Kara Walker in her actual art does not use many colors and generally all the people portrayed are silhouettes.  We are forced to look at aspects of the person, such as shape, hair, facial features etc. Because of this simplicity she manages to portray stereotypes strongly. For example, in her art titled  “Mississippi Mud” we  have no choice but to stereotype the child. Through her use of stereotypes she also depicts racism, the south and what actually went down there, treatment of women etc. Together the stereotype and history shown makes her work stick around in our mind thus forcing one to address the stereotype and the history that comes along with it.

With that in mind, obviously there are many different stereotypes that exist today.  Often they are subtly conveyed in images.  A very dangerous stereotype is that the successful person is one who earned a lot of money and has a high power career.   In the attached image, Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook is deemed “successful.” The article itself writes about her “mission to reboot feminism.” However, a glance at this cover photo and one gets the feeling she is successful because she has an extremely high position and earns a lot of money. It is true that Sheryl Sandberg is very successful. However, I think it is harmful when it is conveyed as the ultimate success. Most will not become really wealthy or have positions such as Sheryl’s. Yet, if the expectation is that earning money and having a powerful career is making it in life, and one does not accomplish that, then they will feel like the ultimate failure and become depressed. Therefore, I think that “success” in our society should be redefined.