Gandhi at his Wheel

The picture I have selected is "Gandhi at his Spinning Wheel" taken by Margaret Bourke-White in 1946. The photo was an emblem of the Indian independence movement against Britain. This picture served, and continues to serve, as encompassing the being, essence and character of Gandhi. This picture greatly impacted society at the time because it served as a picture of the independence movement, giving an iconic image of the great man who was the leader of this retaliation against the British, the man who gave his life for the cause. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi dies a mere two years after this picture was taken, possibly the last portrait of him alive. This image, although it does not directly impact me, relates to the struggles my ancestors faced under British rule. Although I was not born nor raised in India, my parents and their parents were. My heritage and culture impact my daily life, and this involves the freedom that India gained because of the great Mahatma Gandhi. And every year, the day that India gained independence is celebrated, and this day came about, in large part, because of Mahatma Gandhi. The sight of this simple man forgoing materialistic pleasure and weaving his own cloth, a man, who on the day the picture was taken, had sworn a vow of silence, a man who gave so much for the country of this country, this is a man I respect. And this iconic image captures all of those occurrences and more.

Stereotypes in the Media

Stereotypes allow us to easily recognize a certain type of person by simply initiating the stereotype. For example, in movies, it is critical to establish a persona of a character quickly, and common stereotypes help establish these characters quickly. Many are also ignorant and believe that the stereotypes are true, and in this way of ignorance, the stereotype exists and remains. Many times, we do not even recognize or realize that stereotypes are being pushed at us. For example Disney creates characters abounding with stereotypes, the princesses, for the most part, are bland and lack character of their own, except for the aspiration to marry a prince or be saved by a prince. These types of stereotypes just pass over our heads, many times, we cannot recognize the stereotype for what it is since we are used to it so much. As an Indian person, we are commonly stereotyped in the media as intelligent, glasses wearing people, usually male, with a humorous accent (and lots of head bobbing). To me, these stereotypes do not usually offend because I think of them in a humorous light. I know, for the most part, that these stereotypes are not meant to be taken seriously, so I do not take them as such. But, overall, stereotypes are a problem in the media because some stereotypes are not meant to be taken lightly and can seriously hurt someone’s feelings. We should take steps to further prevent stereotypes from pervading the media, such as fining those who excessively use stereotypes in an offensive manner.