Who Gets Seen on Screen?

Racial and ethnic minorities get proportionately fewer speaking parts in American movies, and when they do get on the screen it is disproportionately more likely to be in a stereotyped role. These are the results of a study by USC's influential Annenberg School of Communication, which examined 500 top-grossing movies released from 2007 to 2012. Why is this happening, and does it matter?

The Los Angeles Times reports.

Questions...

•Can movie characters be role models? In what way?

•Do the movies help to define what is beautiful, sexy or heroic? How?

•What is a stereotype? How do stereotypes shape our thinking?

•How would you like your own race or ethnicity or gender or lifestyle group (whatever you identify with most strongly) to be portrayed in films?