Representations of Gypsies and Travellers in The Media

Big Fat Gypsy Wedding - 

• Controversial use of the word 'gypsy' in the title, as the program is actually about Irish travellers.
• Focuses on weddings, but also on traveller lifestyle and gender roles within their community
• Often explores the place of women, their clothes
• Shows traveller women as having a lack of education, having old fashioned values, dressing provocatively to appeal to men and portrays that their life's purpose is to be a mother, wife and housekeeper
• Shows traveller men as uneducated, loud, confrontational, as heavy drinkers and slightly abusive and misogynistic towards women
• Has been criticised for it's focus on how young traveller girls dress and act, has been accused of sexualising these girls
• Has been criticised for it's narrow view on traveller culture, and the fact that it only highlights certain parts of traveller life 
• Has been praised for raising awareness of traveller's culture, family values and strong sense of community
• Showed the struggle of travellers who are being evicted from their homes by local councils, their rough treatment by police and the support they received from local members of the public

Traveller Times Blog;

• News and current affairs blog written by gypsies and travellers
• Includes articles about media portrayal of their communities, as well as events and listings for job opportunities
• Articles are well researched and written, breaking the stereotype that gypsies and travellers are uneducated or old fashioned.
• It also includes a section 'Who are Gypsies and Travellers?' aimed at educating the public

Disability in the Media

Ouch! Blog - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/ -

Lost - TV Drama, had one disabled character (in a wheelchair), Locke (one of the main characters).

Paralympics - Coverage of sports event on Channel 4, http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/sports/

My Left Foot - Drama film about a man with cerebral palsy, who only has control of one of his feet. Insitution - Granada Films, Miramax films

Born To Be Different - Documentary on Channel 4, which follows the life of six disabled children.

Questions;

• What are the dominant representations of disability in the media?
• How does the media shape the collective identity of disabled people?
• Are there any examples of media that give alternative representations, and who are the institutions behind these?
• How has the representation of disabled people in the media changed over time?

Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Andrew Goodwin's book 'Dancing in The Distraction Factory', published by the University of Minnesota Press in 1992, was the first book to focus on MTV and music videos in popular culture. In it, Goodwin proposes a 'music video theory' - pointing out the common features and conventions of the music video, as well as the techniques used to attract it's intended audience and promote the artist's product. Although written over two decades ago, it is still very applicable to the music videos made today, particularly those within popular and mainstream music genres.

• Music videos have genre-specific conventions and characteristics - For example, pop videos often feature women dancing, electronic music videos use bright colours and graphics, whereas indie rock videos include lots of band shots.
• There is a relationship between the lyrics and visual aspects of the video - The imagery used in the video can either illustrate the lyrics, amplify / draw attention to them or contradict them.
• There is a relationship between the music and visual aspects of the video - Once again, the visuals in the video can either amplify the beat of the music, and 'flow' with it's rhythm or purposefully contradict the beat to attract attention to it.
• There is a focus on the artist in the video - Record labels often demand that a lot of focus is put on the artist, usually resulting in a lot of close-up lip-syncing shots, as this is a good means of promotion. Also, artists may develop recognisable 'trademarks' through music videos, which will be cohesive / be included in their other promotion material.
• There is a notion of looking and the male 'gaze' - A lot of music videos are filmed in a way that follow the 'male gaze'. For example, a voyeuristic view of the female body is common. In addition to this, focus on the artist helps the audience to connect more with them, as they are looking at them for a longer period of time.
• Intertextual references (to other media products) are common in music videos - Music videos can reference films, books and TV that their target audience would be familiar with.

This theory is important for us to look at before we create our media product, as it highlights the conventions of the music video; allowing us to decide which conventions we want to follow and which we want to challenge. It also gives us things to look out for whilst analysing music videos from our chosen artist and from other artists within the genre.

Types of representation in the media...

DOMINANT;

• The most common way in which a certain group of people is seen or represented
• A representation that is often repeated through the media

Examples; Young black men seen as aggressive, criminals or troublemakers. Teenagers shown as lazy and work-shy. Older white men shown as wise and knowledgeable.


ALTERNATIVE;

• When a group is represented in a way that challenges or goes against the dominant representation
• Representations that are not shown as often by the media

Example; Teenagers shown helping the community.   

REDUNDANT;

• When a representation of a group is repeated constantly over a period of time and loses it's impact
• A representation that is no longer relevant, or is old-fashioned
• No longer shown as often by the media, but was previously dominant

Examples; Women being shown as weak

ABSENT;

• When a group is often left unrepresented by the media
• A lack of visibility of a certain group of people within the media

Examples; Women above middle aged, Romany gypsies, Ethnic Minorities, 

ENTROPIC;

• When a group is represented in a way that is extremely uncommon, controversial or challenging
• A representation that heavily challenges how a group is portrayed in the media

Examples; 

Big Fat Gypsy Wedding - Controversy and Responses

http://pipopotamus.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/open-letter-to-chanel-4.html

This blog post, written by 18 year old Romany boy, highlights his concerns about the representation of Gypsy / Traveller communities on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. It also addresses how these representations have directly affected his life; for example, being physically assaulted by members of the public whose opinion of his community had been shaped by this TV show.

He questions some of the areas that Channel 4 decided to focus on; the clothing & behaviour of young girls, travellers who have dropped out of education and the 'grabbing' custom of Irish Travellers. More basically, he also questioned why the title of a series about Irish Travellers was called 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'.

http://www.channel4.com/4viewers/editors-blog/an-open-letter-to-pipogypopotamus

Channel 4's response to Pip's blog post seems very formulaic. They do not directly answer his concerns, instead insisting that the programme did not show travellers in a negative light.

Post-Colonialism and Britishness

Post-colonialism and Britishness in the media by rebeccamediaas

Britishness Presentations (Notes)

LAUREN;

Common features of British films - regional dialect, drinking, ethnic diversity, swearing, fashion,
87% - 80% White British from 2001-2011, shows change in composition / identity of the population
Changing attitudes to different sexualities (Eastenders)
Not as many boundaries / as much censorship within film, allowing them to explore themes such as sex, violence and social issues more thoroughly
More people go on to higher education - people from different backgrounds
Changing attitudes to mixed race couples (Taste of Honey)

JOSH

Britain on film showed what life was like in Britain in 1960's
Showed teenager's summer activities, complete contrast to Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents
SSSP showed what teenagers get up to in party resorts such as Malia, Kos, Ibiza etc - drinking, clubbing, sex
Britain on film documentary - everyone was happy, didn't include negative aspects of British life
Compared to modern day - Fish Tank - where flaws in British society are also explored
Taste of Honey set in same time period as Britain on film, but shows depressing and bleak side of life in Britain
TOH shows struggles with race & gender inequalities
British person no longer limited to 'white christian'
Newsreaders, media personalities and politicians come from a range of backgrounds / nationalities

RANA

Britain on film shows a mainly White British population, whose social activities were completely different to ours today
Television shows include a multi-cultural cast and people from various religious and ethnic backgrounds
Dumping Ground is a CBBC show that deals with a lesbian couple as they adopt a child, it also explores various attitudes towards this issue through the characters

Notes on British Identity in film

FISH TANK (2009)



- Use of slang / regional dialect  - Setting, run down council estate - Fighting, aggresive attitude, abusive - Shows people not working, looking for a fight - Set in Dagenham, exaggerated stereotypes based on truth - Documentary style filming, camera work - Establishing shot at beginning of clip - Costume (tracksuit, hoodie, trainers, chains, etc) - Depiction of confrontational attitude within the community - Metaphor of trying to free horse from it's chains + poor treatment from the people around it - 'Fish Tank' title suggests entrapment in the same cycle, repetitive life, no way to get out of your circumstances -

LOVE ACTUALLY (2003)

[Link to clip; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGr2GA2EGA&list=PLEF68384428FFa5474&index=5]

- Iconic symbols and imagery shown, represent Britishness; Union Jack flag, Churchill, Shakespeare - Music playing in background is cheesy, but brings a 'victorious' atmosphere, pride - All of the famous figures mentioned were white & male - Formal language, suits and ties, upper class - Relationship between UK and USA explored, Britain depicted as small but powerful -

THIS IS ENGLAND (2006)



- Exploration of relationship between skinhead subculture and white nationalism - Shows racial abuse towards Asian shopkeeper by gang of white males of various ages - Set in the early / mid 1980's - At beginning, the graffiti is spelt wrong, shows lack of education & understanding of the 'cause' they represent - Bad language, racist language, slang - Set in Midlands or North of England? -