Manuel Alvarado’s theory of representation of ethnicity in the media (1987) identifies four main categories: Dangerous – plays on the fear of otherness (e.g. terrorist, threatening immigrant, a gang member. Exotic – plays on the appeal of otherness (e.g. wealthy foreign royalty, attractive jungle/desert ‘native’ etc) Pitied, the victim – partly because often the only time many foreign countries appear in our media is when they are suffering some disaster. It may also give a sense of superiority to the ‘other’. Humorous - encouraging us to laugh at representations of ethnicity. Earlier examples of this were often racist humour; more recent ones tend to present and subvert stereotypical terms of race and encourage us to recognise and laugh at stereotypes. Family guy has them all, Dangerous, Exotic, Pitied, Humourous.
Congleton High School


