Stereotypes

From the class blog, I have learnt the definition of a stereotype which is something along the lines of an oversimplified representation of a particular group of people. For example, a stereotypical Frenchmen may carry around a baguette and some garlic with him. There are also such things as anti-stereotypes which are the opposite, such as an old lady (as seen in Hot Fuzz) who keeps guns in the basket on her bike, instead of sandwiches and other items which OAP's tend to carry around on a bike with them. Stereotypes can often be taken as offensive but they are also useful as they help us easily understand different characters.