Stereotyping in Writing and On TV

As much as we hate to admit it, writing and TV have become full of stereotyping. And the thing is, we encourage it. We love it. But if it happens in real life, it’s different.
Does this sound familiar: There’s a very ordinary main character with good looks that lost their parents(s). They have a sidekick or two and find an evil villain, who’s usually quite ugly. There are a few evil sidekicks, obstacles and fights, a few romances, and the main character is always victorious.
Or how about this: There’s a good looking man, so he must be afraid commitment, and he’s dating a blond girl, so she must be flirty and dumb. He finds a real girl and changes his ways. They end up married, living the picket fence life.
Just because she’s blonde, doesn’t mean she’s stupid, just because he’s good looking doesn’t mean he’s fearful of commitment, or perfect. But most of our movies and pieces of writing say otherwise. Granted, there are those movies with characters that start off stereotypical but prove the viewer otherwise.
Now, humans are often times known as creatures of contradiction, which explains why we love watching something we hate. We always tend to go towards something familiar, and certain stereotypes have been around for a while.
I classify stereotypes as personalities assigned to certain looks (generalizations), or certain reoccurring themes (as in movie formats) that are easy to predict.
Most police procedurals have these elements as well.
Both “Bones” and “Leverage” have incredibly intelligent lady individuals who tend to act cold or heartless but are really caring deep down, and good looking men who are, well, normal. Goren from “Criminal Intent” has his white whale, Nicole Wallace; similar to how Harry Potter has Voldemort.
Stereotypes (especially those in high school settings) make everything more predictable. However, it is the writer (or show) that is able to use these stereotypes AND keep people guessing that is the successful one.
The predictability of stereotyping brings something else to light. We, as a general people, don’t like surprise. There seems to be little surprise with stereotypes, which is probably why we chose them. All through time we’ve stayed away from the different or uncomfortable. Why choose a new favorite ice cream when rocky road is just fine? Why listen to that song when our favorite is better? It’s the same concept with stereotypes. People want characters to act in a way that is easier to predict…to relate to. As much as a contradiction as it is.

All the best,
~Mila