Anyone else resent stereotyping of life experience?

Question

I'm wondering because my journey through life has been significantly different from my peoples'. Not that different-- not as different, say, as a blind person or someone who was in a cult or for ten years-- but in less spectacular ways. For instance, I've only been two concerts in my life, never went to parties till I was in my late twenties, was extremely withdrawn and introverted in school, never been to a wedding as an adult, never been camping. I feel a strong sense of separation from the portrayal of life I see in movies, TV programmes, magazines and advertisements. Not the best ones...I think the best works of art have a universal resonance that goes beyond circumstance. But other ones. The thing is, when I look at other people, very few of them seem to fit the profile of the ordinary person you see in sit-coms and movies and books, or hear about in songs, or read about in magazine columns. I'm wondering if other people feel that the culture industries caricature real life.

If anyone resents me posting this in the philosophy category, let me just say a) I favour a broad interpretation of the term "philosophy" and b) if you want you can classify my thesis as an anti-nominalist one.

I didn't have room to add, the discrepancy between my own experience and my culturally-conditioned notions of what life should be caused me to feel very inadequate for many years. When I started doing lots of the things I felt I'd missed out on, I realised they were not so transformative or life-affirming as I'd expected, and my own life had been as been every bit as rich and "real" as the normality I'd envied.

Seapearl, thanks for that. I no longer feel distressed about how "normal" my life is. But it does bother me that when I go to a film or read a book, I'm expected to identify with a life path that bears little relation to my own.

Answer 1

I know what you mean. Less strongly, but I always felt distant and different. Now the Yahoo Personals test says I'm a rebel- I cherish my differences and uniqueness almost to an unhealthy point sometimes.

But yes, life experience is often caricatured so much that we cannot separate our own feelings from twisted, popularized ones. Which can be especially dangerous when it comes to love- a thing portrayed over and over in its many forms in media. Also, a person is a very complex, layered soul. You could come up with a list of as many adjectives as you want and it still would never encompass their mentality, their "ifs" and "buts". To sum it up in a single word, or category?! The media could be causing us to gloss over people as if they are simply a shiny piece of metal that we can see the entirety of with a single glance by the naked eye. Instead, they are all deep, winding caverns that can never be seen entirely without going deep into the passage, taking in the complexities of every inch of wall.

Answer 2

i definately do not live a life anywhere near similar to what is portrayed in the media. I was raised primarily by my grandparents, my parents are divorced--i have never met my father. At 14, i began to use drugs heavily (prescription and recreational). High school was cruel, i had friends but mostly the kids i went to school with always had something negative to say about me. i was the 1/3 white girls in all my 4 years of high school in every class. At about 18, i got into a serious relationship. at 20, i stepped into my first club in the states. what an incredibly awkward feeling, when no one looks at you or acknowledges you because your dressed and no one else is. so no, my life is notas spectacular as it was in the media.

Answer 3

"Stereotypes" represent the commonality among characteristics of the people portrayed. They may not be true of all the people with some of the characteristics, but then the alternative is to invent a characterization that bears no resemblance to one that people can identify with--because they themselves have none of the characteristics. If the villagers in "The Scarlet Letter" were not stereotypes of their era, the book would have no social significance, and would not be the lasting work of art that it is.

Answer 4

I think all of us have many different experiences, so none of us are "normal". So I agree. Nothing we see on movies, tv, etc. is actually going to be the same as what we have experienced. We may relate to some parts, but not all.

Answer 5

I agree. Now i want as bad as you but i had no clue where anything was outside of my little hometown until i was about 20. And to this day i have still never been to a club or even a nice fancy restaurant.

Answer 6

The media shouldn't be seen as a bastion of truth regarding what is "normal".

I assure you, your life doesn't sound very different from many other people's.

Answer 7

are you puffing ?