A Blonde Joke

The media can do anything; it can influence our decisions, inform us of new ideas, and even cause mass hysteria. Televisions, radio stations, newspapers and magazines all have an influence on how we think, whether we are conscious of it or not. This can be both good and bad depending on what is in the media. A perfect example is what happened when Orson Welles read H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds on CBS radio network. Look at how quickly the idea that aliens were invading the earth caught on, in my opinion it is the same thing that happens with stereotyping. Lets say one day in school someone tells a joke they read in a magazine about blondes being stupid, after hearing it we will most likely begin to categorize blondes as stupid. If the media had not published the joke in the first place, then the child would not have said anything negative about blondes and no one would have stereotyped them. The media is why stereotypes are so commonly recognized in our society, but it is our choice on whether or not we choose to pass on the information it gives us.