Representations of Britain in the Media (unfinished)

With reference to your own detailed examples, explore the ways in Britain is represented in the media today? [30]

Britain has many representations in the media, from class structure to clothing.

For example, In a show such as Coronation Street, there is a clear sense of class structure and stereotyping within the show. The character of Eileen is shown to be a dumb blonde like character who is shown to be reliant on men which is a negative stereotype perpetuated by the show where as a characters such as the Barlow family are shown to be quite rich and arrogant, with a sense of posh and pompousness. This is further shown by their clothing, with the lower class, tamer characters wearing cheaper and more casual clothing with the richer and upper class wearing suits and more formal attire. This is seen in other ‘soap’ shows alike such as Eastenders or Hollyoaks.

Britain is shown as an outdated and bigoted country and is shown as a racist country which is mostly perpetuated by left wing publications like The Morning Star. These publications paint Britain and more specifically the Tory government as incompetent as well as outdated and in desperate need of reform. This ideology is promoted every time that a mistake or action is made from the ‘other side’ of the political spectrum. The archetypes promoted are characters such as the under educated, benefits claiming, bigoted racist who are more specifically defined as people who are very anti-immigration and very pro-government. Another character promoted is the Posh, Money hungry, upper class and out of touch with society. An example of this is the media coverage of ‘Brexit’ and how Britain was going through a time of reform. During this time, people who voted leave in the European referendum where painted as ‘racist’ or ‘right wing’ which was an ideology promoted by the left.

Britain is shown to be patriotic and very proud of British-ness. This takes the form of talent shows such as Britain’s got Talent, in which the title clearly states that Britain has talent. This show pits up the best of the British public against other members of the public in order to create a winner, who will perform in front of the Queen, showing not only pride in country but pride in monarchy. Another example of this is the company Hastings Direct. An advert was created by this company in order to promote their car insurance in which the mascots of the advert are a seagull and a statue. Seagulls are a representation of coastal cities and towns which is something that is a part of the British iconography and history which is something that Britain is shown to be quite proud of. This is further enforced by the use of the statue of a man in medieval-esque armour bearing a shield with a metal helmet. This character type is something that is quite common in British history, so this is a reinforcement to the ideology that the British are proud of their tradition and history.

A show such as Shameless is a prime example to show that Britain is a diverse country with the north being drastically different from the south. This breaks the more outdated stereotype that Britain is a place of high wealth and stuck up-ness and instead shows the other side of Britain that is plagued with histories of drug abuse, youth crime, underage drinking as well as poverty and hardships. Shameless also shows a side of Britain that is quite homophobic using words such as "puffs" which is a slang but derogratory word that means, someone who is a homosexual. The introduction to the show, features a main character of a scraggy haired man in very ragged clothing which is the stereotypical image for someone with a history of drug abuse in the UK. Furthermore, the main family of the show, the Gallagher's, are a family of 7. This is a large family size but a large family size is usually associated with income, wealth or class. Crime is also featured as the family have a "run in" with the police after throwing a "party". Crime is one of the characteristics stereo typically featured in a house hold of low income/lower class.