http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/30/one-five-uncomfortable-homosexuality
http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_214917_en.pdf
http://www.disabilityworld.org/April-May2000/Media/MediaUK.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/nov/15/muslimsandthemedia
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/nov/14/pressandpublishing.raceintheuk
http://www.refugee-action.org.uk/news/asyluminthemedia.aspxhttp://www.mediawise.org.uk/www.mediawise.org.uk/files/uploaded/Challenge%20of%20reporting.pdf
http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2010/02/challenging-the-single-parent-stereotypes/
Even though as a society we are being less racist, less homophobic, less sexist and less discriminating the press still find ways of highlighting minorities without it being against UK Law, the PCC code or NUJ code. Sometimes they don't have to say anything but rely on pictures/headlines to potray messages. For example stories on the London riots just need a headline about the damage and a picture showing black youths causing havoc to portray that they are trouble makers and have no respect.
ReplyDeleteThe elderly are mostly represented as weak, slow and that they smell of urine. There is also the assumption that they don't possess all their mental faculties and are often patronised when it is merely their bodies that have deteriated, not their minds. The way they are represented is very demeaning, they are seen as a drain on finances and the the time of the hardworking individuals.
ReplyDeleteI beleive that the UK media is more sensitive to issues of homosexuality, reflecting the change in attitudes of the UK public in genral. Paul McBride's sexuality was merely a footnote at his funeral. The new leader of the Scottish Tories is a lesbian, something that in the past would have been a major "talking point". Now it is barely discussed, reflecting that the public in general don't care for intrusion into people's personal lifes.
ReplyDeleteThe representation of the Irish travelling community is simply racist.
ReplyDeleteAt the Dale Farm eviction last year, innocent families were viciously thrown from their homes,surrounded by armed police and hunted like animals, all because Basildon Council claimed it was "greenbelt" land.
That land was previously used as a scrapyard and the travellers had lived there for decades. The council had an agenda, they didn't want the negative stigma attached to their town and it's funny how this all erupted shortly after the release of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.
The government wont even use that land, it was nothing more than a modern day ethnic cleansing.
If it was a site full of black or Asian communities would they be evicted?
I believe the media portray certain social groups in a way that they think the general public feel about them. For instance, homosexuality isn't reported in the same way as in the past because the public has very much moved on. However, a lot of people may still think Eastern Europeans are stealing jobs, black people commit a lot of crime and so on. Obviously the way a newspaper will portray a group will depend on their readership.
ReplyDeleteA loaded subject, not really sure where to start to be honest. I think transvestites are still considered outsiders in our society, more so than most other minorities. I think Douglas hit the nail on the head when he said that most right-minded, liberal people today accept that homosexuality and an influx of ethnic subdivisions is part of the modern landscape of our country - though i still don't think vegetarians are properly represented.
ReplyDeleteThe portrayal of gay characters on television has always been an issue with television companies and viewers alike. I feel that it should not matter what a characters sexuality is and it should not have be the characters defining feature within a show. It tends to be the case that a characters storyline focuses more on their sexuality and it tends to revolve around that key fact. Instead we should see their personality and that their sexuality should take a backseat instead.
ReplyDelete"The BBC will now make recommendations to the BBC Trust. They include introducing "incidental" gay characters whose sexuality is not their defining feature."
ReplyDeleteThe most defining feature about someone should be who they are as a person entirely, not just an aspect of their lifestyle. The BBC should have realised this a long time ago, and stuck to storylines in Eastenders, for example, that didn't just confine homosexual people to plots focused around their sexualitiy, but to have plots that show them being part of an integrated society, realistic like the one we live in.
Sexuality isn't a big deal, what is a big deal is being accepted for who you are; I feel as though the media try far too hard to include every aspect of society within one small spectrum, that they forget that the stereotype they're under doesn't define them.
You could be black, gay, disabled, an asylum seeker - whatever - but you'd still be a human being.
And on the subject of class division, if we live in a supposedly equal society, should classes even exist?
ReplyDeleteHomosexuality; I think that gay people are portrayed well in soaps and movies sometimes. They are definitely covered a lot more than they used to be. This conveys that the media accepting people being gay more and more.
ReplyDeleteHowever, sometimes they are shown in the wrong light, because all gay people aren't the same, they are just like everyone else except they are attracted to the same sex rather than the opposite. I think the article above covers it from a good angle as it shows the media angle aswell as how gay women feel about the press coverage on lesbains. Although it would also be good to get a male point of view as well.
It is clear that everyone doesn't accept gay people, but the vast majority do. It shows that as time goes on the more it is accepted and so it should be it's a part of everyday society and they shouldn't be viewed as outside the normal. It's good for gay life to be seen on tv as well as straight because they both exist so why shouldn't society see both. If you have a problem with it then you shouldn't watch it.
It's right for everyone to have their own opinion, but they can't shy away from homosexuality forever.
Travellers = This type of group is generalised as 'gypsies'. They are seen as a burden to society as they have a history of theft and a majority of travelers will have a criminal record. The tv prgram 'big fat gypsy weddings' follows this sterotype as it gives viewers an insight into the gypsy world.
ReplyDeleteIrish travvelers are recognised in British law as an ethnic group therefore should be seen as a minority.
The UK media is pretty varied on its views of Eastern European migrants depending on country of origin. Workers from Poland and Latvia are usually shown in a good light for their work effort and role within the Roman Catholic community. Their children are also seen to be well behaved. However they arer also seen to be taking jobs from white working class people. Romania migrants are seen in a much worse light, with them seen to be gangsters, sex trafficers and even gypsies. They are seen to be taking our benefits and creating crime in this country. All the views on Eastern Europeans depend on the publication.
ReplyDeletei think for a while that today's youth has been represented poorly. you only hear every so often of the achievement of a young person, but mostly the papers are full of stories of neds causin' it. this rubs off on the rest of us, who don't share the same ideals or behaviour.
ReplyDeleteI thought a good point was made recently by rapper/singer Plan B about people from poorer backgrounds. He released a single recently in which the main theme was how kids from places like east London are portrayed poorly in the media. For example, in the song he says that chav stands for council housed and violent.
ReplyDeleteThen in an interview on Radio 1 he said he feels that the way these people are portrayed in the media directly influences the way they act. For example, if they are portrayed as being violent and troublemakers then they think they wont be able to change peoples opinions of them so they play up to the stereotype. He also says how he compares the word chav to being as offensive as certain racial or sexual slurs but how the word chav is still widely used in the media.
"For every person who uses the word chav or another derogatory term to mock the less educated and less well off people in society, there is a less educated person ready to embrace that and to essentially fuel the fire"
I thought was a very valid point and agree that society as a whole needs to change its opinion for the so called "underclass" to prosper.
I think that it works both ways in the sense that, and that the stereotypes present in society will always be there, the groups being stereotyped tend to stick together e.g foreign students stay together, communities which are mainly working class, middle class, muslims, asians etc. Until these groups start integrating themselves further into society then these stereotypes will never be shown to be false. Until someone is shown differently, they're always going to maintain the same opinion e.g someone might believe that students are lazy until they meet one that is hard-working and determined.
ReplyDeleteDwarves are the only group who can be lampooned, regardless of class, race etc, purely for a defect they were born with. I stand by this view. Dwarf pride.
ReplyDeleteI read an online article recently about a 4 year old boy who believed he was a girl trapped in a male body. His parents supported this and allowed him to wear dresses, grow his hair and play with dolls. Some of the comments on the article were extremely negative about this and thought the parents should stop this behaviour. The majority even said that the parents should not be buying him girls clothes as he would grow out of the "phase" and would be left feeling forced to behave like a girl because his parents had ajusted his clothes/toys/bedroom to be like a girls. What I don't understand is if it is now accepted that homosexuals were born gay, it was not a choice they made, why does there need to be someone/something to blame for people who want to change gender?
ReplyDelete