I came to the states when I was in 9th grade. Before I came, I watched some American movies and TV shows such as High School Musical, Laguna Beach, The Mean Girls, and She's the Man. (I continued watching TV shows such as The Hills, The City, and Gossip Girls.)
Before I come, I thought the school would be very large, fancy as in shown in the movies and programs. Also, the school life would be as shown there. I got some thoughts of stereotypes of Americans.
Especially the "reality" show, Laguna Beach, I thought it is showing the real life of American students. For example, I watched an episode titled "Kiss and Don't Tell." There are some stereopyes throughout this show, and this episode was no exception. First there was the stereotype of women are not as strong as men. This was portrayed by Cameron and Jessica at the gym. They showed her as being weak and a complainer. Another stereotype shown by the directors was that women are easy to fall in love. They show Tessa just smitten with Cameron after only one night together. Meanwhile, Cameron just sees her as a “hook up" and goes back to Jessica the next day.
Another portrayal in this show is the obsession with perfection. Every character has gorgeous hair that looks like they have their own stylist. Their clothes are right out of the magazines. They are fit and petite. Their nails are manicured and their feet perfectly pedicured. But now, I know that the show was not showing "ordinary" life of high school students in America and the show was exclusively about some kids.
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