Somehow? Somehow?
I'll tell you how. This sentiment is all over popular American culture. Every TV commercial. Every sitcom. Every "joke". Everywhere.
Ever see a woman get kicked in the crotch? Why this is hysterical every single time it is shown in pop culture? In summary, modern American culture can be summarized as follows:
The woman -- the wise, smart person who saves the stupid male from his own buffoonery.
The Black or minority -- the hip, cool one.
The White male -- the buffoon. The idiot. The child, incapable of producing or doing anything without the assistance of a child or a woman.
You forgot the wise and charming gay couple.
What do advertisers know?
Very, very few women are capable of laughing at themselves, so they are never portrayed as fools or incompetents in any commercial or TV show. The fool or incompetent is always, ALWAYS the man.
Women will reject what their husbands say, but accept what their friend says, so husbands never give advice to wives in commercials, NEVER. It is either a 3rd party or the “astute wife” who knows best.
My wife is an otherwise intelligent woman, but when I see a certain type of commercial on TV, I know that I can expect a new air freshener or laundry detergent to show up soon at our home.
From what I've seen, the gay/lesbian sidekick is the one who's usually hip/cool/trendy/funny - though as you pointed out, "Black male/female" fills this role, too.
You left out the "Worldly, Wise, Measured, Older Black Male", who is smarter/superior in every way to the dumb white guy. To wit, think "Every single role Morgan Freeman has ever played".
And don't forget the kids, who are always smarter than the dad. Always.
This media stereotype isn’t universal. I’ve recently discovered an excellent western TV series called ‘Hell on Wheels’ where the male protagonist is a good old fashioned, smart, tough and resourceful man. His female counterpart, whilst in many ways strong and independent, is also prone to dangerous naivete which he has to rein in on occasion. For his part, his major flaw is his short temper which often makes him make stupid decisions in the heat of the moment, from which he sometimes needs rescuing from. Good series. I like it.
Which always reminds me of this epic rant from the incomparable Fred Reed.
I remember an America’s Funniest Videos episode...a mom was video taping her kids, she told one to get up on top of the couch - to JUMP on her husbands nuts who was sleeping on it. When the kid jumped the guy was in obvious pain.
The audience laughed, the mom laughed, it was shown on TV as “funny”. I could only shake my head...on what planet is that funny? It certainly would not be if the gender roles were reversed. Domestic abuse anyone?
You forgot one thing - if the white male is competent, intelligent and good looking, 90% of the time he is evil.