The portrayal of identity groups in mass media and pop culture, and improper recognition of actors in pop culture has recently become a prevalent problem in today's mass media. The reason this research topic interests me because controversy arose from the Oscars' lack of diversification in the Academy Awards. In this controversy, the majority of the Oscar nominations and awards were overwhelmingly Caucasian with little to no recognition attributed to minority ethnic groups or other identity groups such the gender-fluid and physically challenged. The nominations and awards are more unsettling due to the fact that media is slowly increasing in inclusiveness of different communities and still fail to recognize the accomplishments of these communities. Communities such as minorities, LGBT community, and the physically challenged. The public response was vastly unenthusiastic in that there was a trending belief of obvious contenders being snubbed out of what they deserved. Due to the recent controversy, I began to question pop culture and who else is not being recognized. In addition, the controversy made me question if identity groups are portrayed in a way that is fitting to its respective identity group, such as if gender roles are accurate in today's descriptions. Once I researched this topic, I valued equal representation more even though I have no direct ties or authority on this matter. In addition, my lack of knowledge pertaining to this subject also made me interested.

The central claim of this gender source is that there is a stereotypical view of the different sexes in media in that it is expected and almost one-dimensional. The author draws from several forms of mass media including popular television shows and notable works of literature on feminism and masculine theories. In one of the chapters, the author depicts how women, as officers, are looked upon as the "nurturer/caregiver when questioning a young male suspect as opposed to the aggressive techniques used by the male officers". This is a clear show of how society views the female gender in contrast to the male counterpart who is commonly "a textbook example of hegemonic masculinity". The author, Adrienne M. Trier-Bieniek, PhD., is a sociologist, author, editor and an online magazine writer. She has a remarkable resume with a history of academic positions and publications regarding matters like this. With that in mind, her resume also favors feminism.

The central claim of this ethnicity source is that there is still an under-representation of minorities in popular films. The author relies on statistics derived from reputable sources such as the U.S. Census, and organizations such as the Motion Picture Assn. of America. The article focuses on the negative portrayals of the minority ethnic groups by elaborating on the fact that the majority of all speaking characters in movies are of the Caucasian ethnic group. The minority ethnic groups on the other hand are misrepresented, "Hispanic women, the study found, are the demographic most likely to be shown nude or in sexy attire; black men are the group least likely to be portrayed in a committed relationship".  There also is a statement on how a strong correlation between the race of a film's director and the race of the cast. The author, Rebecca Keegan, is a writer for the Los Angeles Times. She also appears on KPCC as a regular commentator on Hollywood in a segment called "On the Lot With Rebecca Keegan."

The central claim of this physically challenged source is that "while it's promising to see more obese Americans represented on television, it's imperative that these representations be free from stereotypes and ridicule". The author unfortunately did not cite any resources. The article heavily emphasizes on how the media represents the obese in that there is a substantial bias on weight. This bias shows that the obese are often teased, without a significant other, or seen indulging oneself; not to mention that the personalities of said characters are that of being pathetic and unruly. The author also argues that the media blames the victims, as in the America's weight problems are completely self-inflicted. The author is Chelsea Heuer, MPH, who is a Research Associate at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. She conducts research aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination for persons affected by obesity. As she is a research assistant for obesity, her research is geared against fat-shaming.

One may argue that this topic's premise is not encompassing all identity groups, or the contrary where the topic is too vast. On the other hand, all of my resources suggest that there is a strong correlation between the entertainment industry and typecasting identity groups. The differences between the sources is who are being type casted. The different perspectives from sources give me a better understanding of what is going on in popular culture today. I might revise my question to include more identity groups if the resources aren't specific enough or focus my question to an aspect of the question, like discrimination.

