirth in Malay Films

Childbirth is a universal and natural global experience, however, its representation in films specifically, and popular culture in general, is framed within stereotypical images that are brimming over with inaccuracy and myth. In the West, gynae-narratives in films are often studied by using feminist psychoanalysis, particularly on the gynae-horror narrative. This study, explores the varied representations of childbirth in some selected Malay films - such as the labouring body - to identify and make sense of why the experience of childbirth in films becomes rather problematic, asking the question of what myth is being perpetuated by such representations. Using a close textual analysis of some Malay films that are purposively selected, the study employs Roland Barthes’ Myth and its link to ideology as a critical framework, paying attention to Malay cultural signs to create meanings and expose the ideological motives of such representation. This study is crucial for it is able to illuminate the myth-making process of childbirth in Malay films and the effects this myth might have on the society’s view of the experience of childbirth, and perhaps putting into microscope our cultural perceptions of marriage, motherhood, womanhood, the female body and the family. Keywords: Barthes, representation, female body, gynae-horror, the family.

Underrepresented and Excluded from the Public Sphere: Women of Solidarity in Polish History Textbooks

The paper aims to analyze the Solidarity movement’s textbook narratives, focusing on women’s representation in the history textbooks used in upper-secondary schools between 1991-2018. Quantitative methods were used to measure different categories of historical figures (men/women) in terms of their frequency and textual space. To explore the values and ideologies embedded in the textbook narratives of Solidarity, the study was guided by the qualitative approach and the critical discourse analysis of both verbal and visual texts. Women consequently remain outside the historical narrative of Solidarity as a marginalized group. Stereotypical images and underrepresentation of women in history textbooks provide a distorted version of social reality, acknowledging that political and social activism belongs to the public sphere occupied by men. Moreover, it reproduces the view that women do not belong to the public sphere and cannot be leaders because they are positioned in the private sphere. From the perspective of citizenship education, such a strand reproduces or/and reinforces social inequalities.

Kako pjeva stara ptica, nauči ptiće pjevati

Birds are present in everyday life, in forests, parks, cities, in fields and on playgrounds, by rivers and at entrances to stores, etc. Their ubiquity in human everyday life all through history leads to “birds” developing metaphorical meanings and producing powerful stereotypical images, which also motivate wider conceptual meanings. This article focuses on the lexeme ptica “bird” in Slovenian short folklore forms, its stereotypical representation and its metaphorical meanings. The ethnolinguistic approach will provide insight into the characteristics ascribed to birds as well as personifications and metaphorical transfers in short folklore forms, i.e., it will show what the bird symbolizes.

Mutoni im Un/Happyland. Die Bürde weißer Retter*innen in Tete Loepers Roman <em>Barfuß in Deutschland</em>

In Tete Loeper's novel Barefoot in Germany (2020), Black first-person narrator Mutoni from Rwanda recounts her experiences as a marriage migrant, sex worker, maid, and caregiver in Germany, a supposed "Happyland" where racism is considered the offense of "others": bad individuals and Nazis. However, Loeper's white savior characters are both nice people and (unwitting) racists, while some of Mutoni's Black sisters behave in discriminatory ways as well. Drawing on critical race theory and imagology, this article shows how the novel deconstructs and appropriates stereotypical images from "'colorblind' Europe" on both a thematic and formal-aesthetic level. By engaging with a comparative and transnational frame of reference that goes beyond a monolingual white canon of theory and literature, the article reveals the novel's connections to other Black texts and genres, as well as its literary strategies in dealing with identity (politics).

Gendered Language: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Pakistani Dramas

This study analyzes language used by female characters in selected Pakistani Dramas to explore how discourse plays a role in gender construction and its impact in revealing the ideology of the speakers in the Pakistani context. This study employs van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis approach and Robin Lakoff’s deficit approach towards gendered language as its research framework. It investigates that gender biased discourse portrays females as dependent, indecisive, weak and lacking in confidence. The study investigates gender disparities in depiction of male and female characters in these dramas and explores the role of media discourse in constructing stereotypical image of women in Pakistani Urdu dramas. It also highlights the changing trends in the Pakistani context. The study highlights a total of five linguistic features which includes tag questions, lexical hedges, adjectives, polite expressions and use of questions to represent the image of females in Pakistani Urdu dramas. The analysis reveals that gendered stereotypes are being broken using linguistic features by the female characters. Language used for conforming is now being reverted and used to confront instead. Moreover, the use of empty adjectives, it was seen are used by both genders equally.

Exploring social dynamics and cross-cultural encounters in Paul Bowles’s translations of Moroccan (oral) literature: insights from Choukri, Layachi, and Mrabet’s narratives

ABSTRACT Paul Bowles’s literary productions, both factual and fictional, were significantly influenced by Moroccan culture, where he resided for over half a century. Despite facing harsh criticism, particularly as postcolonial critique gained prominence in literary circles, Bowles gave life to a collection of stories and life histories from a distinctly Moroccan perspective. Issues of (mis)representation, Orientalism, authority, and authorship of translated works were central to the controversy. This paper delves into the portrayal of self and other within Bowles’s translation of life stories and fiction by his Moroccan collaborators, Choukri, Layachi, and Mrabet. Their narratives are examined in the context of Tangier’s multicultural environment, where sexual, socio-cultural, ethnic, and religious identities are perpetually questioned and negotiated. The paper argues that through collaborative translation, Bowles allowed marginalised voices from the underground of Moroccan society to emerge, subverting stereotypical images perpetuated by colonial hegemony and elitist nationalist discourses. By investigating issues pertaining to (mis)representation, Orientalism, authority, and authorship within these translated works, the study sheds light on the power dynamics and complexities inherent in cross-cultural literary encounters.

Motifs of the Media Narrative ‘Female Migrant Worker’ in Ukrainian, Polish, and Italian Cinema

Lately, the image of a woman-wage earner, a migrant from another country, has become a particular symbol of the economic disadvantage of some countries and a symbol of the search for a better life in a foreign land. In the Ukrainian cultural context, the image of a wage earner in literature is classic: starting with oral folk art and fiction and ending with film images of the modern period. Instead, our study proposes to change slightly the aspect of view to the problem and to analyse it through the prism of gender and national stereotypes, highlighting the critical narratives of the history of migration and employment of women, not only Ukrainian but also Polish. This will remove some of the connotations of cross-national insults or under-appreciation and open up areas for further exploration of such narratives in film content. Stereotyped images broadcast in film material through rigid narratives are even more important for research because, on the one hand, they reflect specific structures of collective ordinary consciousness. On the other hand, they form them. It is, in particular, about the processes of the transgression of stable consciousness concepts through mass media. While analysing film images, we can trace certain constructs of narratives related to a migrant woman trying to earn money in another country. First of all, she appears as rightless, unadapted to another culture, the one who can apply for unskilled work (usually due to the language barrier and other factors), and under challenging conditions, her country is poor and does not give her opportunities; also women earn for family, that suits men completely, so there is an emphasis on the inability of some people at the expense of others, on gender stigmatisation.

„Poporul” despre „femeie”, la 1900. Stereotipuri și prejudecăți de gen în Gr.G. Tocilescu, Materialuri folkloristice

The article is an analysis of Romanian popular cultural representations and stereotypes about women, as they emerge from the versified materials collected in the period 1897-1900 by the team coordinated by the historian philologist Gr. Tocilescu. From the more than 4000 folklore pieces in the massive volumes, several anthropological categories stand out that mark the vision of a male and religious society on women. They are generally assigned negative roles. The texts contain reflections of some conceptions dating from the pre-modern Romanian world, according to which women are associated with the devil, being the instrument of temptation, deceptions and curses by which men feel permanently threatened. The article proposes a breakdown of the categories that make up the stereotypical image of women at the end of the 19th century. A certain complexity is reflected by opposite images that are both documented in these texts. Thus, we meet the maiden, but also the old spinster, the public woman and the ”dishonest” girl cheated on by her lover; the good wife, the unhappy fiancée or wife, the good daughter, sister or mother, but also the perverted mother, the unfaithful wife; women are more faithful as lovers than they are as wives; the mysterious nun may be opposed to the woman-man figure; wealth in women is seen as a trap, being usually accompanied by a poor mind and a very bad temperament. I have insisted on the examples, mainly because of the plasticity with which they render the underlying conceptions. In the light of such synthesis, we may ask ourselves, in the perspective of the long duration theorized by anthropologists, how much of these prejudices are still active today.

Positive Shift of the Image of China in Recent Hollywood Blockbusters

Hollywood will encounter some cultural policies when its films are imported to the Chinese film market on a revenue-sharing basis. These include a quota system, a censorship system and an uncertain release schedule. However, China has been the fastest growing film market since 2008 and the second largest film market in the world since 2012 (yet the current film industries worldwide are recovering from the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic). Despite the restrictive cultural policies, Hollywood, attracted by the promising profitability, have incorporated more Chinese roles and more plots about China to please the Chinese film regulators and audiences in order to gain access to the lucrative Chinese film market. Furthermore, the depiction of China has become more positive and diverse in recent Hollywood blockbusters compared with the Orientalist stereotypical images in the past. The author intends to examine the reasons behind the phenomenon through analysing the positively changing images of China from early Hollywood films to the recent Hollywood blockbusters. In fact, the positively changing depiction of China illustrates China and the US negotiating the dynamic process of cross-cultural exchange in economic and political terms through compromise, competition and collaboration.