Introduction
Primary research
Secondary Research
BBC News article
According to a survey of social attitudes, 57% of adults in the UK claim to be working class.
A staggering 57% of us consider ourselves to be working class, according to the annual British Social Attitudes survey from the National Centre for Social Research. Even the centre thinks this is "remarkable".
The system had its first overhaul in 80 years in 1998 and eight new categories were drawn up. The highest includes senior managers, doctors and lawyers, while the lowest category is for those who have never worked or are long-term unemployed.
But even under the new system only 31% of people are actually employed in what are categorised as traditional "blue collar" occupations, according to the survey. The number who consider themselves working class far outstrips this.
But the 57% are not kidding themselves - they are working class, says philosopher Dr Julian Baggini, author of Welcome to Everytown.
http://www.beyondcurrenthorizons.org.uk/popular-representations-of-the-working-class-contested-identities-and-social-change/
Zweig (2000) claims that ‘organizations of working people, especially unions, are systematically ignored or attacked’
"Similarly, despite British trade unions with their seven million members being the country’s largest voluntary organisation, there is minimal coverage of their work." This quote is defending working class, informing and educating the reader on how the UK have the biggest voluntary organisation. This suggests that the working class are hard working, kind people not the type of people we see on programmes like Jeremy Kyle.
"In this case, immediately visible cultural markers such as purported habits of dress, lifestyle, deportment and speech come to signify a range of classic ‘underclass’ traits, such as dirt, sexual promiscuity, ignorance, psychological stasis, work-shy, aggressive masculinities, and over-fertile femininities – ones which continue the well-worn tradition of positing an existential divide between the ‘respectable’ and ‘disreputable’ working class." This part of the article is defining what the working class are portrayed to be. The writer has used buzzed words such as 'agressive' and 'dispreputable'. Certainly a negative approach to working class however, this article evenly balances out the pros and cons of working class and how it can be defined by society.
http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability
In this article Newman argues that the working class are represented negatively in the news. He's highlighted some key words on how they are portrayed including: 'Skin head's' or 'mods'. He goes on to back up his point by telling us about a study that has been carried out; "Studies of industrial relations reporting by the Glasgow University Media Group suggest that the media portray ‘unreasonable’ workers as making trouble for ‘reasonable’ employers.". In this study it informs the reader how working class is represented at work.
KEY POINT -
Newman argues that when the news media turn their attention to the most destitute, the portrayals are often negative or stereotypical. Often, the poor are portrayed in statistical rather than in human terms by news bulletins that focus on the numbers unemployed or on benefits, rather than the individual suffering and personal indignities of poverty.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3626754/Working-class-doesnt-chav.html
http://www.slideshare.net/HeworthMedia1/the-roots-of-working-class-representation-in-british-12696622
According to a survey of social attitudes, 57% of adults in the UK claim to be working class.
A staggering 57% of us consider ourselves to be working class, according to the annual British Social Attitudes survey from the National Centre for Social Research. Even the centre thinks this is "remarkable".
The system had its first overhaul in 80 years in 1998 and eight new categories were drawn up. The highest includes senior managers, doctors and lawyers, while the lowest category is for those who have never worked or are long-term unemployed.
But even under the new system only 31% of people are actually employed in what are categorised as traditional "blue collar" occupations, according to the survey. The number who consider themselves working class far outstrips this.
But the 57% are not kidding themselves - they are working class, says philosopher Dr Julian Baggini, author of Welcome to Everytown.
http://www.beyondcurrenthorizons.org.uk/popular-representations-of-the-working-class-contested-identities-and-social-change/
Zweig (2000) claims that ‘organizations of working people, especially unions, are systematically ignored or attacked’
"Similarly, despite British trade unions with their seven million members being the country’s largest voluntary organisation, there is minimal coverage of their work." This quote is defending working class, informing and educating the reader on how the UK have the biggest voluntary organisation. This suggests that the working class are hard working, kind people not the type of people we see on programmes like Jeremy Kyle.
"In this case, immediately visible cultural markers such as purported habits of dress, lifestyle, deportment and speech come to signify a range of classic ‘underclass’ traits, such as dirt, sexual promiscuity, ignorance, psychological stasis, work-shy, aggressive masculinities, and over-fertile femininities – ones which continue the well-worn tradition of positing an existential divide between the ‘respectable’ and ‘disreputable’ working class." This part of the article is defining what the working class are portrayed to be. The writer has used buzzed words such as 'agressive' and 'dispreputable'. Certainly a negative approach to working class however, this article evenly balances out the pros and cons of working class and how it can be defined by society.
http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability
In this article Newman argues that the working class are represented negatively in the news. He's highlighted some key words on how they are portrayed including: 'Skin head's' or 'mods'. He goes on to back up his point by telling us about a study that has been carried out; "Studies of industrial relations reporting by the Glasgow University Media Group suggest that the media portray ‘unreasonable’ workers as making trouble for ‘reasonable’ employers.". In this study it informs the reader how working class is represented at work.
KEY POINT -
Newman argues that when the news media turn their attention to the most destitute, the portrayals are often negative or stereotypical. Often, the poor are portrayed in statistical rather than in human terms by news bulletins that focus on the numbers unemployed or on benefits, rather than the individual suffering and personal indignities of poverty.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3626754/Working-class-doesnt-chav.html
http://www.slideshare.net/HeworthMedia1/the-roots-of-working-class-representation-in-british-12696622
Texts and case studies
Issues and Debates
Stuart Hall
Stuart Hall's theory is relevant to my case study on the contribution of media texts to collective identity of the working class.
The dominant reading of this television show would be that the topics that happen in the show are all very real and not staged at all.
The negotiated reading of this television programme would to laugh and joke about the people featured on the show and make the viewer look down on the working class as Jeremy Kyle covers some outrageous topics, e.g. ‘Who's Father To Your Baby? Me Or My Dad?’
An oppositional reading of this text would be to think that ITV are exposing the working class as cheats, chavs, liars and scum etc.
John Fiske
Fiske’s theory can be applied to my case study, especially focusing on ‘The Royle Family’. Fiske believes that we have the power to interpret a
product anyway want to and this can be done when watching this programme.
I think that different classes would appropriate the characters due to what they already know and personal experiences. For example, a higher class audience would portray Jim as a lazy man but a working class audience could relate to his character. Jim is a standardized subject.
Judith Butler
Judith Butler’s theory of gender can also be applied to the identity of working class. For example if a child was born into a working class family the child wouldn’t be born working class its identity would be shaped around how people act around it.
However, the theory can also be applied again but in a different way. The child could have its own identity and false itself not to act like the behaviour around it. For example in the programme ‘keeping up appearances’ the main character Mrs Bucket acts like an upper class women by pronouncing her words properly etc but in reality she’s as working class as the other family next door.
Todorov
In TV programmes the working class have always had a disrupted equilibrium; there’s never been a balance.
However some of the working class have ‘recognised’ the disruption and have ‘attempted to repair the disruption’ by making documentaries about there lives showing an audience a different light to the working class.
There will never be a Reinstatement of equilibrium as the media will always portray the working class to be bad; this is just due to popular TV shows they can’t afford to loose and old conventions that the working class just cannot shrug off.
Propp
Propp’s theory can be applied to my case study by looking at the London riots.
The villain: The police as according to the news they shot an unarmed man without provoke. Also the Rioters for the actions against the areas around them.
The hero: The people who helped clear the streets during and after the attacks
The princess: The Rioters as they got some sort of justice at the end even know the way they retaliated was wrong.
Baudrillard
Baudrillard’s theory applies to my case study in the sense that classes do not exist. For example the working class aren’t real, the media have given the working class their own identity and that’s what we all believe.
Stuart Hall's theory is relevant to my case study on the contribution of media texts to collective identity of the working class.
The dominant reading of this television show would be that the topics that happen in the show are all very real and not staged at all.
The negotiated reading of this television programme would to laugh and joke about the people featured on the show and make the viewer look down on the working class as Jeremy Kyle covers some outrageous topics, e.g. ‘Who's Father To Your Baby? Me Or My Dad?’
An oppositional reading of this text would be to think that ITV are exposing the working class as cheats, chavs, liars and scum etc.
John Fiske
Fiske’s theory can be applied to my case study, especially focusing on ‘The Royle Family’. Fiske believes that we have the power to interpret a
product anyway want to and this can be done when watching this programme.
I think that different classes would appropriate the characters due to what they already know and personal experiences. For example, a higher class audience would portray Jim as a lazy man but a working class audience could relate to his character. Jim is a standardized subject.
Judith Butler
Judith Butler’s theory of gender can also be applied to the identity of working class. For example if a child was born into a working class family the child wouldn’t be born working class its identity would be shaped around how people act around it.
However, the theory can also be applied again but in a different way. The child could have its own identity and false itself not to act like the behaviour around it. For example in the programme ‘keeping up appearances’ the main character Mrs Bucket acts like an upper class women by pronouncing her words properly etc but in reality she’s as working class as the other family next door.
Todorov
In TV programmes the working class have always had a disrupted equilibrium; there’s never been a balance.
However some of the working class have ‘recognised’ the disruption and have ‘attempted to repair the disruption’ by making documentaries about there lives showing an audience a different light to the working class.
There will never be a Reinstatement of equilibrium as the media will always portray the working class to be bad; this is just due to popular TV shows they can’t afford to loose and old conventions that the working class just cannot shrug off.
Propp
Propp’s theory can be applied to my case study by looking at the London riots.
The villain: The police as according to the news they shot an unarmed man without provoke. Also the Rioters for the actions against the areas around them.
The hero: The people who helped clear the streets during and after the attacks
The princess: The Rioters as they got some sort of justice at the end even know the way they retaliated was wrong.
Baudrillard
Baudrillard’s theory applies to my case study in the sense that classes do not exist. For example the working class aren’t real, the media have given the working class their own identity and that’s what we all believe.
Overview and Conclusions
Evaluation
Exam Feedback
Be clear- plan your essay before you start
Focus on the question
Develop all your knowledge of your examples
Focus on the question
Develop all your knowledge of your examples