the media representation of social groups

Question 1

mulhern
irish nationality

Answer 1

critical of 2 media portrayals of the irish as:
Homesick and drinking bad guinness
Too successful to be homesick

Question 2

vir, hall and foye
scottish nationality

Answer 2

Those living in the highlands feel under-represented in media portrayals and coverage. Participant- “i think sport is english broadcast and scotland is left quietly behind” and “that the scottish person is always drunk and an abusive drunk at that”

Question 3

graham
nationality

Answer 3

the media can force other nationals into TV programs leading to ‘tokenism’
e.g gavin and stacy portraying wales as ‘thick’

Question 4

vir,hall and foye
welsh nationality

Answer 4

in wales, there was a perception that reality TV can be exploitative in their portrayal of the welsh e.g dirty sanchez and the valleys. Some were more positive and stated that personalities such as Alex Jones were seen as further demonstration of the BBC potentially doing more than other broadcasters for their nation.

Question 5

malik
traditional ethnicity

Answer 5

claimed that broadcasters are guilty of the following (e.g love island):
Tokenism- the practise of only making a symbolic to be inclusive to members of minority groups in order to give the appearance of racial equality
Stereotyping- a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

Question 6

barker
traditional ethnicity

Answer 6

heavily criticised eastenders for stereotyping of ethnic minority groups. characters were portrayed as having limited, stereotypical character traits as opposed to being complex people.

Question 7

husband and hartman
traditional ethnicity

Answer 7

the media presents foreigners as inferior and negative images of minority ethnics to emphasise racial conflicts. This is likely to cause prejudice

Question 8

hall
traditional ethnicity

Answer 8

‘the white eye,’ 3 representations of ethnic minority groups in media: foreigners, entertainers or natives. This view is coloured by colonialism and the dominance of the white western world.

Question 9

moghissi
traditional ethnicity

Answer 9

muslims are ‘huddled together’ ignoring a range of differences. Since 9/11 there has been a moral panic about islam men labelled as terrorists while women are seen as victims of honour killings

Question 10

Van Dijk
traditional ethnicity

Answer 10

studied media representations of ethnic groups in the UK, found that black people were stereotyped in the media in 5 ways: criminals,abnormal,a threat, dependent or unimportant.

Question 11

children now-fair play research
traditional ethnicity

Answer 11

illustrates the continuation of stereotypes in video games. e.g 86% of hereos were white, 8/10 sports characters were black. new media is more stereotypical than traditional

Question 12

malik
changing ethnicity

Answer 12

reality Tv shows were increasingly more inclusive of ethnic minorities compared to other genres of TV e.g x factor. He also found there has been a shift in how ethnic minority groups are now depicted in alternative and new forms of media(social media) e.g Emily Ha

Question 13

barker
changing ethnicity

Answer 13

despite the stereotypical representation of minorities in eastenders, it is slowly changing the way in which ethnic minorities are presented by being given more meaningful attention and storylines . he points out there are now a range of asian and black characters that reflect the demographic of london more

Question 14

hall
changing ethnicity

Answer 14

wrote a key academic journal called ‘the whites of their eyes’. He makes comparisons between ‘overt racism’ and ‘inferential racism’ suggesting that despite representations of minorities still being racist, there are subtle improvements in which white media producers are at least trying to represent minorities in a favourable way, even if they fail

Question 15

gill
changing hybrid ethnicity

Answer 15

Blasians+brasians are examples of hybrid ethnic identities and shows influence of role models in the media upon identity.

Question 16

nayak
changing hybrid ethnicity

Answer 16

young working class males who adopt black culture called ‘white wannabes’ e.g eminem

Question 17

tunstall
traditional feminity

Answer 17

argues that media representations emphasise women’s domestic, sexual, consumer and marital activities to the exclusion of all else. The media generally ignored the fact that a majority of British women go out to work. In comparison, men are seldom presented nude or defined by their marital or family status. E.g marge homer in simpsons

Question 18

tuchman
traditional feminity

Answer 18

the narrow range of roles for women lead to their ‘symbolic annihilation’ - where the mass media omit, trivialise or condemn certain groups that are not socially valued such as women. Media depicts traditional ideals of femininity as mothers, housewives and sex objects e.g. desperate housewives. She argued that this was because this was what consumers wanted.

Question 19

ferguson
traditional feminity

Answer 19

content analysis of women’s magazines and found ‘cult of femininity’ based around the family, how to look attractive, cosmetics, beauty products, relationships and caring for others

Question 20

glascock
traditional feminity

Answer 20

when portrayed as aggressive in media text- males were more physically aggressive whereas females were more verbally aggressive, especially in comedies. He also found these differences were found behind the camera, where males predominate and which was found related to on-camera demographics. E.g friends characters arguments

Question 21

katz
traditional masculinity

Answer 21

argued that the ‘epidemic’ of male violence is rooted in the media’s inability to move away from stereotypical versions of what it means to be a man. Young boys receive constant messages from the media that reinforce hegemonic masculine ideals of violence, sexism and homophobic ways of thinking. e.g video games like grand theft auto

Question 22

easthorpe
traditional masculinity

Answer 22

media transmit the view that masculinity based on strength, aggression, competition and violence is biologically determined and therefore a natural goal for boys to achieve e.g TV (thor)

Question 23

gauntlett
traditional masculinity

Answer 23

despite a changing media landscape, many magazines aimed at male audiences sexually objectify women and present images of traditionally masculine men to represent retributive masculinity (glorifying what is traditionally male to reaffirm masculine authority) e.g Andrew tate.

Question 24

gill
changing feminity

Answer 24

3 ways femininity is now presented in advertising:
-the image of heterosexually desired ‘midriff’
-the ‘vengeful sexy woman’
- the ‘hot lesbian’
Instead of being presented as passive,’dumb’, unintelligent sex objects, women are now presented as active, beautiful, smart, powerful sexual subjects
E.g ‘this girl can’ advert shows women involvement in sport

Question 25

westwood
changing femininty

Answer 25

transgressive female roles’ in british TV which break hegemonic social and moral gender roles. This can now be seen to be empowering women e.g female doctor who

Question 26

glascock
changing feminity

Answer 26

supports westwood and explains in the media there is a range of feminities portrayed in the media such as ‘independent women’ in films and TV e.g katniss everdeen

Question 27

gauntlett
changing feminity

Answer 27

Found that younger audiences are now more open to have female as well as male lead characters in films. However, importance is still placed on appearance in female roles.
men more sensitive and women tougher e.g spiderman 3.
Found a positive effect of female pop stars e.g lady gaga through promoting independence through lyrics.
In sitcom friends, male and female characters presented as equal but different- illustrating a shift in traditional gender roles

Question 28

easthorpe
changing masculinity

Answer 28

The 1980s saw the emergence of a new breed of glossy magazines aimed at middle class young men suggesting how: men are emotionally vulnerable, in touch with emotions, and how they should care about equality, appearance and fatherhood.

Question 29

nixon
changing masculinity

Answer 29

levis laundrette advert. ‘New man’ acceptable for men to take care of their appearance and be sexualised

Question 30

mort
changing masculinity

Answer 30

increase in consumption of toiletries, beauty products, designers’ brands and magazines for men.

Question 31

whannel
changing masculinity

Answer 31

claims that the presentation of david beckham is contradictory. Media representations of him are fluid- his looks, football, competitiveness and commitment show him as a traditional ‘real man’ but this is balanced out by representations stressing his metrosexuality particularly his emotional commitment to his family and time spent on his image.

Question 32

nairn
traditional upper class

Answer 32

states that after ww2 the monarch developed close ties with the media and worked to reinvent itself as ‘the royal family’ represented as a family that are ‘like us but not like us’, and the narrative of their lives is presented as a soap opera-dramatised for our entertainment, it is part of our day to day media fabric, which encourages us to identify with them.
Also says there is a sense of national identity which is reinforced where the queen is the ultimate figurehead of the country and royal events form our annual calendar, as well as the fact that royals attend national events.

Question 33

leech
traditional middle class

Answer 33

middle class lifestyles are presented as ‘ideal’ in media advertising and they are shown as the ‘cereal packet family’- where they are sold to us as desirable in the media. This ‘traditional family’ was a socially constructed model, and is normalised to show what a family ‘should be’

Question 34

newman
traditional working class

Answer 34

argues that there are very few films or dramas which give a realistic image of the everyday life of the working class. He argues that working class people are stereotyped and labelled in an unflattering and pitying light.news organisations also tended to use news stories to label youth subcultures as a problem linking to moral panics, issues such as unemployment suggested the working class inadequacy was the cause of these problems, not gov policies.

Question 35

dodd and dodd
traditional working class

Answer 35

examined eastenders and suggest the show presents the nostalgic views of the traditional working class communities, but state that this does not accurately reflect a modern day working class culture

Question 36

bamburg et el
traditional underclass

Answer 36

researched ‘benefits stigma in Britain’ and found a disproportionate focus on benefit fraud: 29% of news stories referenced fraud, in comparison to govs own statistics that a mere 0.7% of all benefits claims are fraudulent. He also found common language to describe benefits as ‘undeserving’ included: fraud and dishonesty,dependency,lack of effort,outsided status. The media is more likely to overtly portray the working class as ‘scrounging’ from the welfare state and at the edge of becoming a criminal- new right view of an underclass lifestyle

Question 37

golding and middleton
traditional underclass

Answer 37

content analysis of moral panics surrounding the underclass and found that ‘welfare issues’ were not discussed unless they were connected to other social issues such as crime, fraud or sex. They also found that this demonisation of the underclass has led to justifying cuts in welfare state funding.

Question 38

jones
traditional working class

Answer 38

book chavs;the demonization of the working classes. Discusses the use of the word ‘chav’ and how its become a way of condemning working class culture and people. ‘Chavtainment’ portrays a negative view of working class people as ‘bigoted,slothful and aggressive’. The working class have gone from being portrayed historically as the ‘salt to the earth’ to the ‘scum of the earth’

Question 39

price
traditional underclass

Answer 39

developed concept of ‘poverty porn’ to describe how the media exploits participants and their lifestyle to shock and entertain the audience. E.g in benefit street which encourages the underclass to be condemned by the hard working middle and upper classes.

Question 40

nairn
changing upperclass

Answer 40

claims that although the media representations of the upper class have been traditionally positive, this has changed over recent years e.g reporting of charles cheating on diana, kings coronation money spent

Question 41

reiner
changing upperclass

Answer 41

upper class are presented as meritocratic + hardworking with their success celebrated by the media. E.g david beckham.

Question 42

devereux
changing working class

Answer 42

show them as happy and deserving poor. E.g TV show the royale family presented as close,content,relaxed.

Question 43

dodd and dodd
changing working class

Answer 43

shows like eastenders have introduced realism through bravely broaching issues such as drug abuse, crime, suicide, relationship issues and portray the outdated view of a communal supportive network.

Question 44

price
changing underclass

Answer 44

discourse analysis and found benefit street has ‘narratives’ that often present the characters in the programmes as decent and compassionate people captured by an unfair society. e.g panorama documentary. however, he argues that these more empathetic aspects are missed by viewers and political commentators

Question 45

heintz knowles
traditional youth

Answer 45

content analysis and found children are motivated by peer relationships and romance, ethnic minorities are underrepresented, and boys are twice as likely to use physical aggression to achieve their goals e.g dennis the menace

Question 46

griffin
traditional youth

Answer 46

youth are presented as a social problem in 2 ways: deviant. dysfunctional, suffering a deficit, often being seen as a threat.

Question 47

wayne
traditional youth

Answer 47

found 286 stories in which young people were the main subject, where 82% focused on young people as perpetrators or victims of crime. He argues this pattern ignores stories about how young people are affected by problems in housing,education,health,unemployment,parental abuse and politics.

Question 48

women in journalism
traditional youth

Answer 48

carried out a study called ‘hoodies or altar boys’ and found:
Negative language used to describe youths e.g title ‘ban hooded thugs from our streets’
There were more stories about teens and crime than any other topic
Few stories showed teen boys in a good light

Question 49

kelly
traditional youth

Answer 49

research on language used by journalists to describe young people who come into contact with the law and found 3 major types of representation:
Young people are dangerous
Young people are in need of protection
Young people are immature

Question 50

cohen
traditional youth

Answer 50

Study on folk devils and moral panics to show how the media depicts youths as dangerous and deviant. Mods and rockers overexaggerated by media as nothing else to report on.

Question 51

landis
traditional elderly

Answer 51

stereotypes in representations of older people- depicted as ‘one-dimensional’ and described as: grumpy old man, feisty old woman, lonely, sickly, mentally deficient.

Question 52

cuddy and fiske
traditional elderly

Answer 52

TV programs portrayed just 1.5% of their characters as elderly, and they usually played minor roles and were used as a form of comedy. The media often depicted their mental, physical and sexual capabilities as ineffective.

Question 53

milner et al
traditional elderly

Answer 53

the media do not portray a balanced view of ageing- to do this they would need to present the challenges of getting older alongside the positive opportunities such as active ageing.

Question 54

carrigan and szmigin
traditional elderly

Answer 54

seen as smelly, incontinent,caricatured by the media

Question 55

postman
changing youth

Answer 55

the idea of childhood has begun to disappear as children interact more with the media. Children are sexualised in the media and it creates a world in which adults and children share the same music,sports,language,clothes, literature and films. The internet contributes to this as it leads to children and youths being exposed to adult content.

Question 56

osgerby
changing youth

Answer 56

studied the changes in media representations of youth and found there was a recurring theme of ‘youth as trouble.’ these changes in media representations of youth represent wider cultural developments and ‘mirror the spirit of the times’ as they were positively represented in the 50s and 60s, but since 70s and 80s associated with violence and deviance

Question 57

lee et al
changing elderly

Answer 57

old people were underrepresented in adverts, appearing in only 15%. But 90% of the representations were positive. E.g the benecol advert
Gender differences- old men more visible, and associated with high status and work, old women associated with family and poverty.

Question 58

biggs
changing elderly

Answer 58

identified trends of change in the representation of old age:
Old people appearing in soap operas
Representation of older people as active

Question 59

carrigan and szmigin
changing elderly

Answer 59

found advertisers were now targeting old people as consumers of the ‘grey pound.’ This led to an increase in positive images of ageing and positive roles for older people. This showed how large conglomerates use the media to target the elderly market.