The+Use+of+Stereotypes+in+iCarly+by+Alexis+Berry



**Research Question :** How does the popular children's television show iCarly use stereotypes?

**Rationale - Why is this important? ** Nickelodeon has undoubtedly produced a hit show with the award winning series iCarly and with viewers aging from the elementary school age to adults the humor and story plots are presumably entertaining for all ages. However, in order to keep audiences entertained iCarly has adopted the technique of using stereotypes as a form of entertainment. Due to the fact that iCarly has such a young but loyal fan base as well as the ability to gain new viewers regularly, the issue of how this popular children's show is representing other cultures, races, and ethnicities is extremely important, especially when children use television and the shows they watch as educational tools.


 * Making Connections - Ways to connect this topic to other scholarly works. **

Although no scholarly research has been performed on the television show iCarly up until this point, the idea of exploring the use of stereotypes in television shows is not a new one. Numerous books as well as scholarly articles have been published discussing the relationships between children and stereotypes and provide useful and thoughtful information that helped with answering the question of; how does the popular children's television show iCarly use stereotypes?

Listed below are two examples of scholarly work that directly connect to iCarly and the use of stereotypes:

Example 1: In the book, __The Children Are Watching: How the Media Teach about Diversity__, written by Carlos Cortés, he says, “Although some may deny it, mediamakers recognize that consumers learn multicultrally from the media (Cort és, 2000, 154) .” If a show’s viewer audience is largely children who are ignorant and impressionable it seems to be a bad idea for shows like iCarly to air episodes with negative stereotypes such as iGo to Japan or iNevel as long as children are using that show to learn about other cultures.

Example 2: The book, __“Good Guys Don’t Wear Hats": Children’s Talk About the Media__, written by Joseph Tobin. Tobin mentions a number of shows that portray stereotypes that have been popular over the past few decades for example the //Mighty Morphin Power Ranger.// According to Tobin (2000)//,// the //Mighty Morphin Power Rangers// changed the characters that were used in the original version when the show aired in the West. Previously the show featured Japanese actors and after the show’s move to the West the characters were now Caucasian, Asian American, and African American except for the villain which was still featured as Japanese. Tobin argues that the show promoted, “American’s-versus-evil-Orientals.” While the concepts for the show iCarly and the //Mighty Morphin Power Rangers// are obviously different the popularity of both shows among children makes both shows an area of concern when it comes to how stereotypes of other cultures are represented to children in America.

** Questions - What questions are important to ask/research? ** 1.) Does iCarly use stereotypes in the show? 2.) Which stereotypes are depicted during the show? Are some stereotypes used more commonly than others? <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">3.) When stereotypes are used during the show are they done so in a positive or negative light? <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">4.) Can the way iCarly depicts other cultures, races, or <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">ethnicities send the wrong message about people who are "different" from ourselves?

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 160%;">**Gathering Data/Methodology - How did I go about obtaining my research?**

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: 115%;">Context Analysis. I watched episodes of iCarly from multiple seasons and documented the stereotypes being used in each episode and noted whether the stereotypes were portrayed in a positive or negative light. Also I examined and documented any patterns that could be seen in how the characters of iCarly and extras used stereotypes throughout the episodes. In addition, I carefully examined if the use of stereotypes became more or less prevalent as the seasons progressed.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-shown beat boxing
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The chart below is comprised of work from students in Professor Renee Hobbs' Mass Media & Children Spring 2011 Temple University class. //**
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Episode Name || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Description of Episode || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Stereotype Portrayed || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">How the Stereotype was Depicted (positive vs. negative) ||
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">iNevel || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">They start by ** promoting the new show ** by handing out flyers in school. Spencer is making a sculpture out of butter, while Carly is trying to get a kid named Nevel to ** write a review ** of her show. They hold show and have a couple of guest make appearances. She goes to Nevels house for a interview, and finds out he is a kid and not an adult. Sam turns the heat up in the apartment and it starts to melt Spencer's work of art. Nevel tries hitting on Carly, who gets upset and shoves cake in his face. Nevel writes a negative review about Carly's show, so they invite Nevel over to confront him and end up telling his Nevels mom. The mom makes nevel go write a positive review. || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">African Americans

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Asians – shown as the geek because of being smart || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Positive & Negative

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Negative || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Made fun of for their accent and mannerisms || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Negative || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-Carly and Sam fall for the same guy. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-Both agree to date him and be mature about it. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Act II** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-They clearly cannot be mature about dating the same guy and have a dispute. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-They apologize to each other and agree that the first who kisses him first wins him. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Act III** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-Carly and Sam come up w/ a series of strategies get the guy to kiss one of them first. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-They both fail once the Gus realizes how unruly and competitive they've become over him. || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">African Americans- <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Shown as being aggressive, unruly, and crazy || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Negative || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-iCarly gets nominated for an iWeb Competition for Best in Comedy and they agree to go to the show in Japan to compete. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-They view their competitors and find that the Japanese team is stiff competition. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Act II** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-Carly, Spencer and friends get "dropped" off in Japan and somehow make it to their hotel. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-Their Japanese competitors set them up so they'll lose. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Act III** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-Mom/Spencer locates the kids and they go back to the iWeb awards but security tries to stop them from going in since they didn’t have their iWeb Awards information. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">-But Freddy is able to broadcast them from the holding that they're in and they win the show. || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">French – <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">shown as rude and perpetuated hatred
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">iWant More Viewers || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Carly is getting into trouble with a teacher for ** photo shopping ** her head on a hippopotamus. Carly asked Freddy to help her record a video. She holds auditions for a talent show. Freddy puts Carly's audition online and Carly and Sam get angry. On a message board they get positive feedback from peers in their school, and are asked to do more. They decide to start a new show called ICarly that is made by kids and is for kids. They have a kid named Simon squirt milk out of his eyes and have others do incredible acts. They find out they get 30,000 hits from their first website showing. They end up throwing a big party and everyone tells them how much they love their show || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">French –
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">iSaw Him First || ** Act I **
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">iGo to Japan || ** Act I **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Canada- <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Is not exciting

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Japanese-shown <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Competition for American’s and sneaky

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Asians- <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Shown doing karate

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Americans- <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Shown as thinking anyone who is not white is below them. || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Negative

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Negative

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Negative

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Negative

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Negative || <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 130%;">While performing my research it became quite clear very early on that iCarly did in fact use stereotypes and they were usually done so in a negative light. iCarly seldom used stereotypes to represents other cultures, races, or <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">ethnicities in a positive way regardless of the fact that the stereotypes were also as a form of comedy for the viewer. In addition to noting how stereotypes were depicted, it became very evident that as the seasons progressed the number of episodes that featured the use of stereotypes went up. While at times the show's use of stereotypes are settle, they are still very present throughout every season of the Nickelodeon hit show, iCarly.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 170%;">My﻿ Results - What did I discover? **

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">While all of my research proved to insightful, important things to remember is the rate at which iCarly is using stereotypes during their show is rising as well is the show's popularity, which means more children are going to be exposed to <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">negatively portrayed stereotypes. Another important finding was that during two of the episodes I viewed, the laugh track was used in order to promote children laughing at others who were being portrayed as "different."
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 170%;">Key Findings- What was noteworthy that I found? **

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Sources //Cortés, C. E. (2000). The Children Are Watching: How the Media Teach about Diversity. New York, New York//: Teachers College Press.

//Tobin, J. (2000). "Good Guys Don't Wear Hats": Children's Talk about the Media. NewYork, New York//:Teachers College Press.

Schneider, D. (Producer), & Hoefer, S., Weissman, A., Kendall, D., Reinsel, R., Christiansen, R., & Goldstein, J. (Directors). (2008-2010). //iCarly// [Televisionseries].Hollywood, California:Viacom International Inc.