The document discusses three TV shows - Benefits Street, Skint, and The Mighty Redcar - that portray people living in low-income areas and relying on benefits. It analyzes how the people are represented differently in each show. Benefits Street depicts the residents as a content "family" but also lazy, while Skint portrays older subjects in worse situations and implies the situation is their fault. The goal of the shows seems to be entertainment and making viewers feel better about themselves, but they are biased and unfair to the people they portray.

1. Theory

2. Week 1

3. Week 2
Theory week 2
In this scene from inglorious basterds the group of Jewish us soldiers who hunt down and
murder Nazis are shown here face to face with a Nazi leader, the scene is quite a dark
moment and the colours and lighting used here help to show this, being a lot darker and
almost wet looking adds to how the scene is going but also suggests to when the film is set
during the second world war a really dark and sad time.
In the scene the conflict is between the Jews and the Nazis however the “bear Jew” clearly
has the upper hand in this scene as he is shown towering over the Nazi, the camera almost
pointing up at him suggesting his power and the way he constantly looks down at the Nazi,
which will also be to show the hate the Jews had and how they would always look down on
the Nazis similar to the way they did them.
In the scene brad pits character is in the frame just sat down watching it happen and is the
one who initially calls for the bear Jew, this again shows his characters power as he sits
aback and lets this bigger guy under him handle the situation. Although in the scene he is
the one who does all the talking and is clearly the leader of this gang of Jews, but having him
sat out in this scene shows his characters ability to lead and the respect people have for him
and sitting back like that may suggests he’s arrogant with it and has a very “doesn’t care
attitude”.

4. Week 3
• • Watch the sequence Recording the song Back to Black
• 1. To what extent has Kapadia manipulated this footage to create a different set of meanings and responses?
• 2. What function does this sequence have in the narrative as a whole?
• 3. How might contextual factors (knowing the larger story of her life) impact on the way that you read this scene?
• When writing back to black the documentary makes it clear that this whole album and the writing behind it links back to the break up with Blake, using clips from
what she said about the writing process but also what other people interpolated from the making of the song such as mark ronson. But it all shows that the people
who took her onto make the album couldn’t see that she was in a bad place and only really sore this potential in her suffering through her amazing writing.
• The way the documenrty keeps cutting from the music to her singing makes it seem really deep and shows that the song has lots of meaning and is very personal
to Amy, the whole seen really shows her suffering and sadness from the break up whilst the people around her see this money making chance from this suffering
genius making an album that is amazing only its from her dark past and struggles with love.
• IF you watch this scene knowing more about Amy you really just feel bad as you know exactly who she sings about where it came from and that the other people
dont see that and really aren’t interested in her outside of the music and helping her find her feet so really its a sad moment to me in the documentary even if it
meant one of the greatest albums being produced.
• • Watch the sequence Addiction to crack cocaine and Blake
• 1. List the techniques used by the director to show Winehouse’s battle with drug addiction and why they may have been used.
• 2. What do you feel is the overall effect of this sequence?
• Amys biggest struggle in her battle was with the drugs and crack cocaine addiction, she went from a happy and outgoing young musician with bags of talent to
someone lost and reckless who didn’t really care to much about the carrier anymore but just getting wrecked and spending time with Blake.
• In the documentary I believe that blake is put to blame for her addiction and continuous problems with it, as he was already problematic with drugs but also was
the person to first introduce her to more stronger drugs such as crack, also the documentary makes it out that Amy didn't want to miss out on what Blake was
doing and fall behind him showing how she was toxically obsessed by this man and would ruin her own life to stay on the same footing as him.
• The addiction sequence I believe was placed in the film to show that blake was a bad influence on Amy with drugs and just getting up to no good, they try and take
the blame of addiction more away from her and find a stigma that caused the addiction and why she kept abusing the drugs sadly they chose Blake, although they
make that clear it is still src to justify that as the truth since he denied lots ion the documentary and blames it was out to get him.

5. Week 4
• Compare the differing representations of people in ‘The Might Redcar’, ‘Benefits Street’ and ‘Skint’.
•
• What do you think the aim of each of these programs is?
•
• Are these programs biased?
•
• The 2 shows all give different examples of people who live in areas of Britain with low income or no income at all just simply living of benefits or whatever they can
to make money, however each of the shows portray the people who live in these places in completely different ways.
• Firstly we watched benefit street, this show is based on a street in Birmingham called James turner street where 90 percent of its occupants are unemployed and
claim benefits. However this show has two sides to it in my opinion, firstly the show portrays the people almost as a big family who all live together on this street
quite content with how they are aware of one another problems and try to help each other out, with stapling characters like white D who brings humour to the
show and makes it seem light hearted. However the people on the street clearly are reasonably lazy and don’t actually make a huge effort to change the position
they are in, although it is shown to be hard for them through the young couples efforts to work, but in the same sense they dont seem to be that mean on working
and don’t show the most capability to hold down a job.
• The kids all play with each other regardless of age and influence the younger ones to get into trouble and grow up around drug addicts and alcoholics who most
likely teach them things that a young mind shouldn’t be open to just yet in there life.
• Secondly was skint a series of groups across Britain in similar positions but this time much older people are shown and generally tend to be in worse of situations of
drug abuse and alcoholism. This show portrays the people much differently almost making them out to be the bad guys with little parts of redemption.
• I belive the programs aims are to entertain people in better of positions to make them feel better of in life, but also the two shows have separate aims in general.
Believe skint is darker and shows the more troubled and some what “bad” people making them out to be in this position due to there own decisions, but benefit
street is more light hearted and is almost saying these people may struggle but are some what content.
• I believe the shows are very biased and almost unfair on the people they portray, in skint the people are made out to be the bad guys without knowing there full
story, where as the mighty Redcar they are characters who make you laugh and almost feel sorry for even tho they may be lazy and happy claiming benefits when
they clearly are fit for work, and some people on the street are bad people such as the alcoholics that influence the kids and cause grief to the other houses. So I
believe the shows could be shown in different lights or even put together to compare the efforts of the people on skint to the lesser efforts on benefit street.

6. Week5
• Compare the differing representations of people in ‘The Might Redcar’, ‘Benefits Street’ and ‘Skint’
• What do you think the aim of each of these programs is?
• Are these programs biased?
• The 2 shows all give different examples of people who live in areas of Britain with low income or no income at all just simply living of benefits or whatever they can
to make money, however each of the shows portray the people who live in these places in completely different ways.
•
• Firstly we watched benefit street, this show is based on a street in Birmingham called James turner street where 90 percent of its occupants are unemployed and
claim benefits. However this show has two sides to it in my opinion, firstly the show portrays the people almost as a big family who all live together on this street
quite content with how they are aware of one another problems and try to help each other out, with stapling characters like white D who brings humour to the
show and makes it seem light hearted. However the people on the street clearly are reasonably lazy and don’t actually make a huge effort to change the position
they are in, although it is shown to be hard for them through the young couples efforts to work, but in the same sense they dont seem to be that mean on working
and don’t show the most capability to hold down a job.
• The kids all play with each other regardless of age and influence the younger ones to get into trouble and grow up around drug addicts and alcoholics who most
likely teach them things that a young mind shouldn’t be open to just yet in there life.
• Secondly was skint a series of groups across Britain in similar positions but this time much older people are shown and generally tend to be in worse of situations of
drug abuse and alcoholism. This show portrays the people much differently almost making them out to be the bad guys with little parts of redemption.
• I belive the programs aims are to entertain people in better of positions to make them feel better of in life, but also the two shows have separate aims in general.
Believe skint is darker and shows the more troubled and some what “bad” people making them out to be in this position due to there own decisions, but benefit
street is more light hearted and is almost saying these people may struggle but are some what content.
• I believe the shows are very biased and almost unfair on the people they portray, in skint the people are made out to be the bad guys without knowing there full
story, where as the mighty Redcar they are characters who make you laugh and almost feel sorry for even tho they may be lazy and happy claiming benefits when
they clearly are fit for work, and some people on the street are bad people such as the alcoholics that influence the kids and cause grief to the other houses. So I
believe the shows could be shown in different lights or even put together to compare the efforts of the people on skint to the lesser efforts on benefit street.