Welfare Social Policy Notes B

• The working class is often portrayed as hard working heroes who struggle but are respectable.
• The underclass is represented as white scum or demons of the working class, often seen in the chav stereotype.
• The middle class is over-represented in media and is generally shown in a positive light.
• People in the middle class are represented as mature, educated, successful and coping well with their problems.
• Their families are portrayed as well functioning.
• The representations of class in media continue to justify the idea of class structure in society.
• The upper class is generally presented as being ‘well bred’, cultured and superior, with posh accents, have taste for shooting and hunting.
• Males and females are represented in their traditional stereotype role, with females as housewives and males as breadwinners.
• Mohammadi concluded that some Islamic countries have responded to media globalization by trying to resist it or provide an alternative for it.
• The media is considered to be a powerful tool for the social construction of gender differences between men and women.
• Most found it necessary to accept certain modifications to their culture in order to maintain their own cultural identity.
• Three Islamic states (Iran, Saudi Arabia & Malaysia) banned satellite access to Western TV because their TV programs produce consumer values and 'culture pollution'.
• The media reproduces hegemonic (stereotypical) roles of men and women in society.
• The media tends to reinforce these stereotypes rather than challenging them.
• The cosmetics, fashion, diet and cosmetic surgery industries all promote the imagery of the ‘ideal’ body that females should have.
• There are different types of stories and magazines aimed at men and women.
• Females are commonly shown indoors not outdoors, in their private sphere – at home – traditional domestic roles.
• Women are often portrayed as wives and girlfriends who are concerned with beauty, love, romance, being pretty and sexually attractive, being a good partner and trying their best to keep their partner happy.
• Females are often depicted as the ‘good’, displaying little sexuality, sensitive and supporting their man.
• Another image of female is a sexually active, independent, strong, selfish, ambitious and career-minded woman who is not dependent on men.
• In many horror and crime films and TV dramas, men are seen as both the cause of the female’s problem or else their survivor.
• In the past, we used to have the press barons who had a say with what is written in newspapers.
• David Held and his colleagues point out 5 major shifts that have contributed to bringing about the global media order: increasing concentration of ownership, a shift from public to private ownership, transnational corporate structures, diversification over a variety of media products, and a growing number of corporate media mergers.
• Various studies have shown that there have been positive changes when it comes to the representation of disabled people on TV.
• The headquarters of the world’s 20 largest media companies are all located in industrialized nations, the majority of them found in the USA.
• In 2005, a new Disney theme park was opened in Hong Kong, this replicated the American attractions rather than reflecting the local cultures.
• The less developed countries are seen as vulnerable the most as they lack the resources to maintain their own cultural independence.
• There are those who critique Media Imperialism, these believe that there are some counter-trends which might show a more pluralistic theory when it comes to media at a global level.
• Reverse flows can refer to those countries which are ‘victims’ of media imperialism, however, they tend to create their own products and programs to different countries.
• Ignoring disability is not an answer.
• Media has improved and there are TV shows which try to challenge the stereotypical representations of these groups.
• The influence of these 20 multinational corporations can be felt in almost every country in the world.
• Media Imperialism is when there is an over-concentration of media from larger nations like America and these influence smaller nations.
• Some of the largest media companies who have an over-concentration of the media are companies like Disney, ABC, Time Warner, Sony Music, Mondadori (owned by Silvio Berlusconi – former Italian prime minister).
• Stereotypical representations can reinforce the existing negative ideas of certain social groups like disabled individuals.
• The Western companies tend to have an influence on which news is shown, attention is given to the developing world in news broadcasts in times of crisis, disasters or military confrontations.
• Media can never be neutral because it is owned by super companies.
• The internet results in globalization and thus has led to the global media market, which is owned by super companies – about 20 multinational corporations.
• In fact, some studies show that there have been positive changes especially in American drama, where disabled people were being considered as ‘normal’.
• Through electronic media, Western cultural products have been spread out around the globe.