class representations

• general patterns of class and representation


  mainstream media representations of class are filtered through the eyes of rich and powerful media owners and middle class professionals who produce media content. results in:

  - more favourable stereotypes of upper and middle class than working class

  - over-representation of the upper/middle classes

  - portrayal of the working class in more restricted range of roles
• class as a lifestyle choice


  class represented as lifestyle choice rather than economic category

  
  

  lawler (2005): 'taste' used as a symbol of class identity. people's lives = seen as shaped by individual choices + tastes in consumer goods they buy to form lifestyle

  
  

  focus on the individual, rather than patterns of structural inequality in distribution of wealth, income and life chances

  
  

  marxists & neo-marxists e.g. GMG emphasise media representations reflect interests of powerful. therefore little media content explicitly discussing class privilege, inequality and power differences, and tensions/conflicts between classes are concealed or seen as irrelevant
• jones: over-representation of the middle class


  jones (2011): media gives the impression 'we're all middle class now', with values and lifestyles of middle class as the norm to which everyone should aspire

  
  

  by celebrating lifestyles of upper/middle class, media creates impression the interests and worries of the well-off are/should be important to everyone

  
  

  working class (and "underclass") are presented as in some ways abnormal/deviant and/or as figures of fun

  --> weltman (2008): across range of media forms e.g. sitcoms, soaps, drama and reality tv, working-class people were devalued vs mc
• news values and representing class

  news values mean news about rich and famous e.g. crimes by/against them = more likely to be reported than similar stories about working class people

  
  

  mckendrick et al (2008): content analysis of uk media output in 2007, found poverty was marginal issue, only made up small proportion of media output

  --> journalists who were interested in poverty only likely to secure coverage if they were able to find angles that made it newsworthy e.g. extreme cases which highlighted individual failings of undeserving people, rather than wider social causes and consequences of poverty

  
  

  e.g. owen jones, chavs → madeline mccann vs shannon matthews disappearance coverage
• representing the working class

  wc = generally underrepresented, but when they are, -ve stereotypes that blame their failings on lack of conformity to mc values

  
  

  curran and seaton (2010):

  
  

  four main depictions:

  1) as dumb or stupid buffoons

  2) as a source of trouble/conflict

  3) idealised wc communities

  4) white trash or scum --> chavs
• wc: dumb or stupid buffoons

  butsch (2003): argues TV (studied US) creates persistent image of WC as buffoons or figures of fun = well-intention but flawed individuals who are immature, irresponsible, inarticulate, incompetent, lack common sense + cope poorly with life

  
  

  e.g. sitcom royle family: family of couch potatoes watch TV all the time and have absurd non-conservations

  
  

  this reinforces ideological hegemony of dominant values in pop culture + justifies existing patterns of inequality

  - higher status of MC justified by their need to supervise the amusing but incompetent WC

  - must be role models of how to live successful lives
• wc: source of trouble or conflict

  WC people often presented in context of trouble (espec youth)

  
  

  e.g. as undesirable welfare scroungers, lone parents, as unable to cope with their uncontrollable delinquent families

  - benefits by the sea, suppernanny

  
  

  neo-marxists e.g. GMG see this -ve rep as media acting against groups who challenge the dominant ideology

  
  

  newman: very few films, sitcoms + dramas give realistic image of everyday life for WC

  - stereotyped in unflattering/pitying light

  - news labels them as problem in society e.g. youth subcultures => moral panics
• representation of benefits


  baumberg et al (2012): benefits stigma in britain

  - analysed articles, found disproportionate focus on benefit fraud

  
  

  29% news stories referenced fraud

  - language describe s benefits as underserving, focus on dishonesty, dependency + outsider status

  
  

  media likely to portray WC as 'scrounging' from welfare state and at edge of becoming a criminal

  
  

  golding and middleton: welfare issues not discussed unless connected to other social issues e.g. crime or fraud

  - demonisation of underclass, lead to justifying cuts in welfare state
• price: poverty porn


  poverty porn = media exploiting participants and their lifestyle to shock and entertain audiences

  e.g. benefits street

  
  

  encourages condemnation of wc by hard-working mc

  
  

  HOWEVER used discourse analysis, found benefits street has narratives often presenting characters as decent + compassionate people captured by an unfair society

  - these more empathetic aspects = missed by viewers + political commentators
• idealised wc communities


  often most +ve presentation = in stereotypical context of traditional WC communities, where people are see as respectable, hard working WC heroes who struggle to overcome adversity in their lives

  
  

  e.g. eastenders, call the midwife

  - life rotates around pubs, shops and close/supportive networks of family and friends

  
  

  imagery also linked to macho behaviour, masculinity + physically hard work --> found in ads e.g. for jeans and beer

  
  

  values in these communities praised but have little relation to reality: these communities have largely disappeared due to deindustrialisation (decline in coal mining, docks etc)

  - dodd and dodd: nostalgic view

  
  

  jones: these images are romanticised and filtered through MC media gaze

  
  

  david yallop, former eastenders scriptwriter: eastenders was 'created by middle-class people with a middle-class view of the WC which is patronising, idealistic and untruthful'

  
  

  decline of communities = change in rep in 2000s from being patronised to being despised: emergence of chav stereotype
• more positive representations of the wc

  devereux: more +ve and realistic portrayals of wc recently where they are seen to be happy

  
  

  e.g. royle family

  - characters = optimistic, generous + grateful

  - doesn't negatively depict life on benefits or draw attention to welfare

  - creator caroline aherne came from working class background
• middle class representation


  overrepresented in media, espec their lifestyle

  - DOMINANT/HEGEMONIC

  
  

  generally positive: see as mature, sensible, educated, successful + coping with probelms

  - justify inequality by portraying themselves as more competent

  
  

  MC families seen as well-functioning units with their consumption being norm everyone should aspire to

  - leech: ideal MC lifestyle, cereal packet family sells this lifestyle in ads

  
  

  e.g. escape to the country
• upper class representation


  rich + powerful aristocrats, business people and celebs

  - generally presented as 'well bred', cultured + superior, with posh accents, country estates + enjoy hunting/shooting

  - sometimes portrayed as eccentric/odd but fundamentally decent + respectable

  
  

  often romanticised or nostalgic: period drama e.g. downtown abbey suggest life was once better, even for poor working for upper class

  
  

  lavish lifestyles provide content for mass audiences

  - celeb magazines e.g. ok!, KUWTK

  
  

  pluralists: coverage provides what audiences want vs neo-marxists: celebration of wealth + hierarchy to encourage envy

  
  

  most extensive = monarchy e.g. gossip about royalty, their children, royal visits + weddings/jubilees
• nairn (1998): representing the monarchy


  after WW2, monarchy strengthened ties with media = +ve media coverage of every detail of their lives

  
  

  media's glamourised narrative represents them as a family that is 'like us but not like us'

  - presents their lives as an ongoing soap opera, encouraging us to identify with them

  
  

  reinforces sense of national identity: king is portrayed as head of nation/symbol, royal events receive prime coverage etc

  
  

  HOWEVER now face increasing criticism (link to new media?)
• changes in representation of class

  new media: can construct identities from own perspective instead of dominant ideology

  - however social media brings only small view - e.g. barstool sports making fun of girl for complaining about 9-5, 'just get another job'. lack of understanding of class which is then spread to more people. wc views represented less due to lack of access, also how much reach does it have vs tv etc?

  
  

  dutton and blank (2013): differences in new media usage

  - only 56% of social class DE have social media profile vs 74% of AB

  - DE 23% don't use internet vs 6% AB

  
  

  increased representation of mc/upper class: hundred£ hauls from shein etc = normalised

  - class less defined due to breakdown of traditional industries - neg, increased portrayal of everyone as mc means easier for wc to be marginalised

  - mc people portraying themselves as wc. unrealistic expectations/pressure
• representations of underclass


  media coverage focuses on individual poverty > structural contributors to poverty and conditions of underclass
• representations of underclass - PATRICK

  underclass usually portrayed unfavourable and scapegoated for societal issues

  tv shows such as benefit britain claim to reflect honest / realistic impressions, however are melodramatic and display stereotypical representations of lives of benefit claimants and those in poverty
• representations of underclass - NEWMAN


  media portrayals of most destitute in society often negative / unsympathetic

  representations often focus on statistics > human stories
• representations of underclass - MCKENDRICK ET AL


  poverty receives negligible coverage

  in little reporting it does get, root causes/consequences are rarely explored