Representation of class and status

Find two examples (a mixture of images and clips) from UK and US TV dramas for each of the following:

• Upper Class (rich/posh)
• Middle Class (neither rich nor poor/in the middle)
• Working Class (poor/common)

Add a brief justification for each choice.

Representations of the upper class and wealth

Neo-Marxists argue that mass media representations of social class tend to celebrate hierarchy and wealth. Those who benefit from these processes, i.e. the monarchy, the upper class and the very wealthy, generally receive a positive press as celebrities who are somehow deserving of their position. The British mass media hardly ever portray the upper classes in a critical light, nor do they often draw any serious attention to inequalities in wealth and pay or the overrepresentation of public-school products in positions of power.

Newman (2006) argues that the media focus very positively on the concerns of the wealthy and the privileged. He notes that the media over-focuses on consumer items such as luxury cars, costly holiday spots and fashion accessories that only the wealthy can afford. He also notes the enormous amount of print and broadcast media dedicated to daily business news and stock market quotations, despite the fact that few people in Britain own stocks and shares.

Representations of the middle classes
 

Four broad sociological observations can be made with regard to mass media
representations of the middle classes.

• The middle class are over-represented on TV dramas and situation comedies.
• Part of the British newspaper market is specifically aimed at the middle classes and their consumption, tastes and interests, e.g. the Daily Mail.
• The content of newspapers such as the Daily Mail suggests that journalists believe that the middle classes of middle England are generally anxious about the decline of moral standards in society and that they are proud of their British identity and heritage. It is assumed that their readership feels threatened by alien influences such as the Euro, asylum seekers and terrorism. Consequently, newspapers, such as the Daily Mail, often crusade on behalf of the middle classes and initiate moral panics on issues such as video nasties, paedophilia and asylum seekers.
• Most of the creative personnel in the media are themselves middle class. In news and current affairs, the middle classes dominate positions of authority – the ‘expert’ is invariably middle class

Representations of the working class

Newman argues that when news organisations focus on the working class, it is generally to label them as a problem, e.g. as welfare cheats, drug addicts or criminals. Working class groups, e.g. youth sub-cultures such as mods or skinheads, are often the subject of moral panics, whilst reporting of issues such as poverty, unemployment or single-parent families often suggests that personal inadequacy is the main cause of these social problems, rather than government policies or poor business practices. Studies of industrial relations reporting by the Glasgow University Media Group suggest that the media portray ‘unreasonable’ workers as making trouble for ‘reasonable’ employers.

Curran and Seaton (2003) note that newspapers aimed at working class audiences assume that they are uninterested in serious analysis of either the political or social organisation of British society. Political debate is often reduced simplistically to conflict between personalities. The content of newspapers such as The Sun and the Daily Star assumes that such audiences want to read about celebrity gossip and lifestyles, trivial human interest stories and sport.

Source: http://revisionworld.com/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-disability

Examples of upper class and wealth:


Here is an example taken from the BBC show merlin. It shows the distinct difference in class between lower and upper. It does this as it conforms to the stereotype that all upper class citizens are uncompassionate and also ungrateful, this by showing Arthurs disgust at him being awarded a slave. Also this extract shows us that upper class people feel as if they are deserved of there position and are un equal, this through the fact that they see awarding someone for saving his sons life they let him be his slave to say a sort of thank you. This clip conforms to these stereotypes.