Print Media-The Big Issue
Upper class
• Usually represented in costume and period drama.
Nairn (1988) – Monarchy
Middle class (stereotypes)
•Presented as educated and successful as well as able to cope with problems,
•Over represented in the media due to their lifestyle
•Representation fits in with the hegemonic ideology of the dominant class in society,
•Representation justifies the existing class structure and inequalities by suggesting people need to become more competent and successful in order to cope with life.
In this Left-Wing newspaper, it tries to portray the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, as wanting to 'cut down the number of veterans living poverty' as well as with 'the mental and physical scars of war'. The newspaper states that 6% of people in London are homeless veterans. It portrays the veterans as being victims and deserving of sympathy (counter to Shildrick and MacDonald).
• Mainly represented through the coverage of the monarchy,
• Seen as well bred and cultured,
• Represented through their accents, estates, and a taste for shooting and hunting,
• Usually represented in costume and period drama.
Nairn (1988) – Monarchy
• “Royal Family” concept = niceness, decency, ordinariness,
• Royal family can be deemed to be “like us” but “not like us” – the queen seen as ordinary working mother doing extraordinary things,
•Over represented in the media due to their lifestyle
•Representation fits in with the hegemonic ideology of the dominant class in society,
•Representation justifies the existing class structure and inequalities by suggesting people need to become more competent and successful in order to cope with life.
Representations of poverty and underclass
• Portrayal usually negative and stereotypical,
• Portrayed in the form of statistics in news bulletin such as figures of unemployment,
• Recent media interest in the labelling of the poor such as “chavs” which according to Shildrick and MacDonald (2007) suggest that the poor are undeserving of sympathy.
• Hayward and Yar (2006) – the term "chav" is used as an amusing term of abuse for young poor people.
The vendors come from a variety of backgrounds and face the myriad of problems associated with poverty and inequality. The mission is to dismantle poverty by creating opportunity, through self-help, social trading and business solutions. It gives people in poverty an opportunity to work and earn money for themselves.The vendor buys each copy of the magazine for £1.25, and they sell it for £2.50, with 50% of the sale price going to the vendor. The tagline is "A hand up, not a handout.", meaning they do not give them money, but they give them a job so they can earn a living for themselves, to try and help raise them out of poverty.
The Romanian migrant group is represented as scroungers, beggars and thieves of the state, as the come to Britain to gin money. Form the text, it explains that they came to England to beg, earning £100 a day by targeting Muslim groups as well as Arabs, as they are most willing to give money due to religious reasons. The state decided to deport them back to Romania, and paid for all of their expenses with tax-payers money to send them back. When the Telegraph contacted them when they got back to Romania and told the press they were planning on coming back to England to beg and send the money back home to their families. This negatively suggests that Romanian unskilled workers are moving to England to beg, and removing money from the British economy to send back to Romania, therefore boosting their economy and weakening the British economy.
Homeless migrants are portrayed as less deserving than the homeless people who are 'native to Britain', as they come to Britain and are perceived to contribute nothing to society. Homeless migrants are perceived to be more 'underserving of sympathy' as Shildrick and MacDonald said, purely for the fact they they have moved from another country to try and beg, whereas there are British citizens that have worked their whole life and have found themselves in a very unfortunate situation. The examples given are Ex-army people living in the Stratford Centre and relying on the soup Kitchens, and Michael, a chauffeur who attended the Olympics a few years prior, now living on the streets and in poverty. It does however refer to the anti-social behaviour of these homeless people in the grooming gangs, the fights breaking out with glass bottles in this Centre, drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental health problems, all hosted in Stratford Centre. The paper is trying to portray how homelessness is a very negative thing, as it leads to these criminal activities taking place in society. The reference to anti-social behaviour is intended to show how they are 'undeserving of help' but can also make people feel sympathetic towards them, as people want to end this suffering and crime that has come from homelessness.
Media language:
how
the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings.
Colour, type of shot, angle, focus, depth of field, mise-en-scene, body language, props, location, lighting, realism?Narrative?Use of text, font design/size, layout, mode of address.
Media representations: how
the media portray events, issues, individual and social groups
Anchorage is when a piece of media uses another piece of media to reduce the amount of connotations in the first, therefore allowing the audience to interpret it much more easily. For instance, in a newspaper, pictures are accompanied by a caption that allows us to understand what the picture is showing us.
Task 1:
Colour - Saturated yellow - symbolic of energy & grey.
Type of shot- Mid-shot - emphasises female sexuality and female form.
Angle- Low angle.
Focus- Bikini and body glow (sharpness emphasises the tone of her body).
Depth of field - sharply focused on the main subject (nicely toned body).
Mise-en-scene - Puffing her chest to make herself look good. Bright Bikini.
Body language - Coverline which is rhetoric. Promoting protein.
Props -
Location - Left third of the screen.
Lighting - Evenly lit, glowing body form, torso is the main focus point (biggest glow).
Realism - Photoshopped to have smoother, glowing skin. Face is very contoured. Flattering in all the right places. Hourglass shape. Thin waist. Thigh gaps (not very realistic).
Narrative - Woman who takes the protein supplement to get this sort of 'beach body'.
Use of text - Rhetoric question as coverline used as a way to engage the viewer.Emphasis of beauty form.
Font design/size - Sans which makes it serous and sophisticated, and the size makes it very bold in the eyes of the viewer.Upper case - shouting at the audience.
Layout-Contrasting colours. Left third.
Mode of address - Direct mode of address, almost symbolic of how not being beach ready can be an intimidating thing .
Representation - the goals of how a woman should look.
Theme/messages - That by taking this protein supplement, you will look like this.
Task 2:
The Romanian migrant group is represented as scroungers, beggars and thieves of the state, as the come to Britain to gin money. Form the text, it explains that they came to England to beg, earning £100 a day by targeting Muslim groups as well as Arabs, as they are most willing to give money due to religious reasons. The state decided to deport them back to Romania, and paid for all of their expenses with tax-payers money to send them back. When the Telegraph contacted them when they got back to Romania and told the press they were planning on coming back to England to beg and send the money back home to their families. This negatively suggests that Romanian unskilled workers are moving to England to beg, and removing money from the British economy to send back to Romania, therefore boosting their economy and weakening the British economy.Homeless migrants are portrayed as less deserving than the homeless people who are 'native to Britain', as they come to Britain and are perceived to contribute nothing to society. Homeless migrants are perceived to be more 'underserving of sympathy' as Shildrick and MacDonald said, purely for the fact they they have moved from another country to try and beg, whereas there are British citizens that have worked their whole life and have found themselves in a very unfortunate situation. The examples given are Ex-army people living in the Stratford Centre and relying on the soup Kitchens, and Michael, a chauffeur who attended the Olympics a few years prior, now living on the streets and in poverty. It does however refer to the anti-social behaviour of these homeless people in the grooming gangs, the fights breaking out with glass bottles in this Centre, drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental health problems, all hosted in Stratford Centre. The paper is trying to portray how homelessness is a very negative thing, as it leads to these criminal activities taking place in society. The reference to anti-social behaviour is intended to show how they are 'undeserving of help' but can also make people feel sympathetic towards them, as people want to end this suffering and crime that has come from homelessness. 
In this Left-Wing newspaper, it tries to portray the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, as wanting to 'cut down the number of veterans living poverty' as well as with 'the mental and physical scars of war'. The newspaper states that 6% of people in London are homeless veterans. It portrays the veterans as being victims and deserving of sympathy (counter to Shildrick and MacDonald).
Notes
Homes for Heroes-
Daily express - right wing
anti-soldiers being homeless
1/10 ex servicemen
cast aside and left to rot
no support or net to catch them after leaving
looking for accommodation and jobs
younger guys 5-10 years, cannot afford to buy
homelessness caused by ptsd
moving fem job to job - can't find their feet -
relationship breakdown, drugs, alcohol - homeless
no home, no money for food- relying on benefits - going to job centres to live
2012 vauk law changed - mr shaftsbury head of cons - changed wording of laws
high priority and preference in benefits
need help from authorities and councils
housing association are not following the wording of the law
needs to be a change of law stating councils should help veterans - no, must
The Daily Express, a right wing newspaper reported on the high levels of ex-army personnel struggling to get on the housing ladder, or to even rent a home. 1 in 10 homeless people are ex-servicemen, and the Homes for Heroes group views them to have been 'cast aside and left to rot'. They perceive there to be 'no support or net to catch them after leaving' the army. One example specifically given was younger soldiers who may have served for 5 to 10 years, not being able to afford to buy their own homes, as the wages were too low to save up to buy a home in the future, and this is leaving them in a terrible position after leaving the army. There are high numbers of ex-servicemen looking for accommodation, and without being able to find a steady job that they are happy and comfortable with, they are thus unable to maintain the payments for a home and are then left homeless. Homelessness for ex-servicemen is caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which causes them to turn to drugs, alcoholism and relationship breakups. Because they have no jobs, and no money for food, they rely on the benefits system to live, and therefore have to go to the job centre to collect their cheques, just to get by. there is not the correct legislation in place to give ex-servicemen priority and help from the council in order to get accommodation. The VAUK (Veterans Association UK) campaign managed to in 2012 bring to attention the incorrect wording of an act which meant that the local authorities were able to get away with not providing any help or assistance to veterans in finding housing, and managed to get the wording changed so that they receive help. This is however still no the case, and they are calling for a new law to be made so that councils 'MUST' provide housing, rather than 'SHOULD' help them. They believe that veterans should have high priority and preference in benefits and housing.
Homes for Heroes-
Daily express - right wing
anti-soldiers being homeless
1/10 ex servicemen
cast aside and left to rot
no support or net to catch them after leaving
looking for accommodation and jobs
younger guys 5-10 years, cannot afford to buy
homelessness caused by ptsd
moving fem job to job - can't find their feet -
relationship breakdown, drugs, alcohol - homeless
no home, no money for food- relying on benefits - going to job centres to live
2012 vauk law changed - mr shaftsbury head of cons - changed wording of laws
high priority and preference in benefits
need help from authorities and councils
housing association are not following the wording of the law
needs to be a change of law stating councils should help veterans - no, must
The Daily Express, a right wing newspaper reported on the high levels of ex-army personnel struggling to get on the housing ladder, or to even rent a home. 1 in 10 homeless people are ex-servicemen, and the Homes for Heroes group views them to have been 'cast aside and left to rot'. They perceive there to be 'no support or net to catch them after leaving' the army. One example specifically given was younger soldiers who may have served for 5 to 10 years, not being able to afford to buy their own homes, as the wages were too low to save up to buy a home in the future, and this is leaving them in a terrible position after leaving the army. There are high numbers of ex-servicemen looking for accommodation, and without being able to find a steady job that they are happy and comfortable with, they are thus unable to maintain the payments for a home and are then left homeless. Homelessness for ex-servicemen is caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which causes them to turn to drugs, alcoholism and relationship breakups. Because they have no jobs, and no money for food, they rely on the benefits system to live, and therefore have to go to the job centre to collect their cheques, just to get by. there is not the correct legislation in place to give ex-servicemen priority and help from the council in order to get accommodation. The VAUK (Veterans Association UK) campaign managed to in 2012 bring to attention the incorrect wording of an act which meant that the local authorities were able to get away with not providing any help or assistance to veterans in finding housing, and managed to get the wording changed so that they receive help. This is however still no the case, and they are calling for a new law to be made so that councils 'MUST' provide housing, rather than 'SHOULD' help them. They believe that veterans should have high priority and preference in benefits and housing.
Social conditions - Things that happen in society overall
Social conditions veterans and homelessness
+ PTSD.
+ Alcohol.
+ Drugs - from of escape.
+ Unemployment.
+ Marriages and relationships are breaking down - divorce rates are breaking down. (divorce rates in general are 43%)
+ Have to wait two years for mental health support.
+ Waiting for benefits.
The Big Issue chose to highlight this issue, as it was published in November, which is a significant month of the year as it plays host to one of the most important days in out year, as well as history; Armistice Day (Remembrance Day). It chose specifically to talk about this topic in the November issue, as on the 11th November, it is important to think of all the people that sacrificed their lives for all of societies rights. if it wasn't for them, then we would not be here now, and that is important for us to remember and think about. Our freedoms came at a cost to them, both mentally, and physically, and now stye are left alone, without support, and are consequently living on the streets. It makes people more sympathetic and aware of all of the people who are living on the streets that we may be forgetting about. It makes the reader think about being more helpful towards those who are in need, and deserving of help. The anonymity is key on this cover, as it says that veterans may look like average people (specifically homeless), and therefore people should think about helping them more.
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“Homelessness among the veterans community is getting worse by the month. The youngest we have dealt with is an 18-year-old and the oldest is 97. And we helped people of every age in between.”
New Theory - Gerbner theory (cultivation theory)
Social conditions veterans and homelessness
+ PTSD.
+ Alcohol.
+ Drugs - from of escape.
+ Unemployment.
+ Marriages and relationships are breaking down - divorce rates are breaking down. (divorce rates in general are 43%)
+ Have to wait two years for mental health support.
+ Waiting for benefits.
Deserving poor -
-Veterans
-Disabilities
-Addicts
Undeserving poor-
-Wasters
-Keep having kids
-Over eaters
-Work shy-lazy
-Ex criminals (murderers, rapists, paedophiles)
-Foreign beggars
-Asylum seekers
-Refugees
-Veterans
-Disabilities
-Addicts
Undeserving poor-
-Wasters
-Keep having kids
-Over eaters
-Work shy-lazy
-Ex criminals (murderers, rapists, paedophiles)
-Foreign beggars
-Asylum seekers
-Refugees
media language:
how
the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings.
media representations: how
the media portray events, issues, individual and social groups.
The Big Issue chose to highlight this issue, as it was published in November, which is a significant month of the year as it plays host to one of the most important days in out year, as well as history; Armistice Day (Remembrance Day). It chose specifically to talk about this topic in the November issue, as on the 11th November, it is important to think of all the people that sacrificed their lives for all of societies rights. if it wasn't for them, then we would not be here now, and that is important for us to remember and think about. Our freedoms came at a cost to them, both mentally, and physically, and now stye are left alone, without support, and are consequently living on the streets. It makes people more sympathetic and aware of all of the people who are living on the streets that we may be forgetting about. It makes the reader think about being more helpful towards those who are in need, and deserving of help. The anonymity is key on this cover, as it says that veterans may look like average people (specifically homeless), and therefore people should think about helping them more.
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“Homelessness among the veterans community is getting worse by the month. The youngest we have dealt with is an 18-year-old and the oldest is 97. And we helped people of every age in between.”
The Ministry of Defence said: “We provide extensive help to veterans and their families, including funding the Veterans’ Gateway.
“The Government is spending more than £1billion to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping.”
Hero Craig Mealing, 42, completed tours of Afghanistan, Iraq, Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Bosnia with the Rifles.
But he was left homeless for two months in 2016 after his long-term relationship buckled under the strain of his PTSD and he turned to alcohol.
Windsor Homeless Project, tonight told the Sunday People: “There are 12 to15 rough sleepers on the streets of Windsor and we’ve got 50 to 60 on our books.
“Typically, two in ten at any one time will be former military."
If veterans’ charities are right there could be more than 13,000 war heroes living on Britain’s streets.
Charity bosses say the problem has been made worse by cuts to the armed forces, which has led to almost 30,000 troops losing their jobs since 2010.
“We estimate 13,000 but we believe it’s an accurate figure from what our outreach teams are seeing.
“From our experience, the problem of homeless veterans has never been greater. I’d say 13,000 is a minimum – it could be far higher.”
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Most media studies on poverty point in
the direction of a recurring observation that usually the poor are
presented in one of two contrasting frames: the ‘deserving poor’ and the ‘undeserving poor’.
•While
the
frame of deserving
poor employs a sympathetic treatment of the poor, the frame of the
undeserving poor is built upon the rhetoric of deficiency in
individuals who
are portrayed as a burden on the taxpayer due
to their dependency on
welfare policies
•(see
also, scroungerphobia,
Golding & Middleton, 1982)
New Theory - Gerbner theory (cultivation theory)
Theory: Cultivation theory states that high
frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the
belief that they are real and valid. Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence
and therefore are effected by the Mean World Syndrome, the belief that the
world is a far worse and dangerous place then it actually is. According to
the theory heavy viewing of television is creating a homogeneous and
fearful populace, however so many studies have been done in this area that
really no one knows how or even if violence on TV or in film negatively
or positively affects its audience.
Now
cultivation theory has taken on a more general definition in regards to mass
media. It now extends to encompass the idea that television colours our
perception of the world. For example; if someone stays inside and watch news
about crime all day, they might be inclined to believe that the crime rate
is far higher than it actually is and they might easily become the victim of a
crime. Or in another sense heavy viewership of any media can
perpetuate stereotypes both positive and negative. It really
comes down to the question of to what extent does reality shape TV
and vice versa.
HOW is this relevant to the BIG
Issue?
•Consider
whether society is being influenced by media on their perception of the
homeless as scroungers/benefits cheats
•
•Consider
whether the negative associations of poverty/homelessness have influenced audiences
to be less sympathetic i.e. through stereotypes that the poor are
•
•Flawed
•Unworthy
of sympathy
•
•Consider
whether the BIG ISSUE is unlike
mainstream media representations of the poor.
Essay
23/11/2018
You will create an essay on isue 1332
of the Big issue: Still at War. You will
anaylyse the
media language and media representations associated with the front cover.
As part of the essay you will need to
discuss the social and politcal
contexts which have lead to a rise in homelessness in overall and inparticular
within the veteran community
You will also discuss how newspapers
(right wing and Big Issue) vary in the way the represent homelessness. As part of your arguments you are required to
use Gerbners
theory
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