Benefits Britain

1. Examine the spoken language
used in Reality TV (Benefits
Britain and Made in Chelsea)
and how this presents issues
surrounding social class.
www.englishwithmrsmith.com

2. THINGS TO CONSIDER
• Ideology: The middle class (aspirational and superior) values of the narrator
compared to the benefits class ideology (which is presented, at times, as
ungrateful).
• The influential power of the narrator and how her uses of language,
particularly subtle uses of language, position the audience so that they think in
a particular way about Mark and Lorna.
• How Mark and Lorna use language that perpetuates the stereotype of people
living on benefits.
• How the audience is supposed to feel about Mark and Lorna at various points
in the transcripts.
• Be critical – Channel 5 has chosen these particular moments from hours of
footage. Your job is to analyse why.

3. Narrator: In Benefits Britain 72000 tenants on welfare are in rent arrears because
they haven’t paid the bedroom tax (2) and one in seven of them is now threatened
with eviction (.) just like Mark Ormand (1) this is his family home so Mark doesn’t
want to be kicked out (.) even though the pad isn’t exactly des res
An example of alliterative loaded language. ‘Benefits’ is
loaded with negative connotations. People on benefits have
been demonised and by using this language the narrator is
biasing the audience against the people they see on screen.
She has influential power because she is the narrator, so is
using this to position the audience. This can be linked to
‘housing association’ when she introduced Lorna. The
narrator is conveying her middle class ideology – that
people should have high aspirations and work hard.
This gives the impression that the
large number of people on benefits
(72,000) are not following the rules.
They haven’t paid the tax is different
to saying they can’t pay. This subtlety
reveals the narrator’s views and
further positons the audience.
The word ‘threatened’ is emphasised by the narrator. This
prosodic feature suggests an element of pity for people
on benefits. This enables a wider range of audiences to
relate to her because whilst a middle class audience will
relate to her use of loaded language earlier, a class of
people living on benefits will relate to the understanding
and sympathy she seems to have for their situation. The
narrator creates the impression that Mark and people like
Mark are vulnerable, which creates pity for him.
Her use of the colloquialism ‘des res’
is used sarcastically because Mark does
not live in a desirable residence. He
lives in a house that is basic and lacking
in even the most basic of conveniences.
She speaks from a position of
superiority; the people in the audience
that share her beliefs and values would
be able to detect this subtle use of irony
and share in the almost dark humour
that she is conveying through her use of
irony.

4. Mark: that’s the only hot water in the house (.) is from the shower (1)
this where am sleeping now (.) that’s me bed (.) that’s Toby’s bed (1)
Mark’s speech reveals he uses non-grammatical constructions. This reveals to use that he has a lower
level of linguistic proficiency. This lack of linguistic proficiency contributes to the audience’s
stereotype of him because people commonly assume that people on benefits are less intelligent. If we
are critical of Channel 5 it could be argued that they have included this to perpetuate this
stereotype and enable the audience to make short cuts in their thoughts about him – it means that
they judge him immediately based on the way he speaks. However, his paralinguistics – when he
points at the shower – reveals that his living conditions are basic, which creates sympathy for him. It is
questionanable whether the programme have included this to create pity or to enable the audience to
share in looking down on him.
Again, this demonstrates a low level linguistic proficiency because
he is not completely able to articulate his thoughts clearly. ‘Sleeping’
gives the impression that Mark is living in a basic way, which creates a
stereotype of people living on benefits as having very basic lives.
However, it also gives the impression that he is a person of instinct
and is almost living in an animalistic way. The audience make the
connection between Mark and Toby, which links these two together
and emphasises the fact that Mark is treated like an animal. Charlie
Brooker said that the environment that benefits claimants live in is like
doing a ‘safari park tour’. The fact that he describes their lifestyle in an
animalistic way is echoed in the clip of Mark in his bedroom, and goes
further to prove that the ‘benefits class’ are demonised in society
and looked down on from the middle classes.
A person’s linguistic
proficiency is their ability
to use language and
makes themselves
understand. A person
with greater linguistic
proficiency is perceived as
better educated and
generally has a greater
level of power in society.

5. Mark: This used to be my room when I was er about four (.) five (2)
council obviously they have classed this as a bedroom (1) which (1) I
think a bedrooms a room what’s got a bed in it (1) so I don’t think I
should be paying for it
Mark’s language is charged with emotion here. His level of hesitancy maybe
reveals that he is emotional about the length of time he has lived in this house.
This conveys how upset he would be to leave. The hesitancy gives the speaker a
sense of authenticity and conveys a sense of sincerity – ultimately, it enables
the audience to believe in him.
He speaks about the council from a distance, as
though they are a group of people that he does not
understand. This demonstrates his ideology and the
dominant ideology of people on benefits – the idea
that the government and the council simply ‘do
things’ to people rather than work with people to
improve the quality of their lives. It demonstrates that
he feels he has a lack of power and has no control
over his own life. We see this idea repeated with
Lorna when she distances herself uses the pronoun
‘they’ (the way they got people living) which echoes
this idea of powerlessness.
This AGAIN shows that Mark has a low
level of linguistic proficiency because
he is not very fluent. This is emphasises
further by the high level of hesitancy
demonstrate here through the use of
pauses. The inclusion of this perpetuates
the stereotype of people on benefits. Has
Channel 5 included this to discretely mock
Mark and people like Mark – it is, after all,
a funny comment to have made.

6. Narrator: but Mark’s heard about a possible way to reclassify a bedroom
and escape the tax
Mark: some woman built a shrine to a cat (1) so they’ve classed it as a
shrine and s I think that was in Somerset or somewhere like that (.) so you
never know (1) I might build a shrine to Toby (.) (laughs) unclear ___ see
if I can get away with that
On the surface, the narrator is suggesting that the tax can be avoided.
However, the use of subtle pragmatics here MAYBE reveals a hidden
meaning. When the narrator says ‘escape’ it COULD give the impression that
she thinks that people on benefits are actively trying to avoid paying tax. In
this sense, it casts Mark and people on benefits in a negative light. It could be
argued that the narrator’s subtle use of language is attempting to turn the
audience against people on benefits because the majority of the audience
probably pay tax and don’t think it is fair for anybody to be able to ‘escape’ it.
Again, the inclusion of this utterance (unit of
speech) could be argued demonstrates that Mark is
trying to avoid tax and find loopholes in the system,
again presenting the idea that he isn’t grateful for
what he does get. This echoes the point made
above.
IMPORTANT
Remember, it is vital that you
remember everything spoken has
been selected by Channel 5 for the
programme out of hours of footage.
You need to consider why these
sections are included and how they
portray difference social classes.

7. Narrator: Mark will need to come up with another plan for his second
spare room though (.) cos sometimes people do sleep in it
Mark: It’s got a light in it (laughs)
Narrator: And with two grand of rent arrears he’ll have to move pretty
quick to stop any risk of eviction
Mark: Gotta take into account this is my family home (.) I don’t want to
leave my family home er I wanta live here for me life
The narrator is making a reference back to what Mark has just said about classifying his bedroom as a
shrine and his belief that a bedroom is a room with a bed. She speaks in a sarcastic tone (a prosodic
feature) which clearly shows she is mocking him. Again, she is conveying her middle class ideology
and tapping into the middle class ideology of the audience (remember the middle class stereotypically
believe that they are in a superior positon and that people do well in life by working hard and having
high goals). Her subtle reference to Mark’s stupidity in these comments allows the audience to join in
the mocking of him and to cast their superior eye over him. She speaks in a tone which allows her to
converge with a middle class audience.
A possible attempt at convergence to bring he narrator
closer to the ‘ordinary’ audience.
An attempt to create sympathy.
Who does he think has to take it
into account?
Mark is a Liverpudlian and has a northern accent.
People commonly associate this accent with poverty,
violence and crime. Consider why Mark has been
chosen then to represent a class of people on
benefits.

8. Narrator: But somebody who does want to move out of her housing
association home is mum of two Lorna Bowers (.) and it’s not just
because she’s convinced it’s haunted (1) her two spare rooms means
double bedroom tax and she’s far from happy
Lorna: I shouldn’t be having to pay bedroom tax anyway (.) it’s disgusting
(.) I’m stuck there now paying bedroom tax on two ho on two rooms when
I’m crying out for a one bedroom flat
This use of loaded language creates a negative impression of Lorna because it implies that
she is living in a house that is provided for her rather than having worked for it herself. The
narrator is subtly conveying her middle class ideology and biasing the audience against Lorna.
She is looking down on Lorna (and Mark) and subtly judging them for their position in life.
Similarly, it could be claimed that she is the mouthpiece for a middle class audience, so by
referring the ‘Benefit’s Britain’ and ‘Housing Association home’ she is forming allegiances and
relationships with the audience members who will feel the same way that she does and
perpetuating the demonisation of people on benefits.
A mocking tone
is used to belittle
her situation and
lampoon her.
Consider the use of LEXICAL FIELDS - groups of
words that convey a similar sense of meaning but
work together to intensify an overall impression.
Look at Lorna’s use of language here and how it
conveys her disgust. Are we supposed to sympathise
with her?
Lorna’s use of language her presents her
anger at the government. However, she
uses ‘stock phrases’ relating to her social
class. The narrator has also included this to
cause anger – why shouldn’t she have to
pay…the rest of the country pays.

9. Narrator: Today Lorna’s off with bezzie mate Pauline
to get her fortnightly benefits (3) all one hundred and
forty quid of it
Lorna: And that’s what I owe you
Narrator: But it ain’t going far
Lorna: I’ll hav’ta put thirty pound in in gas
Pauline: so that’s forty
Lorna: for two weeks (2)
Pauline: so that’s forty two then you’ve got thirty and then what about
your leccy?
Lorna: then my ‘lectricity (.) ten pound each week
Pauline: so that’s twenty (.) so you got nothing to live on
The narrator and Lorna speak in
adjacency pairs. It might suggest
that they are sharing power and
screen time; however, the
narrator’s utterances mock Lorna.
Covergence – the narrator speaks in a way that is similar to Lorna and Pauline. Her tone is sarcastic
so her attempt to converge is insincere.
The long, 3 –second unvoiced pause is not
used as a hesitancy feature. Instead, it is as
a narration technique used to build
tension. The gap emphasises the small
amount Lorna has to live on. Is the
narrator is drawing attention to this small
amount so we have an understanding of
the difficulties Lorna faces? Or is she is
belittling Lorna? There is a clear contrast in
views between Lorna and the narrator
established here, reflecting their different
life experiences and ideologies.
Social accent –
signals social class
Contraction and phonological (sound)
aspect of speech. Link to accent.

10. Lorna: Nothing to live on (1)
I’m left with thirty n nothing (2) I think the benefits now (.) the way they
got people livin’ (1) is disgusting
Narrator: Of course a job is always an option (1) and Lorna is tempted to
try and go back to telesales
Lorna: I’m on about erm if I weren’t paying bedroom
Tax aa I might be able to go out and get a job
(.) no because me benefits will get stopped (.)
Lorna and Pauline overlap each other at this point, both expressing the idea
that they have nothing to live on. It might be suggested that this overlapping
reveals a common belief and understanding between these two speakers. The
fact that they both feel as though they have nothing to live on could suggest the
feelings of despair and poverty felt by many people living on benefits. You could
consider why Channel 5 has included it – are they aiming to create sympathy at
this point for people living on beneits?
Repetition – the audience has heard Lorna say
this before. Consider how the repetition
emphasises her anger at the benefits system.
The sarcasm (revealed through tone of voice – prosodic
feature) reveals that the narrator knows Lorna won’t get a job.
This utterance reveals what the narrator already
knew.
Discourse is the development of the
dialogue, it structure and relationships
between speakers. Here we learn that the
narrator has a sense of omniscience – she
is all knowing which enables her to present
a cynical and bitter critique of Lorna.

11. Pauline: And they do get stopped straight away (3) they don’t give you
any chances (2) but they have gotta look at reality cos that is exactly
what’s gonna ‘appen
Narrator: Pauline who also gets benefits thinks (.) for now at least (.) Lorna
should forget a job
Pauline: No chance (.) it’s not ‘appening
Narrator: Get that new council flat instead and redecorate (.) with benefits
footing the bill (1) and then she should rediscover her Karma
Pauline: No stress on ya be like (.) trying to get yourself back into your
own rout you know little ways what you were like and also when you go
get your new flat they’re gonna give ya (.) ya want a voucher off them to
decorate (1) know what I mean?
Link to Mark – he also referred to the
Government/Council using the pronoun ‘they’. In
both cases, you could argue it suggests a sense of their
powerlessness and vulnerability.
Reveals their reluctance to come off benefits,
even though they will criticise the system.
Consider how we are supposed to feel for the
participants at this point?
Prosodic
feature (tone)
= sarcastic
Tag question – a common feature of the stereotyoical “benefits class”
SOCIOLECT (sociolct – language associated with a partocular social group.
Sense of being
out for all she
can get. Link to
ideology.