Let's Get Loud!: The Representations of Cheerleading in the Media

Abstract

This research focuses on the way cheerleaders are represented in the media such as film, television and the internet. I challenge simplistic, stereotyped reading of cheerleaders by exploring media that offers a richer description of the lives and struggle of cheerleaders. I go into detail about how cheerleading came to be and how it has been shaped by some media forms. I talk about cheerleading in two ways, how it can be perceived through the normal stereotypical view and ways in which media challenges this stereotype. Media offers ways to break the stereotypical binaries of cheerleaders as a symbol. However, other forms have the potential to break the meaning of a cheerleader. Through content analysis of films such as Bring It On! (2000) and But I'm a Cheerleader! (2000) I find ways in which these films promote cheerleading in a positive and realistic way. I also analyzed other films such as American Beauty (1999) that sexualizes and emphasizes the stereotypical cheerleader.