Homework: 'Pressure' (1976)

What event occurred in the 1970s and 1980s that represent the presence of racial tensions?

Britain in the 1970s...

• Population in the 1970s was around 54 million.
• There were a number of major strikes that took place in this decade, including: postal strikes, miner strikes and dustmen strikes.
• In February 1972, a three day working week was imposed in order to save electricity.
• Water supplies reached a critical low after a long drought spell in the summer of 1976.
• The Queen's Silver Jubilee was celebrated all round the country in 1977.
• Technology was rapidly increasing, with 91% of families in Britain having a TV by 1971.
• The first domestic microwave, VHS video recorder and Sony Walkman also became available to the public during the 1970s.
• The currency rate of money in Britain also went under dramatic changes.
• The 1970s were also the era of global travel, with the first Pan Am Boeing 747 jetplane landing in Heathrow airport in 1970.

Britain in the 1980s...

• Population of Britain in 1981 was just over 56 million, a 2 million increase in ten years.
• In 1982, over 50% of households in Britain how had a telephone.
• 1988, the first digital mobile phone was invented, although they were expensive and large.
• In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falklands and Britain became involved in the Falklands War.
• The fan heater, kettle, hair dryer, toaster, microwave and phone all became more accessibly to homes in Britain during the 1980s.
• Seat belts were made compulsory for the front seats of cars in 1983.
• Microsoft computer software was invented in 1985, and the World Wide Web was first thought of in 1989.

Racial Tensions in Britain in the 1970s...

• Groups known as the 'Skinheads' or 'Skins' in the 1970s were linked with far-right political views and racism, despite being known for listening to reggae music and using black slang in their language.
• Young Afro-Caribbean Londoners took up what is known as the 'Rasta' lifestyle, adopted from the Rastafarians from the Caribbean. The lifestyle that this group of people adopted was due to them wanting to establish an identity as black people living in London at the time, a new identity away from previous generations who stuck with the stereotype of them being 'West Indian Immigrants'.
• This particular group though experienced a number of racial tensions in the 1970s, with members of these group being made to feel that London was like a place of exile and a place where only conflict that was caused by racial tensions took place.
• The National Front was a political party and was set up in 1967, and by the year 1973 had around 17,000 members. The party had a large number of activists between 1976 and 1977, with a number of these members creating race wars and committing a number of racist attacks.
• There were a reported 31 murders of black people in racist attacks between 1976 and 1981.
• One of the victims was 17 year old Sikh teenager, Gurdip Singh Chaggar, who was stabbed to death in a brutal attack by 5 white youths on 4th June 1976. Despite his murderers being found, they were never convicted of their crime, and the police dismissed the murder as having nothing to do with a racial discrimination.
• Open racism in Britain reached breaking point in the Southall Riots on 23rd April 1979. A mass fight broke out after thousands of protestors gathered to protest against a campain meeting by the National Front.
• The cause for this mass protest was due to the fact this campaign meeting was taking place in Southall Town Hall, an area which at the time was one of the countries largest areas of Asian communities.
• 40 people, including 21 police were injured in the fight that broke out, with a further 300 being arrested. There was also one death, a 33 year old teacher originally from New Zealand died after receiving severe head injuries which were reportedly from a police baton.

(information from collectiveidentitywork.com)

Why do you think Pressure was made?

"Pressure is a product of its time, but the issues and themes it explores remain relevant to the black experience in Britain today, including the cycle of educational deprivation, poverty, unemployment and antisocial behaviour. The depiction of police harassment and the controversial 'sus' (suspicion) laws is echoed by the similar, and equally controversial, 'Stop and Search' policy of today. The film also explores media under-reporting and misrepresenting of black issues and protests.

The film is shot in a gritty realist style, with an often documentary feel. It convincingly captures the spirit of the 1970s, a pivotal period for race relations in Britain and the politicisation of a generation. The performances - from a cast including many non-professional actors - are also excellent.

What is surprising is how forthright and critical the film is of the British system, in what were very sensitive times. The police are presented as corrupt and overtly racist, indeed a casual racism seems to permeate all aspects of society. It is also critical of the black response, and isn't afraid to show friction within the Black community between those who are disillusioned, with little hope and content to exist on the dole and those who are politically active and fight for change, and between the older generation, content to know its place, not wanting to 'stir up trouble', and a younger generation willing to fight for its rights. Pressure remains a key Black British film, which helps to demonstrate how modern multi-cultural Britain was shaped." -screenonline.org.uk

What examples of racism are represented in Pressure?

-lowest paid jobs are available to the Black people
-pressurized by society to conform to the social norms of the Black culture
-Black power politics
-when Tony is not allowed into his White friends house because the landlord will not allow him

How does the theme of collective identity come across in Pressure?

• • the use of the mise en scene represents to the audience how the main character of Tony and his family and friends react to their experience of racism living in Britain within the 1970s.
  Four main aspects of the characters lives which represent to the audience the changing values of Tony and how he deals with the racism seen experienced by him in the film.

Food - Cultural Signifier:

• In the breakfast scene, Tony is seen to be eating what appears to be a fry up, a typical British breakfast, while his brother is seen eating an avocado, breakfast more typical of a Caribbean lifestyle.
• As well as the obvious difference in the foods the brothers are eating, there is also a difference in how these two characters are eating their meals. Tony is portrayed as eating 'properly' with a knife and fork, while his older brother Colin is eating his meal with his hands.
• Tony is also presented as having a love for the traditional British food of fish & chips, even in one scene of the film rejecting his mother's offer of rice and peas for dinner and instead opting to go out and buy fish & chips for himself.
• Another scene in the film also sees Tony out with a group of his friends, all of whom are going to buy some patties, a traditional Jamaican meal. However, Tony once again chooses to not join his friends in this and instead chooses to have chips again.

Physical Environment:

• The films setting of London is portrayed as being a harsh environment for black people to live in at the time the film is set in the 1970s.
• Tony is presented as being accepted by the younger generation of white people and is not seen to be 'alienated' when he is with this particular crowd of people. He fits in, and his group of friends clearly accept him for who he is.
• However, he appears to be more alienated and vulernable to the people around him in scenes where he is walking through the streets on his own.
• In ways, when Tony is walking through the streets on his own wearing the style of clothes that white people would be wearing at the time, he looks as though he doesn't know who he is and where he belongs in Britain.
• The flat where Tony lives with his older brother and his parents is your standard middle class lifestyle flat, with his father owning his own shop thats below where they live.
• Their home environment is typical of the conditions that middle class black people would have lived in in the 1970s, though despite this fact, a number of Tony's West Indian friends are basically homeless and are squatting in unused houses which are in extremely poor conditions.

Hair & Fashion:

• As Tony's identity as a black person living in Britain becomes more apparent to him throughout the film, his style and fashion change with him.
• At the beginning of the film, he is seen wearing clothes typically worn by white kids living in Britain at the time.
• In comparison to other black people in the film he stands out in terms of his image, and the major difference in his appearance and that of other black people in the film represents him to the audience as being 'different' due to him being born in Britain.
• As the film goes on and Tony is seen discovering his identity as a black person in Britain, the way his hair is styled and the clothes which he wears evolve into the style that is basically the same as the other black characters in the film.
• A key point in the film which presents this is when Tony goes to the first black power meeting. While the audience originally sees him wearing typically British style of clothes for the time, it is from this scene onwards that we see him wearing clothes more similar to that of other black people at the meeting.

Language:

• Language plays a large role in how Tony is presented to the audience as a black teenager living in 1970s Britain.
• Tony speaks in what could be described as being typical British speech. His accent is typical of a London accent, and throughout the film it is clear to the audience that he has picked up a cockney accent through being born and raised in the London area.
• The fact that all of the other black characters in the film have a Caribbean accent portrays to the audience how Tony through being born and growing up in Britain has almost lost part of his culture, he doesn't have that link with the Caribbean that his family and friends who are originally from the West Indies have.

(information from collectiveidentitywork.com)

Homework: 'Racialisation'

Racialisation- Processes of the discursive production of racial identities. It signifies the extension of racial meanings to a previously racially unclassified relationship, social practice, or group. -allwords.com

Emigration- To leave ones place of residence or country to live elsewhere. –Merriam-webster.com

Migration- To move from one county, place, or locality to another. –merriam-webster.com

Immigrant – A person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence. –merriam-webster.com

Investigate what was happening in Britain between 1948-1962

Asian Immigration was high in Britain between 1948 and 1962; workers from the Asian colonies could migrate to Britain without any restrictions. U until 1962 every Commonwealth citizen was entitled to enter the United Kingdom whenever they wished to.

The British Nationality Act of 1948, allowed citizens of British colonies to simply apply to the Home Office for registration of British nationality and then were issued with a certificate confirming this.

The South Asian citizens who were able to obtain certificates included many of whom had come to Britain from other colonies, such as indentured labourers from the West Indies and families who had previously settled within East Africa. 

How was the social landscape changing?

The Commonwealth Act of 1948 meant all citizens of the ex-Empire could come to the UK. 1948 saw the SS Empire Windrush bring over thousands of Jamaicans and Caribbean service men and women. The West Indians and Asians took many of the jobs that British would not do. The previous pressure on food supplies had disappeared by 1954.

Both British capitalists and sections of the British State were encouraging emigration to the UK from the Caribbean and Jamaica during the 1950s and 1960s. In the 60s Government ministers and private employers both started to recruit directly from the West Indies. A concern had risen due to the number of ‘coloured’ people in the 50s, but race had not become an issue until the Watershed year (1958). The Notting Hill and Nottingham riots added race to the social and political agenda, making race a big issue. During the riots groups of white men-otherwise known as the Teddy boys-both assaulted and harassed black people because of the colour of their skin. 

How did the changing social landscape lead to a ‘racialization’ of British politics?

            Concern arose as early as 1948-after the Empire Windrush had arrived- as people believed the harmful effects of Black immigration had on the ‘racial character of the English people’.  The Labour party had addressed the Conservative party over this issue.

Key events altering the social landscape of Britain:

·       1962 Act: State regulation of Commonwealth immigration, entry restrictions on British Commonwealth citizens (primary immigration dependent on a work voucher) – intended targets were Black or Asian

·       1962-Commonwealth Immigrants Act

·       1968-Commonwealth Immigrants Act

·       1971-Immigration Act

·       1981-Immigration Act

·       1981-Nationality Act

·       1985-New Visa System

·       White people became increasingly concerned that those from the West Indies were taking all the jobs, which in turn made it more difficult for the white people to get a employment

·       1960’s: over 12000 Kenyan and Asian refugees came to Britain due to ongoing violence in their country. Politician Jim Callahan passed a Commonwealth Immigration Bill meaning that there would be no free entry for commonwealth immigrants.

·       MP Enoch Powell:  described the country as ‘mad’ to allow such a high number of immigrants into the country (‘The River’s of Blood’ speech)

Summer Task:Black Britain

Summer Task: 'What is Black British culture?'

Write at least 450-600 words on what you have learnt from the radio programme, include what you think is Black British culture.

                From this radio programme I have been able to understand the many ways in which the Black migration from the Caribbean to Britain has changed the modern day culture we live with and have today in Britain.

                A major part of the Caribbean culture is festivals it is a chance for the community to come together, interact with each other and celebrate. The African-Caribbean communities also carried on this tradition when they came to Britain. Annually, the Notting Hill Carnival is organised and is the largest street festival within Europe; attracting around 1.5 million people each year.

                The Caribbean also brought with them their food now consumed regularly throughout Britain-it was necessary for this change of diet as Caribbean immigrants found differences in diet and the availability of food an uncomfortable challenge. The most recognised Caribbean food brands found within Britain are Dunns River, Jamaican Sunpride, Walkerswood and Grace Foods.

                Another way in which British culture has been adopted through the Black British community is through religion. Many Black people continued to practice Non-conformist Protestant denominations along with Evangelical influences including Pentecostalism and Seventh Day Baptism. Many African-Caribbean communities involved Gospel Music; this type of music came to play a part in British cultural life. Afro-Caribbean’s played a major role in establishing British gospel choirs, most recognisable the London Community Gospel Choir.

                The language of the former British West-Indies was English, therefore there few communication difficulties between the Black people and White people. However indigenous British people were not used to the Caribbean dialects, creoles and patois spoken by many migrants and their descendants which became challenging when education was involved.

                Media is easily influenced by new trends frequently; the African-Caribbean style of acting is no different. It would be hard to imagine some of Britain’s most iconic programmes without the likes of Rudolph Walker (Love Thy Neighbour) and Don Warrington (Rising Damp). The Black community has had a positive impact upon the British entertainment industry; this is obvious with one of the most well-known comedians- Lenny Henry- being of Afro-Caribbean descent.

                There is no doubt that the African-Caribbean community has had a great impact on the music we now listen to in Britain. Along with the large-scale migration to Britain, brought a variety of musical styles; it did not take long for these new styles to gain tremendous popularity with the British people. The very first musical element brought with the Windrush was ‘Calypso’. Jamaican music styles reached Britain in the 1960s, becoming the staple music for many British youths; this type of music was known as ‘Ska’. In 1969, the British African Caribbean Ska band Symarip recorded “Skinhead Moonstomp” which had a huge effect on the British Ska scene. The Ska sound and ‘rude boy’ imagery inspired a generation of white working-class youth (especially mods and skinheads) and later helped spawn Britain’s multi-cultural 2 Tone movement in the late 1970s.

                To me Black British culture in different to those who do and those who do not accept change. I believe there would be an extreme hole in modern Britain if the Windrush had not made its maiden journey to the Caribbean. So many aspects of what we perceive to be British including music, media, catering, the arts and so much more. The migration of the African-Caribbean has transformed Britain into an amazing open multi-cultural place to live. 

Summer Task: Radio Extract

Who is being represented?

This radio extract is based upon the Notting Hill Race Riots of 1958. Therefore both Black people and White people are being represented as the presenter talks about both groups of people. Ultimately the radio extract does mostly mention Black people and their place in society .

What is being represented?

“mass interbreeding”

The extract discusses the issues of Black integration and the violence which has come as a result of the migration.

“I was determined that Britain would never be kept white”

How is the representation constructed? (Communicated?)

This representation is communicated quite simply by the presenter stating the event which took place (Race Riots) and then expanding on what happened although at the same time he is exaggerating by almost taking the words of the Black man and using them out of context; this could be used in a manipulating way to support his own argument. 

Summer Task:The Windrush Years (1948-1998)

-Society has gradually adapted to these changes the 'black' community have played a huge role in British history
-1948 still counting the cost of WWII
-half a million people migrated from the West Indies
-felt as if they were 'intuders' and 'foreigners'
-they brought colour,music and life
-'you can only suppress people for so long'
-Britain can now accommodate the Black population
-June 21st 1948-Windrush arrived
-5,000 miles to Britain
-everything which was seen being done in Britain was repeated in the Caribbean
-people were brought up to consider Britain as the 'Mother Country' and to respect the royal family
-'the King was our King, the flag was our flag'
-Hitler compared Black people to Jews and considered them to be the same


-West Indians and Britain's not only lived together they died together
-52 killed from Trinidad alone is battle
-'we fought as men'
-Noel Brown entertained the British troops
-Noel Brown announced the war was over to a room full of people
-the attitude changed abruptly
-'about time they went back to their homes'
-'unecessary evils'
-250 left to go back to the Caribbean on holiday
-£28 and ten shillings for a one way fare on the Empire Windrush, there was no shortage of takers
-A hurricane in the Caribbean destroyed all the crops, few people worked as the economy was suffering
-The Empire Windrush left from a harbour in Kingston on the 24th of May 1948


-Arrived 3 weeks after leaving Kingston
-June 21st 1948 docked in Essex
-500 Jamaicans
-'British Empire citizens coming to the Mother Country with good intent'
-'London this lovely city'
-excitement was tinged with uncertainty
-feared what was going to happen
-they saw chimneys and thought they were factories so assumed their were jobs
-most arrivals had no where to live and no jobs to go to
-the Government housed them in an air raid shelter under Clapham Common
-In the 1950s a quarter of a million West Indians had arrived in Britain


-Many people believed Britain was dark and grey
-those coming from the Caribbean had a distinctive taste in music which was not suited to the British people
-the K.B.W (Keep Britain White) was established in an attempt to stop this Caribbean migration
-the Black population had ,made it clear that they were not going back to where they had originally come from
-the Black people were very different to the White British as they came from completely different places, so they handed themselves in a different way. They washed themselves with a specific oil which the British people did not like the smell of
-new arrivals were not well accepted and began to feel isolated as the minority in a predominantly white country
-Black people and White people did not interact creating segregation

-referred to as the ‘Dark folks’

-the West Indians found comfort within their communities

-romance across the colour line came as a shock

-many of those who migrated were single and unmarried

-Black men ‘sexual deviants’

-‘no decent girl would go out with a black man’

-the mixed colour relationships were frowned upon by the white families and the general public

-by the mid 1950s immigration had exploded over 20,000 a year were travelling across the Atlantic

-housing caused the sharpest conflict

-it had been suggested through the increasing number of West Indian home owners that they had been raising money through prostitution

-brought methods of raising money from the Caribbean to allow people to buy houses

-this caused a problem and speculation over the gain of money

-racial inequality was met with violence

-they created an industry of rebuilding bombsites they joint with the Irish to do this

-Summer of 1958 in Nottingham there was a Race Riot; they were not prepared to deal with this racial abuse any longer

-Riots began in London causing separation between the Black people and the White people for a generation

-White people began using petrol bombs in the homes of the Black people

-these violent acts had not been seen in Britain during the time before

-the epicentre of these riots was Notting hill where White people would gather to attack the Black people

-the British police took the side of the White people even though those being attacked were the Black people

-the last riot took place on the 1^st of September

-only 9 White youths were arrested as a result of the riots they were arrested for their violence and remained in prison for 4 years

-In the May of 1959 a West Indian man was fatally stabbed by 3 ‘Teddy Boys’ however no one was charged for the murder

-Eventually the White people began realising the violence had to come to an end, after understanding the extent of the violence and the horror of the stabbing the White people paid respect to the West Indian at his funeral

-Mosley was blamed for the stabbing

-White and Blacks were reacting and responding to each other in a different way

-5 months later Mosley was forced to retire from politics

-‘guests in this country’ this changed and the West Indians expressed their opinions and attitudes

-a unique thing was introduced to Britain the ‘Blues Party’ these were the only places the Black people felt safe, they were compelled to keep themselves to themselves

-As the 60s began a new music type was introduced ‘Ska’ which was introduced to London night clubs  

Britain than in the Caribbean

-‘My Boy Lollipop’ major music breakthrough

-Mixing was not confined to the dancefloor

-It became fashionable for a White woman to be with a Black man, it was a revelation

-Educated/cultured people mixed with the Black people

-Black men became a fascination for wealthy White people, this fascination caused scandal

-Christine Keeler was a call girl and was seeing two West Indian men simultaneously, the two men clashed over the incident-this culminated to a political scandal and almost the breakdown of British Government

-ordinary Black families tried fitting into the British way of life

-West Indians were refused by the Church because they were scared that they would lose the White congregation

-‘thrown back on their own tradition’               

-the Pentecostal Church began to flourish and became a focal point for West Indian families

-they found comfort, counselling and healing at this place, they supported one another and could get financial support  

-By the mid 1960s wife and children began migrating with the men

-the Blacks began settling and did not want to go home

-‘take calculated risks’ the migrants

-Martin Luther King emerged and began discussing how racial equality could be achieved

-In Bristol, there was an open racial dispute amongst Blacks and Whites over the use of buses

-It took 4 months of boycotting to make the bus companies stop discriminating

-Paul Stevenson brought this matter to the public

-No laws against racism existed in England/Britain

-When Labour came into power they made sure no racial discrimination law against Blacks would be introduced, Labour came into power in 1964

-It took Labour a year and a half to introduce the race relations act

-Malcolm X visited Britain before his death; his brief presence had a huge impact on those people at the time

-Michael X most well known and controversial figure in politics

-he was arrested and sentenced for 18 months

-John Lennon and his wife shaved their hair and donated it to Michael X’s society

-there was confusion over whether he was doing any good, couldn’t tell if he was being serious

-Michael X went back to Trinidad, he was not the leader of the Black Movement-he was found guilty of two murders and was hanged

-the late 1960s was a time of liberal reform and social change

-1966 The National Front was founded they had an immediate impact

-‘If you want a nigga neighbour vote labour’

-white unease over the influx of Asian immigrants to the West Midlands was exploited by the Wolverhampton MP Enoch Powell

-‘In 15 or 20 years time the Black man will have the whip hand over the White man’

-‘Like the Roman, I seem to see the Rover Tiber foaming with much blood’

-Powell claimed he was speaking the truth of what others only dared to mutter

-he was removed from the Conservative party with 48 hours of making the speech

-3/4 of the parties’ followers agreed with Enoch Powell

-Students and left wing supporters said they were against Powell, whereas Dockers took to the streets to back Enoch, they thought no more immigrants should be allowed in

-Enoch received 50,000 letters of support

-Black families were kept inside especially the children

-the Black community felt threatened  

-January 1981, fire in South London home, 13 Black children died, sparked the wave of protest relating back to 1948

-resistance to the Black British presence had been growing for 30 years

-Britain was on the verge of economic recession in the 1970s

-3 times as many Black men were unemployed compared to White men

-the Black children began to feel like outsiders

-‘colour-bar policy’

-church halls were used to create a club scene

-‘society seemed alien and cold’

-Bangladeshi people immigrated in the 1970s

-it became common for people to believe Black people would fail

-large amount of Black children were considered to be ‘educationally subnormal’

-conflict between the police and Black youth was not new during the 70s it first began in the 50s

-local people organised a protest in August 1970 showing they miscommunication with the police

-9 Black people were charged for the protest

-late 50s early 60s people were worried about being attacked

-‘being Black and being on the streets was very frightening’

-many police believed they were protecting society

-the Black people began organising protection from the police for their children

-the Notting Hill Carnival used to represent the Caribbean culture until it became a violent scene in 1976

-‘Rampage at the Carnival’

-it was hard to understand why the Black people were not being accepted

-Bob Marley eventually would gain recognitions across the British music scene

-‘trouble out of tribulation’

-Rastafarians

-Reggae and Rasta became a way of life for the Black youth and they used it to cope with racism

-Many were attracted to the religion

-this would become a way in which the Blacks could build a Black British community

-a significant racial march through a predominantly Black area, Lewisham

Summer Task: Definitions

Identity-the ways in which people define themselves as belonging to certain social groups, whether they are racial, national, religious, or connected with disability or sexual orientation.

“Identity is complicated-everybody thinks they’ve got one”-David Gauntlett

Collective Identity-the concept of a collective identity refers to a set of individual’s sense of belonging to a particular group or collective. From the perspective of the individual, the collective identity forms a part of his or hers personal identity.

“A focus on identity requires us to pay closer attention to the ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life and their consequences for social groups” –David Buckingham

Colonialism- The policy/practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country. Also, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it economically.

“The theory of electronic colonialism extends the issue to global cultural issues and the impact of major multi-media conglomerates, ranging fro, Viacom, Time Warner, Disney, News Corp, Sony to Google and Microsoft with the focus on the hegemonic power of these mainly US-based communication giants.” –Wiki

Post Colonialism- (post-colonial theory) is a specifically post-modern intellectual discourse that consists of reactions to, and the analysis of, the cultural legacy of colonialism. Post-colonialism comprises a set of theories found amongst anthropology, architecture, philosophy, film, political science, human geography, sociology, feminism, religious and theological studies, and literature. The ultimate goal of post-colonialism is accounting for and combating the residual effects of colonialism on cultures.

Syncretism- the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures or schools of thought. (Amalgamation-process of combining or uniting multiple entitles into one individual form)    

Post-Modernism- A set of ideas that replaced modernism as a way of interpreting society and culture. Postmodernism covers a wide range of philosophical, sociological, psychological and critical perspectives. Its key characteristics are disbelief in the idea of objective meaning. From a postmodernist point of view, there is no such thing as ‘truth’, only individual ways of interpreting the world. Postmodernist narratives tend to be highly self-reflexive and make extensive use of irony. Postmodernist criticism is generally interested in the ways that the appearance of meaning is created.

-Media & Film Studies Handbook (2007)

Urban Music- a genre of music covering such styles as Hip-Hop, Drum and Bass, R’n’B and garage.
–Mediadictionary.com

Urban music was defined by the recordings of rhythm and blues or soul artists with broad crosser appeal. Urban contemporary began as an American radio format designed to appeal to advertisers who felt that “black radio” would not reach a wide enough audience. –Britannica.com

Imperial ‘Other’- relating to an empire, emperor, or empress. –Dictionary.reverso.net

Mediation- the process by which the media select, alter, interpret, edit or invent aspects of the world before presenting it to the audience in the form of representations. There is an important difference between mediated experience and ones direct personal experience. As a society we sometimes have more faith in the reality of mediated experience than in our own (e.g. the fascination with celebrities or the phenomenon of moral panics). According to the tabloid press, Britain is in imminent danger from ever-increasing levels of crime and terrorism, and rapidly growing numbers of illegal immigrants and paedophiles. However, these concerns tend to reflect the Medias ceaseless quest for news rather than the personal experience of most people.

-Media & Film Studies Handbook (2007)

Hegemony- crudely, the power one social group wields over all the rest. However, hegemony is a more elusive and complex concept than this, involving not only the exercise of naked military and cultural power, but also the acceptance of this domination by the less powerful groups. History is full of examples, but in the modern era, the very fact that the USA is routinely referred to as the worlds only super power, despite the existence of China, serves to illustrate the stranglehold that the idea of supreme American power has on the popular imagination. One example of American hegemony is the cinema industry: Hollywood’s ownership and control over distribution and exhibition in most countries of the worlds has resulted in films made in Southern California being regarded as the norm by audiences worldwide, although the lifestyles and attitudes on show in the these films are very often radically different to local experience and tradition. Antonio Gramsci put forward the best-known explanation of hegemony, arguing that the ruling elite always makes great efforts to persuade the rest of the population that maintaining the status quo is ‘common sense’. This involves convincing them that supporting the interests of the elite is in their own interests.

-Media & Film Studies Handbook (2007)

Representation- (i) ‘showing’. This is a key concept in the analysis of media products. At a basic level, we can say that all media are forms of representation. A news broadcast represents to the audience events that have happened; a science-fiction film represents things that have not happened. However, the people involved in making the representation (the writers, the presenters or actors, the editors) are all governed by their own beliefs, values and attitudes. This means that no representation in the media is ever objective. Most media products tend to reproduce dominant ideologies in the way that they represent the world. This has led many minorities to complain that they are misinterpreted in media texts.

-Media & Film Studies Handbook (2007)

Youth Subculture- a generic term for the behaviour, interests and fashion adopted by young people. Teenagers as a demographic group did not really exist until the 1950s, before which time people were considered either 'adults' or 'children'. For various reasons, a new social group emerged at that time, with four main characteristics:
-extensive free time and for responsibilities
-economic power, money to spend on entertainment
-a strong interest in media products, especially pop music, TV and film
-a desire to be markedly different from both children and adults in dress, language and behaviour

These characteristics make youth culture very interesting (i.e. profitable) to the media industries. Youth subcultures were less conventional in dress attitude and for choice of media products. For example, the term 'middle youth' has been coined to identify a significant segment of the adult population who continue to be interested in the products of youth culture. the distinctions between youth cultures are also much less clear than previously. Nevertheless, the youth market and youth culture continue to be massively important to the media industries.
-Media & Film Studies Handbook (2007)

What is 'Black Britain'?

'Black Britain'? on Prezi