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stereotype) which then makes an impression on paper. Thence, the
term also implies monotonous regularity – each page printed from a
stereotype is always the same.
Stereotype has entered public life (via social psychology) as a term
that is used to describe howfixed qualities or traits may be attributed
to groups in the way they are represented in various media. It is usually
applied to negative impressions or pernicious representational
techniques. In other words, negative portrayals of people of colour
may be said to be stereotyping them. But, conversely, the word
stereotyping is not used to describe equally fixed and equally fantastic
positive portrayals – for example, of American heroes and buddies.
McKee (2001: 425) argues that it is constructive to understand
stereotypes as reflecting a dominant mode of representation rather than
seeking to judge them on their accuracy. This is useful as it opens up
the field of analysis; stereotypes are not so much failed representations
of an external reality as textual devices that play a role in the economy
of narration. For instance, stereotypes can be understood as a concise
means of delineating character. Their use is also intertextual. As Dyer
(1993: 15) argues: ‘stereotypes always carry within their very
representation an implicit narrative’. Certainly the genre of comedy
has always relied on stereotypical characters; ‘comic stereotypes’should
thus be considered within the conventions of genre rather than as
realistic portrayals.
See also: Representation