Research
Academic Source
What makes a source academic:
- authors credentials (e.g. expert in their field like a professor at university), list of references/bibliography (a good source will have a list of works the author has used), publisher
- The content in academic sources has usually been peer-reviewed, which means that it's been reviewed by experts on its topic for accuracy and quality before being published.
- Examples include: books, academic journals, academic websites, magazines
Advantages and disadvantages of each format
Books
Advantage
- Easily available
- Huge range of books on different topics
- books undergo many checks before being published therefore information is likely to be reliable
Disadvantages
-Time consuming to find and extract relevant information
- Books can be expensive
- Might be outdated
-Books can be biased
Academic Journals
Advantage
-Written by experts in their field e.g. university professors
-Well researched and lots of detail
- Up to date research
- Contain a bibliography
Disadvantage
- hard to find
- high cost to purchase or subscribe to services
- can be too specific and not relevant to what your essay is on
Magazines
Advantage
- Up to date information
- Could have lots of facts and statistics
-Easily available
Disadvantages
-Can be made more for entertainment and not academic research
- There is a cost e.g. subscription cost
- Not as extensively quality reviewed as journalists
Websites
Advantages
- Very easy to access
- Can be kept up to date easily
Disadvantages
-Websites e.g. wikipedia can be easily changed - might not be credible information
- Might not be quality checked - not always reliable or of an academic standard
- There are a huge amount of websites - hard to find and sift through relevant information
Good tools to use:
Archive.org
Google scholar
Critical perspectives
Its important that I apply the relevant critical perspective to my chosen subject area which is: To what extent are the working class negatively portrayed in British television shows? Here are the main critical perspectives that I have looked into. I believe representation theory especially the role of stereotypes will play a key role in my essay and you can read more about my research into this further down into the blog.
Audience theory: Stuart Hall a key cultural theorist came up with how people make sense of media texts. An active audience engages, interprets and responds to a media text in different ways and is capable of challenging the ideas encoded in it. A passive audience is more likely to accept the messages encoded in a media text without challenge and are therefore more likely to be directly affected by the messages.
Stuart Hall also suggested three main responses an audience may have to a media text e.g. preferred reading ( When the audience responds to the ideas in the way the media producer wants them to), negotiated reading (When the audience responds by accepting and rejecting certain elements), oppositional reading (When the audience understands the preferred reading but choses to oppose it.)
A good example of this:
Narrative theory:
Example:
A good example of this is in the BBC TV Show: 'Sherlock'
Auteur Theory
Auteur Theory is a way of looking at films that state that the director is the “author” of a film. The Auteur theory argues that a film is a reflection of the director’s artistic vision; so, a movie directed by a given filmmaker will have recognisable, recurring themes and visual queues that inform the audience who the director is (think a Hitchcock or Tarantino film) and shows a consistent artistic identity throughout that director’s filmography.
Andre Bazin was the founder, in 1951, of Cahiers du cinema and is often seen as the father of auteurism because of his appreciation of the world-view and style of such artists as Charlie Chaplin and Jean Renoir.
Example:
The actor and film-maker Quentin Tarantino is a great example of an auteur. He has a very distinctive style. He is known for long, intense dialogue, humorously dramatic violence, and frequently nonlinear scripts, Tarantino undoubtedly has a signature mark. A well known common theme throughout his films is the revenge plot, exemplified in films such as Kill Bill, Inglorious Bastards, and Django Unchained, among others. Other recurring elements include: similar camera angles and shots (car trunk POV shots, mirror shots, close ups on lips and feet, etc.), the usage of black and white, violent awakenings, and dance scenes, Mexican standoffs, opening definitions, recurring props (samurai swords, record players, televisions) and more.
Furthermore, Tarantino frequently uses the same cast members and technical crew. Some of the actors that have appeared in Tarantino films include Uma Therman, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Waltz, and Michael Madsen. Tarantino himself has also had multiple cameos in his films.
Genre:
Genre Theory Films can be organised according in to three principal groups: setting, mood, and format. A genre can be defined as a group of movies that share similar elements such as scripts, types of actors, scenes, film techniques, camera shoots, sound, music, illumination, edition, etc.
Most theories of film genre are borrowed from the literary world. The basic genres include fiction and documentary, from which subgenres have emerged, such as docudrama. Other subgenres include the courtroom and trial-focused drama known as the legal drama. Types of fiction which may seem unrelated can also be combined to form hybrid subgenres, such as the melding of horror and comedy such as in the Shaun of the Dead. Other popular combinations are the romantic comedy and the action comedy film.
Are good example of two movies in the same genre are Hunger Games and Divergent. Both of these films have similar target audiences, are in the same genre and as a result follow the same techniques and conventions however there are also differences in the movies. Both of these movies are about teens who are in danger and need to save everything - they were chosen however they didn't want to do it.
Gender and representation theory:
Representation theory also covers class. For example the media represents class in different ways. The working class are often mocked and portrayed as benefit scroungers. These representations can be seen in Popular shows such as Little Britain with Vicky Pollard and Channel 5's benefits street - these will be great examples for my essay.
The middle classes are often represented in more of a positive way on property shows for example witch feature well-off families wanting to purchase beautiful homes. Middle class families seem to be over-represented on day time T.V. especially – in shows such as homes under the hammer, escape to the country and antiques shows featuring typically very high wealth/ income families, and yet presenting them as ‘the norm’.
I have chosen to the following title as I believe its engaging and interesting. Furthermore I known many examples from British TV shows where the working class are negatively portrayed e.g. Little Britain. This will mean my piece has plenty of examples to ensure my essay is clear and concise in terms of getting my information across. Also as my essay involves portrayal, this looks at representation and in particular the negative stereotypes that British tv shoes have created to portray the working class. Below you will see a collection of all my research - a really important part to writing an academic essay.
Book - Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices
This book is a really useful source to use in my essay to explain to my readers, on the importance of stereotypes and the role they plan in representation. It also allowed me to explain the context and historical significance the stereotypes play in media. Furthermore more it contained many useful quotes that I used in my essay such as “everyone creates stereotypes” and how stereotypes are “crude set of mental representations of the world". I really believe that by including this source in my essay it helps people understand stereotypes more.
Finally this essay was written by Stuart Hall - a very famous and well-respected cultural theorist therefore this book was a suitable source to use in my essay. Furthermore the book contained a bibliography full of references, which confirmed to me that it was an academic source.
Little Britain:
This show was very useful to show how many British TV shows negatively portray the working class - the key character here being obviously Vicky Pollard.
Chavs: The demonisation of the working class
This book by Owen Jones (well known British columnist) It discusses stereotypes of sections of the British working class (and the working class as a whole) and use of the pejorative term chav. It also looks how the media negatively portrays the working class through programs such as "Wife swap" on Channel 4. Owen Jones is a guardian columnist - therfore his political views are left leaning so this will be important to take into account, however this is an academic source as the book includes all the references at the back of the book.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=v9yQZWnKhoMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=negative+portrayal+of+working+class&ots=v7UZ9crHDm&sig=N8kBJmQ5CVbP4wwi15wk37bcWOY#v=onepage&q&f=false
Positive portrayal of working class in British television shows
Although my essay will focus more on how British television shows represent the working class in a negative fashion - I am also going to have a counter argument in which I will look at how the working class are positively portrayed in some British TV shows.
I found this article on how a particular TV show: "In the Long Run", portrays the working class in more of a positive way. For example as the writer of the article says it "demonstrate[es] the warmth, resilience, and quirks that have long defined working-class communities." (Mohdin, 2018)
https://qz.com/quartzy/1246798/on-my-block-and-in-the-long-run-give-working-class-people-the-loving-portraits-they-deserve/
This article is useful as it demonstrates how not all British TV shows portray the working class in a negative way.
Although this is not necessarily an academic source - its still relevant and useful to use in my essay as it demonstrates someone's opinion that not all TV shows demonise the working class. This will be a great counter argument to my argument that British TV shows, just show working class in a negative fashion.
The author of this article is well known and has written many other articles for the website Quartz - therefore I value and trust her opinion.
Social realism and kitchen sink dramas
Social realism is used in many British tv shoes especially ones in the 60s e.g. 'Cathy Come Home' (Kitchen sink drama). Social realism often focuses on the reality of working class lives - this will be really useful in my essay.
Article on positive representation of working class:
Mohdin, A. (2018). TV demonizes the working class. Two new shows finally celebrate them. [online] Quartz. Available at: https://qz.com/quartzy/1246798/on-my-block-and-in-the-long-run-give-working-class-people-the-loving-portraits-they-deserve/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018].
Evaluation of my research and sources:
Here is an evaluation off all the sources used in my academic essay:
TV Show: Harry Enfield and Chums (Harry Enfield and Chums, 1997)
This Guardian article contained a really useful You Gov Poll that found that most people in the television industry (70%) think that Vicky Pollard is an accurate representation of the white working class in Britain. This is useful as it will help me make the point that this is worrying as it suggests the people who make the decisions about what we watch are likely to perpetuate this negative portrayal in subsequent British television shows, and thus having a further negative impact on those who consume them. It also shows how people like people in the TV chiefs have almost been brainwashed into thinking that Vicky Pollard is actually an accurate portrayal of working class. Therefore this source was really useful as it showed just how powerful negative stereotypes are to portray the working class.
Furthermore the Guardian is a famous, well-known and reliable source for media, the arts and current affairs therefore this was a good source to use in my academic essay. This was an easily accessible source as it was freely available online (on the Guardian website) and it was also valid to my essay as it includes figures conducted from a YouGov survey that will help me show the effect negative portrayal of the working class has on people's views.
This show was very useful to show how many British TV shows negatively portray the working class - the key character here being obviously Vicky Pollard. In my essay I will even reference to specific examples of where she is negatively portrayal - this tv show has far been the most useful to show the negative portrayal in my opinion.
Negative portrayal of Vicky Pollard in Little Britain, especially her sexually promiscuous nature, can also be seen in the Roasting sketch (series 3, episode 3) where Pollard tries to convince a PR guru that having met a group of footballers she “ended up doin’ sex with all of ‘em” . Vicky’s interest in sex seems to be being put across to the audience as part of her ‘chav-loutishness’ and therefore to strengthen stereotypes that working-class women are preoccupied by sex and sexual activity because they lack the cultural capital to enjoy other activities or to have other interests. This will be really useful to talk about in my essay
Little Britain and some of the episodes were another easily accessible source on the internet. That being said to view many of the episodes that I wanted to use to show of the negative portrayal fo the working class in this tv show, you had to pay for which made it less accessible. However I did find the following episode above, and will ensure I include a part of this episode as an example in my essay.
This particular episode was very valid to my essay as it demonstrated exactly what I wanted: an example of a British TV show portraying a working class character in a negative fashion e.g. badly dressed, no manners, badly spoken and sexually promiscuous.
Online article: TV demonizes the working class. Two new shows finally celebrate them. (Mohdin, 2018).
This was another really useful source. This article from the well-known website Quartz, looked at how new tv shows including Sky's "In the Long Run" focuses on celebrating the working class instead of demonising them. This was really useful as i want to also argue in my essay that not all of the media portrayal of the working class is negative - I believe its really important to look at both sides of the argument in an academic essay. This article also included a really useful quote (which I used in my essay) to describe, how the show "In the Long Run" celebrates "the warmth, resilience, and quirks that have long defined working-class communities."
The article is written by Amana Mohdin who also writes for the Guardian - therefore she is reliable and well-known - so I was more than happy to use this source in my essay.
This was an easily accessible source online and was valid to my essay as this article gave an example of how not all British tv shows portray the working class in a negative fashion.
In the Long Run, (2019). [TV programme] Sky 1: Sky.(In the Long Run, 2019)
As mentioned above this was a useful example to explore how the working class can sometimes be positively portrayed in British television e.g. working class people holding positions of responsibility and being hardworking, loving and caring.
As you have to pay for Sky - this was a harder source to access. However it was certainly worth it, as it gives a valid example of how not all British TV shows portray the working class in a negative fashion.
.Online article: In the Long Run: Idris Elba's joyful portrait of community in 1980s Hackney (Sturges, 2018).
Although this article didn't include as much information as the one I found on the Quartz website it still was useful for quoting how the show "In the Long Run" portrays the working class in a positive light. For example one of the quotes in the article is how the show demonstrates“high art of estate living" - this was useful to back up my point on positive portrayal.
This article was from the Guardian - a reliable, well known news source therefore I thought it was appropriate to use in my essay.
This article was easily accessible online and again was valid to my essay as it backed up my point that not all British TV shows portray the working class negatively.
Book - Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (Hall, 1997).
This book was a really useful source in my essay to use to explain to my readers, on the importance of stereotypes and the role they play in representation. It also helps to allow me to explain the context and historical significance the stereotypes play in media. Furthermore more it contained many useful quotes that I will use in my essay such as “everyone creates stereotypes” and how stereotypes are “crude set of mental representations of the world". I really believe that by including this source in my essay it helps people understand stereotypes more.
Finally this essay was written by Stuart Hall - a very famous and well-respected cultural theorist therefore this book was a suitable source to use in my essay. Furthermore the book contained all of the references, which confirmed to me that it was an academic source.
Again like I have mentioned about some of my sources - this was from a book that required you to pay to view all the pages which meant this was harder to access. However I got a-lot of information from the free pages that was valid to my essay such as quotes about the significance of stereotypes in representation.
“I can’t believe you just said that”:Figuring gender and sexuality in Little Britain (LSE, 2008)
This source is really useful to help me explain the negative impact of mocking working class people by using stereotypes : “in laughing at Vicky Pollard… we are expressing our fear and hatred of a group by projecting onto her stereotypical body the perceived qualities of all working-class single mothers- feckless, stupid and promiscuous” - this was also written by an LSE researcher so therefore this a reliable, well-trusted and useful source to use.
This source took a while to find, however it was accessible on the internet. This source is an academic paper which explores Gender and sexuality in Little Britain but also looks at the effects of portraying working class people in a negative light - it has been really valid to my essay in this regard and have even found a really useful quote from this paper (written above) that I will use in my academic essay
Benefits street (Benefits Street, 2014)
Benefits street is another useful source to use. It was a good example of how a British TV show has negatively portrayed the working class e.g. it shows them involved in crime and drugs. Although I found it harder to find good examples of negative portrayal than Little Britain, so I will only briefly mention this at the start of my essay. As I will be using many examples from different British tv shows, I decided I will not go into detail into a specific example from an episode.
Episodes of benefits street are easily accessible, and using benefits street as an example of negative portrayal has been valid to my essay - as this show portrays the working class in a negative light.
TV Shows: 'Up the Junction' and 'Cathy Come Home' (Up The Junction, 1964), (Cathy Come Home, 1966)
These two tv shows were a great example of early British tv shows that showed the lives of the working class - this is known as social realism. In fact in my first draft, I didn't talk about social realism, however after speaking to my lecturer, he advised my to do some research into this topic. I found this social realism topic really useful and relevant to my essay, so therefore I talked about it in my essay. I even found examples of British tv shows (Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home) where social realism plays a big part.
Both of these shows are quite hard to access as you have to pay to watch them, however they are valid to my essay as they are examples of early British tv shows (kitchen sink drama's in the 60s) that focus on the lives of the working class - they help give some historical context to my essay.
Harvard referencing system
It's important that in my essay I apply academic conventions in my essay such as referencing and including a bibliography, so here is a bibliography in alphabetical order (this is an important thing to do using the Harvard referencing system) of all my research in the Harvard format:
What makes a source academic:
- authors credentials (e.g. expert in their field like a professor at university), list of references/bibliography (a good source will have a list of works the author has used), publisher
- The content in academic sources has usually been peer-reviewed, which means that it's been reviewed by experts on its topic for accuracy and quality before being published.
- Examples include: books, academic journals, academic websites, magazines
Advantages and disadvantages of each format
Books
Advantage
- Easily available
- Huge range of books on different topics
- books undergo many checks before being published therefore information is likely to be reliable
Disadvantages
-Time consuming to find and extract relevant information
- Books can be expensive
- Might be outdated
-Books can be biased
Academic Journals
Advantage
-Written by experts in their field e.g. university professors
-Well researched and lots of detail
- Up to date research
- Contain a bibliography
Disadvantage
- hard to find
- high cost to purchase or subscribe to services
- can be too specific and not relevant to what your essay is on
Magazines
Advantage
- Up to date information
- Could have lots of facts and statistics
-Easily available
Disadvantages
-Can be made more for entertainment and not academic research
- There is a cost e.g. subscription cost
- Not as extensively quality reviewed as journalists
Websites
Advantages
- Very easy to access
- Can be kept up to date easily
Disadvantages
-Websites e.g. wikipedia can be easily changed - might not be credible information
- Might not be quality checked - not always reliable or of an academic standard
- There are a huge amount of websites - hard to find and sift through relevant information
Good tools to use:
Archive.org
Google scholar
Critical perspectives
Its important that I apply the relevant critical perspective to my chosen subject area which is: To what extent are the working class negatively portrayed in British television shows? Here are the main critical perspectives that I have looked into. I believe representation theory especially the role of stereotypes will play a key role in my essay and you can read more about my research into this further down into the blog.
Audience theory: Stuart Hall a key cultural theorist came up with how people make sense of media texts. An active audience engages, interprets and responds to a media text in different ways and is capable of challenging the ideas encoded in it. A passive audience is more likely to accept the messages encoded in a media text without challenge and are therefore more likely to be directly affected by the messages.
Stuart Hall also suggested three main responses an audience may have to a media text e.g. preferred reading ( When the audience responds to the ideas in the way the media producer wants them to), negotiated reading (When the audience responds by accepting and rejecting certain elements), oppositional reading (When the audience understands the preferred reading but choses to oppose it.)
A good example of this:
Preferred
Reading - in The Lion King, some people would
believe that Simba is the good guy and Scar is the
bad guy (this is how filmmaker wants you to think).
Oppositional Reading - in The Lion King, some people would believe that Simba is the bad guy and Scar is the good guy
Negotiated Reading – in the Lion King, some people may believe that Simba is a good guy but has a bad side to him. And that Scar is a bad guy but does have a good side to him.
Oppositional Reading - in The Lion King, some people would believe that Simba is the bad guy and Scar is the good guy
Negotiated Reading – in the Lion King, some people may believe that Simba is a good guy but has a bad side to him. And that Scar is a bad guy but does have a good side to him.
Narrative theory:
Traditionally, narrative structures followed a formula which was identified by the theorist Tzvetan Todorov.
Todorov studied classic fairy tales and stories.
He discovered that narratives moved forward in a chronological order with one action following after another. In other words, they have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Todorov also suggested that the characters in the narrative would be changed in some way through the course of the story and that this would be evident by the resolution.
Example:
A good example of this is in the BBC TV Show: 'Sherlock'
- Sherlock and Watson are relaxing at the start of the episode, then an action or character will do something that creates a case for them to solve.
- They begin their quest to find a solution and apprehend the villain.
- The narrative continues until they confront the villain at the climax.
- Once the disruption is resolved and the equilibrium is restored, Sherlock and Watson can relax again.
- That is until another case comes to their attention in the next episode.
Another key Narrative theorist Vladimir Propp suggested that every narrative has eight different character types:
1. The Villain — struggles against the hero; usually an older,
ugly, sly and manipulative male.
2. The Dispatcher — sends the hero off on his quest.
3. The (magical) helper — helps the hero in their quest, usually
less good-looking or clever, but essential to their success.
4. The Donor (often also a helper) — prepares the hero or gives
the hero some magical or essential object in order to aid them
on their quest.
5. The Princess (or prize) — the hero deserves her throughout
the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil,
usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended
when he marries the princess, thereby thwarting and beating
the villain. The princess tends to be beautiful and good natured,
but ultimately weak and passive, a pawn or prize to be won.
6. The Oracle – an older wise figure, usually male, who provides
essential wisdom, information or clues to aid the hero on his
quest.
7. The Hero or victim/seeker hero — young, brave and strong,
traditionally almost always male; quick to accept his task and
commence his quest; reacts to the donor, wins and weds the
princess.
8. False Hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to
marry the princess.
Andre Bazin was the founder, in 1951, of Cahiers du cinema and is often seen as the father of auteurism because of his appreciation of the world-view and style of such artists as Charlie Chaplin and Jean Renoir.
Example:
The actor and film-maker Quentin Tarantino is a great example of an auteur. He has a very distinctive style. He is known for long, intense dialogue, humorously dramatic violence, and frequently nonlinear scripts, Tarantino undoubtedly has a signature mark. A well known common theme throughout his films is the revenge plot, exemplified in films such as Kill Bill, Inglorious Bastards, and Django Unchained, among others. Other recurring elements include: similar camera angles and shots (car trunk POV shots, mirror shots, close ups on lips and feet, etc.), the usage of black and white, violent awakenings, and dance scenes, Mexican standoffs, opening definitions, recurring props (samurai swords, record players, televisions) and more.
Furthermore, Tarantino frequently uses the same cast members and technical crew. Some of the actors that have appeared in Tarantino films include Uma Therman, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Waltz, and Michael Madsen. Tarantino himself has also had multiple cameos in his films.
Genre:
Genre Theory Films can be organised according in to three principal groups: setting, mood, and format. A genre can be defined as a group of movies that share similar elements such as scripts, types of actors, scenes, film techniques, camera shoots, sound, music, illumination, edition, etc.
Most theories of film genre are borrowed from the literary world. The basic genres include fiction and documentary, from which subgenres have emerged, such as docudrama. Other subgenres include the courtroom and trial-focused drama known as the legal drama. Types of fiction which may seem unrelated can also be combined to form hybrid subgenres, such as the melding of horror and comedy such as in the Shaun of the Dead. Other popular combinations are the romantic comedy and the action comedy film.
Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference.
Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre.Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things:
- How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre.
- How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.
Neale also states that Hollywood’s generic regime performs two functions:
- To guarantee pleasure and meaning for the audience.
- To offset financial risks of film production by providing collateral against innovation and difference.
Popular cinema relies on audiences finding pleasure in difference and repetition i.e. recognition of familiar elements and the way those elements are linked in an unfamiliar way or the way that unfamiliar elements might be introduced.
Genre is constituted by specific systems of expectations and hypothesis which spectators bring with them to the cinema and which and which interact with the films themselves during the course of the viewing process:
- To the film’s production team (producer, director etc) genre provides a template.
- To the film’s distributors genre provides assumptions about which audiences they should be marketing to.
- To the film’s audience genre identifies a liked of disliked formula and provides certain rules of engagement in terms of anticipation of enjoyment.
Example
Are good example of two movies in the same genre are Hunger Games and Divergent. Both of these films have similar target audiences, are in the same genre and as a result follow the same techniques and conventions however there are also differences in the movies. Both of these movies are about teens who are in danger and need to save everything - they were chosen however they didn't want to do it.
The difference between them however is that divergent is post apocalyptic and the way she needs to save the place is very different to that in Hunger Games. Apart from that though, both of these films are very similar. Furthermore this really conforms to this theory (Neales' Repetition and difference) that these films are following the same conventions to be in the same genre but some of the differences in the plot mean they are different enough to be seen as unique.
Gender and representation theory:
Media and gender refers to the
relationship between media and gender, and how gender is represented within
media platforms. These platforms include but are not limited to film, radio,
television, advertisement, social media, and video games. Initiatives and
resources exist to promote gender equality and reinforce women's empowerment in
the media industry and representations. A good example of the empowerment of women being shown in the media is the movie G.I. Jane (1997). The film tells the fictional story of the first woman to undergo training in U.S. Navy Special Warfare Group. Demi Moore plays the main leading role, and the move shows the strength and resilience that women can offer to the special forces - it highlights that women are more than just stay at home mothers but can have a successful career in powerful jobs.
Representation theory also covers class. For example the media represents class in different ways. The working class are often mocked and portrayed as benefit scroungers. These representations can be seen in Popular shows such as Little Britain with Vicky Pollard and Channel 5's benefits street - these will be great examples for my essay.
The middle classes are often represented in more of a positive way on property shows for example witch feature well-off families wanting to purchase beautiful homes. Middle class families seem to be over-represented on day time T.V. especially – in shows such as homes under the hammer, escape to the country and antiques shows featuring typically very high wealth/ income families, and yet presenting them as ‘the norm’.
The upper class and very wealthy are generally framed positively in the media: they are composed of everyday individuals who are generous and caring and should be emulated. Even when members of the upper class are framed in a negative light, the media illustrates that upper class criminals have remarkably good lives.
They are also represented as having very lavish lifestyles e.g. beautiful mansions, designer clothing and high-end cars.
Downtown abbey is a good example of how the working class family featured in the show, have beautiful houses, butlers, chefs and luxurious possessions.
Male Gaze: The Male Gaze theory, in a nutshell, is
where women in the media are viewed from the eyes of a heterosexual man, and
that these women are represented as passive objects of male desire. Audiences
are forced to view women from the point of view of a heterosexual male, even if
they are heterosexual women or homosexual men. For example in James Bond, Bond is the heterosexual masculine man who is clever, handsome and physically fit and the Bond Girls are seen more as just beautiful objects (certainly in the older movies) that are used by Bond for sexual gratification.
Female Gaze: Essentially it isn’t about asserting
female dominance on-screen, rather it puts an emphasis on presence. Presence in
the emotion, in the story and in the characters.
Queer Theory: In a nutshell it is an approach to
literary and cultural study that rejects traditional categories of gender and
sexuality. E.g. captain jack sparrow is a pirate which are typically seen as masculine straight characters, however Captain Jack acts camp and wears eye make up - he rejects traditional categories of gender and sexuality.
Stereotypes also play a key part in representation. These are a simplified representation of a person, social class, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated. For example, Vicky Pollard from Little Britain is a stereotypical example of a working class teenage girl.They can be used to describe characters quickly, relying on existing audience recognition. Stereotypes are dangerous as they can lead audiences to generalise about people or places.
By carrying out this research its helped develop my idea for my essay "To what extent are the working class negatively portrayed in British television". It has also helped me develop insight into the research that I will carry out such as looking British comedy shows like "Little Britain", "Harry Enfield and Chums" that use stereotypes such as Vicky Pollard to represent and portray the working class in a negative way. I can also look at the portrayal of the working class in other shows on British tv such as 'Benefits street' and 'Shameless'.
To what extent are the working class negatively portrayed in British television shows research?
Stereotypes also play a key part in representation. These are a simplified representation of a person, social class, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated. For example, Vicky Pollard from Little Britain is a stereotypical example of a working class teenage girl.They can be used to describe characters quickly, relying on existing audience recognition. Stereotypes are dangerous as they can lead audiences to generalise about people or places.
In fact, as my essay is to with the negative portrayal of the working class, representation theory will play a key part in my essay. Therefore I will ensure that I mention stereotypes which play a major role in representation and portrayal. These stereotypes will include examples that I have mentioned above including Vicky Pollard in Little Britain. Furthermore for this critical perspective I will also talk about Stuart Hall and his thoughts and opinions on the role stereotypes play in the representation of a group of people e.g. social class.
By carrying out this research its helped develop my idea for my essay "To what extent are the working class negatively portrayed in British television". It has also helped me develop insight into the research that I will carry out such as looking British comedy shows like "Little Britain", "Harry Enfield and Chums" that use stereotypes such as Vicky Pollard to represent and portray the working class in a negative way. I can also look at the portrayal of the working class in other shows on British tv such as 'Benefits street' and 'Shameless'.
Collection of my research:
To what extent are the working class negatively portrayed in British television shows research?
I have chosen to the following title as I believe its engaging and interesting. Furthermore I known many examples from British TV shows where the working class are negatively portrayed e.g. Little Britain. This will mean my piece has plenty of examples to ensure my essay is clear and concise in terms of getting my information across. Also as my essay involves portrayal, this looks at representation and in particular the negative stereotypes that British tv shoes have created to portray the working class. Below you will see a collection of all my research - a really important part to writing an academic essay.
Gender, race, and class in media : a text-reader
I found this source on archive.org and it contains an extensive reference list which shows this is a reliable academic source. That being said it was published in 1995 which means that the information could be outdated and less relevant.
Media and Class: TV, Film, and Digital Culture
I found this book on Google books - the book also contains all of the references - which shows this is a reliable academic source and can be trusted. Furthermore the book was published in 2017 so is very much up to date.
I found this source on google scholar - again this includes all the references which shows this is an academic source.
Negative media representation - Harry Enfield and Chums - The Slobs Win The Lottery
This is a clip from the comedy show Harry Enfield and Chums which was a comedy show on the BBC that run from 1994 to 1999. In this clip Harry Enfield mocks working class people on benefits and portrays them as stupid, and distasteful. For example they use all their benefit money on lottery tickets and they live in a very messy flat. This is clearly a very negative representation of working class people on benefits.
This is a clip from the comedy show Harry Enfield and Chums which was a comedy show on the BBC that run from 1994 to 1999. In this clip Harry Enfield mocks working class people on benefits and portrays them as stupid, and distasteful. For example they use all their benefit money on lottery tickets and they live in a very messy flat. This is clearly a very negative representation of working class people on benefits.
Academic essay on "dynamics of social class contempt in contemporary British television comedy"
This essay looks at how poor white socially marginalised groups (known as chavs) have become a big target for comedy shows - for example Vicky Pollard (Little Britain's fictional teenage single mother)
For example a poll by YouGov found showed that 40 per cent of viewers found the portrayal of Vicky Pollard offensive.
(Page 12)
This YouGov poll was used in the article I found from the guardian. The guardian is a well trusted source. Although it is left-leaning in its views - this wouldn't affect the information as it quoted a You Gov poll.
This essay looks at how poor white socially marginalised groups (known as chavs) have become a big target for comedy shows - for example Vicky Pollard (Little Britain's fictional teenage single mother)
For example a poll by YouGov found showed that 40 per cent of viewers found the portrayal of Vicky Pollard offensive.
(Page 12)
This YouGov poll was used in the article I found from the guardian. The guardian is a well trusted source. Although it is left-leaning in its views - this wouldn't affect the information as it quoted a You Gov poll.
Book - Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices
This book is a really useful source to use in my essay to explain to my readers, on the importance of stereotypes and the role they plan in representation. It also allowed me to explain the context and historical significance the stereotypes play in media. Furthermore more it contained many useful quotes that I used in my essay such as “everyone creates stereotypes” and how stereotypes are “crude set of mental representations of the world". I really believe that by including this source in my essay it helps people understand stereotypes more.
Finally this essay was written by Stuart Hall - a very famous and well-respected cultural theorist therefore this book was a suitable source to use in my essay. Furthermore the book contained a bibliography full of references, which confirmed to me that it was an academic source.
Little Britain:
This show was very useful to show how many British TV shows negatively portray the working class - the key character here being obviously Vicky Pollard.
Negative portrayal of Vicky Pollard in Little Britain, especially her sexually promiscuous nature, can also be seen in the Roasting sketch (series 3, episode 3) where Pollard tries to convince a PR guru that having met a group of footballers she “ended up doin’ sex with all of ‘em” . Vicky’s interest in sex seems to be being put across to the audience as part of her ‘chav-loutishness’ and therefore to strengthen stereotypes that working-class women are preoccupied by sex and sexual activity because they lack the cultural capital to enjoy other activities or to have other interests. This will be really useful to talk about in my essay
Chavs: The demonisation of the working class
This book by Owen Jones (well known British columnist) It discusses stereotypes of sections of the British working class (and the working class as a whole) and use of the pejorative term chav. It also looks how the media negatively portrays the working class through programs such as "Wife swap" on Channel 4. Owen Jones is a guardian columnist - therfore his political views are left leaning so this will be important to take into account, however this is an academic source as the book includes all the references at the back of the book.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=v9yQZWnKhoMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=negative+portrayal+of+working+class&ots=v7UZ9crHDm&sig=N8kBJmQ5CVbP4wwi15wk37bcWOY#v=onepage&q&f=false
Positive portrayal of working class in British television shows
Although my essay will focus more on how British television shows represent the working class in a negative fashion - I am also going to have a counter argument in which I will look at how the working class are positively portrayed in some British TV shows.
I found this article on how a particular TV show: "In the Long Run", portrays the working class in more of a positive way. For example as the writer of the article says it "demonstrate[es] the warmth, resilience, and quirks that have long defined working-class communities." (Mohdin, 2018)
https://qz.com/quartzy/1246798/on-my-block-and-in-the-long-run-give-working-class-people-the-loving-portraits-they-deserve/
This article is useful as it demonstrates how not all British TV shows portray the working class in a negative way.
Although this is not necessarily an academic source - its still relevant and useful to use in my essay as it demonstrates someone's opinion that not all TV shows demonise the working class. This will be a great counter argument to my argument that British TV shows, just show working class in a negative fashion.
The author of this article is well known and has written many other articles for the website Quartz - therefore I value and trust her opinion.
Social realism and kitchen sink dramas
Social realism is used in many British tv shoes especially ones in the 60s e.g. 'Cathy Come Home' (Kitchen sink drama). Social realism often focuses on the reality of working class lives - this will be really useful in my essay.
Essay plan
Intro - Explain title: To what extend are the working class negatively portrayed in the media? Explain we will look closely at negative portray in comedy
2nd paragraph: Negative portrayal in comedy e.g. harry and Paul sketch shows - about slobs winning the lottery and Vicky pollard. - stereotypes (Chavs)
3rd paragraph: Also look at negative portray of working class e.g. through other genres of programs such as Benefits street.
4th paragraph: Argue that increase in well-known people presenting television programmes e.g. Stacey Dooley documentaries - she is becoming a household name. Also mention shows that portray working class in a positive way e.g. In the Long Run.
5th Paragraph: Conclusion - large amount of negative portrayal in TV shows - and long way to go for more of fair portrayal/representation. Although some progress is being made by working class people becoming well known/household names in TV shows and media e.g. Stacey Dooley.
Representation:
Intro - Explain title: To what extend are the working class negatively portrayed in the media? Explain we will look closely at negative portray in comedy
2nd paragraph: Negative portrayal in comedy e.g. harry and Paul sketch shows - about slobs winning the lottery and Vicky pollard. - stereotypes (Chavs)
3rd paragraph: Also look at negative portray of working class e.g. through other genres of programs such as Benefits street.
4th paragraph: Argue that increase in well-known people presenting television programmes e.g. Stacey Dooley documentaries - she is becoming a household name. Also mention shows that portray working class in a positive way e.g. In the Long Run.
5th Paragraph: Conclusion - large amount of negative portrayal in TV shows - and long way to go for more of fair portrayal/representation. Although some progress is being made by working class people becoming well known/household names in TV shows and media e.g. Stacey Dooley.
Representation:
Thompson, K. (2019). Media representations of social class. [online] ReviseSociology. Available at: https://revisesociology.com/2019/10/09/media-representations-of-social-class/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2020].
Article on positive representation of working class:
Mohdin, A. (2018). TV demonizes the working class. Two new shows finally celebrate them. [online] Quartz. Available at: https://qz.com/quartzy/1246798/on-my-block-and-in-the-long-run-give-working-class-people-the-loving-portraits-they-deserve/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018].
Evaluation of my research and sources:
Here is an evaluation off all the sources used in my academic essay:
TV Show: Harry Enfield and Chums (Harry Enfield and Chums, 1997)
Harry Enfield and Chums - The Slobs Win The Lottery
This is a clip from the comedy show Harry Enfield and Chums which was a comedy show on the BBC that run from 1994 to 1999. In this clip Harry Enfield mocks working class people on benefits and portrays them as stupid, and distasteful. For example they use all their benefit money on lottery tickets and they live in a very messy flat. This is clearly a very negative representation of working class people on benefits.
This source is useful as it gave me an example of negative portrayal of the working class to focus on, and analyse. Furthermore by finding this source it has helped me to start the process of writing the first part of the body of text - as I had something to focus on. Although it is useful it certainly wasn't as useful as some of my other sources including the Vicky Pollard episode one, as the Little Britain was a show I was much more familiar with and in my opinion demonstrated stereotypes in a better way.
This source was easily accessible, as I used to internet to find out about it and also I could find an example episode using YouTube. The source is valid to my essay as it gives a useful example of negative portrayal of the working class in a British TV show.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798372/
Book - Chavs: The demonisation of the working class(Jones, 2011)
This book by Owen Jones (well known British columnist) It discusses stereotypes of sections of the British working class (and the working class as a whole) and use of the pejorative term chav. It also looks how the media negatively portrays the working class through programs such as "Wife swap" on Channel 4.
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist - therefore his political views are left leaning however I don't believe this will affect this source. This is a good example of an academic source as the book includes all the references at the back of the book.
This source was perhaps one of the most useful as it helped me to analyse the example of Vicky Pollard in Little Britain and talked about how the show uses negative stereotypes of working class people for comedic effect. Furthermore it contained many useful quotes that summed up how the working class characters such as Pollard were portrayed: "a grotesque working-class teenage single mother who is sexually promiscuous, unable to string a sentence together, and has a very bad attitude problem” - this was a really good quote to help summarise what I wanted to say and therefore I will included it in my academic essay.
This source was also relatively easy to access, however some of the pages in the e-book were not shown, as you had to purchase the book in order to see them. Some of this information that I didn't get to see due to not paying for it would have probably been very useful - when you have to pay for books to get information - this makes it a less accessible source. In terms of the validity of the source - it will help me to explain how Vicky Pollard is a negative stereotype and therefore portrayal of the working class, it also includes many quotes therefore this will be very valid to my essay.
Guardian article/You Gov Poll - Cracker creator blasts 'chav' TV. (Martin, 2006)
This is a clip from the comedy show Harry Enfield and Chums which was a comedy show on the BBC that run from 1994 to 1999. In this clip Harry Enfield mocks working class people on benefits and portrays them as stupid, and distasteful. For example they use all their benefit money on lottery tickets and they live in a very messy flat. This is clearly a very negative representation of working class people on benefits.
This source is useful as it gave me an example of negative portrayal of the working class to focus on, and analyse. Furthermore by finding this source it has helped me to start the process of writing the first part of the body of text - as I had something to focus on. Although it is useful it certainly wasn't as useful as some of my other sources including the Vicky Pollard episode one, as the Little Britain was a show I was much more familiar with and in my opinion demonstrated stereotypes in a better way.
This source was easily accessible, as I used to internet to find out about it and also I could find an example episode using YouTube. The source is valid to my essay as it gives a useful example of negative portrayal of the working class in a British TV show.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798372/
Book - Chavs: The demonisation of the working class(Jones, 2011)
This book by Owen Jones (well known British columnist) It discusses stereotypes of sections of the British working class (and the working class as a whole) and use of the pejorative term chav. It also looks how the media negatively portrays the working class through programs such as "Wife swap" on Channel 4.
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist - therefore his political views are left leaning however I don't believe this will affect this source. This is a good example of an academic source as the book includes all the references at the back of the book.
This source was perhaps one of the most useful as it helped me to analyse the example of Vicky Pollard in Little Britain and talked about how the show uses negative stereotypes of working class people for comedic effect. Furthermore it contained many useful quotes that summed up how the working class characters such as Pollard were portrayed: "a grotesque working-class teenage single mother who is sexually promiscuous, unable to string a sentence together, and has a very bad attitude problem” - this was a really good quote to help summarise what I wanted to say and therefore I will included it in my academic essay.
This source was also relatively easy to access, however some of the pages in the e-book were not shown, as you had to purchase the book in order to see them. Some of this information that I didn't get to see due to not paying for it would have probably been very useful - when you have to pay for books to get information - this makes it a less accessible source. In terms of the validity of the source - it will help me to explain how Vicky Pollard is a negative stereotype and therefore portrayal of the working class, it also includes many quotes therefore this will be very valid to my essay.
Guardian article/You Gov Poll - Cracker creator blasts 'chav' TV. (Martin, 2006)
This Guardian article contained a really useful You Gov Poll that found that most people in the television industry (70%) think that Vicky Pollard is an accurate representation of the white working class in Britain. This is useful as it will help me make the point that this is worrying as it suggests the people who make the decisions about what we watch are likely to perpetuate this negative portrayal in subsequent British television shows, and thus having a further negative impact on those who consume them. It also shows how people like people in the TV chiefs have almost been brainwashed into thinking that Vicky Pollard is actually an accurate portrayal of working class. Therefore this source was really useful as it showed just how powerful negative stereotypes are to portray the working class.
Furthermore the Guardian is a famous, well-known and reliable source for media, the arts and current affairs therefore this was a good source to use in my academic essay. This was an easily accessible source as it was freely available online (on the Guardian website) and it was also valid to my essay as it includes figures conducted from a YouGov survey that will help me show the effect negative portrayal of the working class has on people's views.
This show was very useful to show how many British TV shows negatively portray the working class - the key character here being obviously Vicky Pollard. In my essay I will even reference to specific examples of where she is negatively portrayal - this tv show has far been the most useful to show the negative portrayal in my opinion.
Negative portrayal of Vicky Pollard in Little Britain, especially her sexually promiscuous nature, can also be seen in the Roasting sketch (series 3, episode 3) where Pollard tries to convince a PR guru that having met a group of footballers she “ended up doin’ sex with all of ‘em” . Vicky’s interest in sex seems to be being put across to the audience as part of her ‘chav-loutishness’ and therefore to strengthen stereotypes that working-class women are preoccupied by sex and sexual activity because they lack the cultural capital to enjoy other activities or to have other interests. This will be really useful to talk about in my essay
Little Britain and some of the episodes were another easily accessible source on the internet. That being said to view many of the episodes that I wanted to use to show of the negative portrayal fo the working class in this tv show, you had to pay for which made it less accessible. However I did find the following episode above, and will ensure I include a part of this episode as an example in my essay.
This particular episode was very valid to my essay as it demonstrated exactly what I wanted: an example of a British TV show portraying a working class character in a negative fashion e.g. badly dressed, no manners, badly spoken and sexually promiscuous.
This was another really useful source. This article from the well-known website Quartz, looked at how new tv shows including Sky's "In the Long Run" focuses on celebrating the working class instead of demonising them. This was really useful as i want to also argue in my essay that not all of the media portrayal of the working class is negative - I believe its really important to look at both sides of the argument in an academic essay. This article also included a really useful quote (which I used in my essay) to describe, how the show "In the Long Run" celebrates "the warmth, resilience, and quirks that have long defined working-class communities."
The article is written by Amana Mohdin who also writes for the Guardian - therefore she is reliable and well-known - so I was more than happy to use this source in my essay.
This was an easily accessible source online and was valid to my essay as this article gave an example of how not all British tv shows portray the working class in a negative fashion.
In the Long Run, (2019). [TV programme] Sky 1: Sky.(In the Long Run, 2019)
As mentioned above this was a useful example to explore how the working class can sometimes be positively portrayed in British television e.g. working class people holding positions of responsibility and being hardworking, loving and caring.
As you have to pay for Sky - this was a harder source to access. However it was certainly worth it, as it gives a valid example of how not all British TV shows portray the working class in a negative fashion.
.Online article: In the Long Run: Idris Elba's joyful portrait of community in 1980s Hackney (Sturges, 2018).
Although this article didn't include as much information as the one I found on the Quartz website it still was useful for quoting how the show "In the Long Run" portrays the working class in a positive light. For example one of the quotes in the article is how the show demonstrates“high art of estate living" - this was useful to back up my point on positive portrayal.
This article was from the Guardian - a reliable, well known news source therefore I thought it was appropriate to use in my essay.
This article was easily accessible online and again was valid to my essay as it backed up my point that not all British TV shows portray the working class negatively.
Book - Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (Hall, 1997).
This book was a really useful source in my essay to use to explain to my readers, on the importance of stereotypes and the role they play in representation. It also helps to allow me to explain the context and historical significance the stereotypes play in media. Furthermore more it contained many useful quotes that I will use in my essay such as “everyone creates stereotypes” and how stereotypes are “crude set of mental representations of the world". I really believe that by including this source in my essay it helps people understand stereotypes more.
Finally this essay was written by Stuart Hall - a very famous and well-respected cultural theorist therefore this book was a suitable source to use in my essay. Furthermore the book contained all of the references, which confirmed to me that it was an academic source.
Again like I have mentioned about some of my sources - this was from a book that required you to pay to view all the pages which meant this was harder to access. However I got a-lot of information from the free pages that was valid to my essay such as quotes about the significance of stereotypes in representation.
“I can’t believe you just said that”:Figuring gender and sexuality in Little Britain (LSE, 2008)
This source is really useful to help me explain the negative impact of mocking working class people by using stereotypes : “in laughing at Vicky Pollard… we are expressing our fear and hatred of a group by projecting onto her stereotypical body the perceived qualities of all working-class single mothers- feckless, stupid and promiscuous” - this was also written by an LSE researcher so therefore this a reliable, well-trusted and useful source to use.
This source took a while to find, however it was accessible on the internet. This source is an academic paper which explores Gender and sexuality in Little Britain but also looks at the effects of portraying working class people in a negative light - it has been really valid to my essay in this regard and have even found a really useful quote from this paper (written above) that I will use in my academic essay
Benefits street (Benefits Street, 2014)
Benefits street is another useful source to use. It was a good example of how a British TV show has negatively portrayed the working class e.g. it shows them involved in crime and drugs. Although I found it harder to find good examples of negative portrayal than Little Britain, so I will only briefly mention this at the start of my essay. As I will be using many examples from different British tv shows, I decided I will not go into detail into a specific example from an episode.
Episodes of benefits street are easily accessible, and using benefits street as an example of negative portrayal has been valid to my essay - as this show portrays the working class in a negative light.
TV Shows: 'Up the Junction' and 'Cathy Come Home' (Up The Junction, 1964), (Cathy Come Home, 1966)
These two tv shows were a great example of early British tv shows that showed the lives of the working class - this is known as social realism. In fact in my first draft, I didn't talk about social realism, however after speaking to my lecturer, he advised my to do some research into this topic. I found this social realism topic really useful and relevant to my essay, so therefore I talked about it in my essay. I even found examples of British tv shows (Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home) where social realism plays a big part.
Both of these shows are quite hard to access as you have to pay to watch them, however they are valid to my essay as they are examples of early British tv shows (kitchen sink drama's in the 60s) that focus on the lives of the working class - they help give some historical context to my essay.
Harvard referencing system
It's important that in my essay I apply academic conventions in my essay such as referencing and including a bibliography, so here is a bibliography in alphabetical order (this is an important thing to do using the Harvard referencing system) of all my research in the Harvard format:
Benefits Street. 2014. [TV programme] Directed by K. Smith. Channel 4.
Cathy Come Home. 1966. [TV programme] Directed by K. Loach. London: BBC.
Hall, S. (1997). Representation. 1st ed. London: Sage, p.284.
Harry Enfield and Chums, (1997). [TV programme] BBC 1: British Broadcasting Corporation.
In the Long Run, (2019). [TV programme] Sky 1: Sky.
Jones, O. (2011). Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class. 1st ed. London: Verso, p.129.
Little Britain, (2005). [TV programme] BBC1: British Broadcasting Corporation.
LSE (2008). “I can’t believe you just said that”: Figuring gender and sexuality in Little Britain. Media working papers. [online] London: London School of Economics and Political Science, p.3. Available at: http://“I can’t believe you just said that”: Figuring gender and sexuality in Little Britain [Accessed 26 Feb. 2020].
Martin, L. (2006). Cracker creator blasts 'chav' TV. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/aug/27/broadcasting.uknews [Accessed 26 Feb. 2020].
Mohdin, A. (2018). TV demonizes the working class. Two new shows finally celebrate them. [online] Quartz. Available at: https://qz.com/quartzy/1246798/on-my-block-and-in-the-long-run-give-working-class-people-the-loving-portraits-they-deserve/ [Accessed 2 Mar. 2020].
Sturges, F. (2018). In the Long Run: Idris Elba's joyful portrait of community in 1980s Hackney. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/mar/24/idris-elba-in-the-long-run [Accessed 2 Mar. 2020].
Up the Junction. 1964. [TV programme] Directed by K. Loach. London: BBC.
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1037898/index.html
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