Are stereotypes needed for good story lines?

I was reading a Native American's take on Avatar.

She was talking about a book that talked about how society needed to save the environment, it stereotyped Natives in the book (the book is called Brother Eagle, Sister Sky).

It made me think about all the movies which have Native Americans, they always seemed to be stereotyped in the old fashioned 1800s type Indians.

Some movies have relied on stereotypes to try to get a message out such as tolerance. Almost always when you see a black in a movie that is pre-1980s, its always addressing a social justice issue. When you see black movies of today, or movies with a central white character and minority cast, they seem to almost always address life in the ghetto, as if all blacks live in the ghetto.

And then you look at Avatar (yes I am bringing it up yet again), which Cameron states is supposed to be about tolerance, but uses stereotypes to try and get its message across (which obviously whites have failed to get as they are still intolerant as ever if not more).

But it makes one wonder, does society need stereotypes to function? Its almost impossible not to stereotype someone in some shape or form...I've been stereotyped as a scaredy cat (which I am!), a girly girl, a tomboy, and then there are the black stereotypes even though I am probably far removed from actually being those stereotypes (but thats the point of them, they exist to strip you of your humanity and to judge you without getting to know you). I have even suffered the "typical American" stereotype which really bugs me as that is a white American stereotype but gets slapped on to us people of color who shouldn't be to blame for what whites do. I have had that "typical American" stereotyped told to me by british people online and by a German foreign exchanged student years ago in French class (all because of an old/former view I used to have about learning a second language).

What would a movie be like if it treated every person of color the same as whites? What would it be like if a black person could be white collar, clean cut and all American too? It seems like people prefer movies that confirm their stereotypes, maybe because it makes themselves feel better for not being in that position, or maybe because those are the kind of movies that sell because people want the characters to be inferior to the viewer rather than superior.

But then again, in some movies such as Precious, we also like to see that "overcoming rough times" theme.

But the problem lies in the fact that there are too many movies like that and not enough of showing blacks doing equally the same type of white movies where they are just normal people doing funny things. That is one thing I love about College Road Trip. At least Disney somewhat gets it (although thats not saying much in the end though).

So are racial stereotypes needed? No. But other stereotypes? Maybe.