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Class & status
1. CLASS & STATUS
CLASS: a group of people within a society
that possess the same economic status,
often determined by occupation,
education, income, manners, etc.
2. WHAT’S YOUR CLASS?/
YOUR ATTITUDE TO CLASS?
•How is class represented
through mise en scene?
Re-capping last lesson……..
3.
4. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING WHEN
EXPLORING THIS AREA
• Power/hierarchy
• Education & employment
• Living conditions
• Lifestyle choices
• Clothing
• Accent
• Attitude and interests
• Etc.
5. 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.
6.
7. 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”.
8. 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
9. 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)
11. 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?
