Social class representations Flashcards
What does Newman say about the upperclass and wealthy?
The wealthy have positive representation.
Focuses on materialism
Celebrity culture
Conspicuous consumption
What is celebrity culture and conspicuous consumption?
Purchasing of goods to show off wealth.
There is a domination of Tv adverts focusing on high cost items such as holidays and luxury goods.
How are celebs featured in the media?
Postive
If criticisms are made its normally about appearance rather than concerns about inequality.
What did Altman study about the upperclass and wealthy?
Focused on cells in the newspapers and magazines
1980-2003
National affairs covered 10%
Birth of princess Charlotte headlined for 3 days alongside the general election.
How are the middle class portrayed?
Seen as the norm
They and their concerns are overrepresented.
Featured in TV programmes and they focus on their interests.
Middle class have professional jobs so media workers themselves are MC so coverage interests them
Eg. lots of programmes about holidays and moving abroad due to them having the income to do this.
How do soap operas and fictional TV present the middle class?
Positively
Well mannered and respectful
What does leach talk about the middle class?
Cereal packet family
Socially constructed
‘how a family is meant to be’
What does Newman say about how the working class represented?
Media tend to focus on the deviance they commit rather than day to day activities
eg. blue collar crime, benefit fraud
What do Curran and seaton say about the working class?
Media focuses on working class audiences
Eg. newspapers adopting a patronising tone towards them
Assume working class lack interest in political discussions so reporting is dramatised and simplistic with the coverage.
They assume they need cells and sports
Stereotype them as having a lack of intelligence and seen as a threat to society
How has media started changing their representation of the working class?
They have been representing them sympathetically and in a dignified and realistic way.
What does Newman say about the underclass/poverty?
They are shown as the most destitute in society
Portrayed as statistics rather than human stories
Figures of the unemployed rather than stories of suffering and challenges
What did Mckendrick analyse about the underclass representation?
Analysed a weeks output of media and found causes of poverty aren’t explored along with structural contributions and conditions of the underclass.
Eg. Jeremy Kyle blamed individuals for their behaviour and instead used them as entertainment.
What did Webster say about the underclass?
They are social scum
They are deserving of their social and economic plight
Tv shows such as shameless
Have a negative portrayal portray unemployed as immoral and useless abusing state power.
What was said about the underclass in the 2015 election?
David Cameron said
‘Those who choose a life on the dole’
Reinforcing underclass as undeserving of state help
What do marxists argue about the underclass coverage?
It adverts attention from capitalism by scapegoating the unemployed.
