class & status
TRANSCRIPT
CLASS & STATUSCLASS: a group of people within a society that possess the same economic status, often determined by occupation, education, income, manners, etc.
WHAT’S YOUR CLASS?/YOUR ATTITUDE TO CLASS?
•How is class represented through mise en scene?
Re-capping last lesson……..
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING WHEN EXPLORING THIS AREA
• Power/hierarchy• Education & employment• Living conditions• Lifestyle choices• Clothing• Accent• Attitude and interests• Etc.
Representations of the upper class and wealth
• Usually represented in costume and period drama.• Seen as well bred and cultured. • Represented through their accents, estates, and a taste for
shooting and hunting.
• Neo-marxists believe that the mass media representations of social class tend to be celebrate hierarchy and wealth.
• UK mass media never portrays the upper class in a critical light (??)
• Upper classes usually portrayed in an eccentric or nostalgic way.
Reiner (2007) and Young (2007)• The media tends to portray the UK as a meritocratic
society in which intelligence, talent and hard work are rewarded;
• Neo Marxists argue that this concept of meritocracy is in fact a myth as wealth rather than ability opens up the doors and access to Oxbridge and top jobs;
• This supports Cohen and Young’s (1981) theory, which believed that the British culture is a monetary culture characterized by a “chaos of reward”: – Top businessmen are rewarded for failure (e.g bankers), – Celebrities are over rewarded by their “talent”.
DOMINANT IDEOLOGY? -The middle class
• 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.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp5U7J-7NTk
Representations of the working class
• Newman (2006) argues that there are very few situation comedies, television or drama which focuses on the everyday lives of working class who constitute a significant section of society,
• Newman argues that when in the media working class are often depicted in a very non positive light: dumb buffoons (Homer Simpson) and immature machos (Phil Mitchell),
• Butsch (1992) – working class portrayed as flawed individuals (benefit cheats, etc)
• HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=_4GRPKND900
Class & status– conflict, camaraderie or envy? = Consider the
relationships Can I identify what class characters are?
Are people from different classes shown as having different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours? If so, how?
Is their class represented as being important in their life?
Are people from particular classes portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
Are people from particular classes portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others?
How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different classes?
What is the message the clip is trying to portray about class?
• PEAKY BLINDERS: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=BDWOUFBZALW
• SUITS TRAILER:HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=6ZU0YYV2UYS