Media Representations: Class Flashcards
How are the Upper Class represented in the media?
Newman = media tends to ignore issues with capitalism, and don’t focus on gap between rich and poor e.g bonuses that bankers have.
Nairn = media representations of the royal family aim to reinforce patriotism and a sense of national identity, king = symbol of the nation as a whole.
Portray upper class in nostalgic/eccentric way, idealised e.g the crown/downtown abbey: good breeding, culture, etc.
Reiner and Young = the media tend to represent society as being meritocratic.
How are the Middle Class represented in the media?
Owen Jones = the media values class differently e.g Madeline McCann and Shannon Matthews. MM 3x media coverage than SM, and 2.6 million raised for MM but only 25k for SM. Also, few celebrities/public figures wished well for Shannon like they did for Madeline.
Content of newspapers e.g Daily Mail = MC are concerned about the decline in moral standards, and proud of British heritage, e.g “Migrants: How many more can we take?”
How are the Working Class represented in the media?
Newman = when the news focuses on the working-class, they label them as problems/in the context of trouble. E.g strikes, welfare cheats, addicts, etc creating moral panics, as Hall/Young say.
How are the Underclass represented in the media?
Shildrick and MacDonald = recent labelling of some sections of the poor as ‘chavs’ suggests that they are undeserving of public sympathy. Amusing term of abuse for young poor people.
Represented as social scum/scroungers, neutralising any public sympathy for their struggles.
Poverty Porn = used by media to entertain, referring to exploiting the poor for people’s entertainment. Also famine porn = generates sympathy for certain causes such as Oxfam charities, but also contributes to racism as they are not portrayed accurately e.g as helpless.
