Do you think that programs such as skint are good or bad?

 

 

I both agree and disagree with programs such as benefit street and skint. This is because it helps give other people an insight into how ‘the other half’ live. It helps give people an understanding into why people are in such states of poverty, and how they are occasionally trying to get out of it. I also disagree with this because it causes an already negative opinion on the lower class to be reinforced. This is due to the fact that the program exploits the people because it is edited and scripted meaning only the worst aspects of the people are shown, causing them to have a bad representation. Also, some of the people act up to the cameras, helping to create the persona of a person who doesn’t care about anything. This can then lead on to the whole of the lower class being labelled in the same way. I believe that if people are making programs about people who are middle class there should also be the alternative of programs based on the lower class.

The audience for this documentary program could be all watching it for the same reason but by the end of it they may have come out with different interpretations of how people living on the bread line struggle to provide the essentials for themselves and sometimes their children. Also within this program there will be a range of audiences ranging from wealthy middle class backgrounds, to the working class; with a range of reasons and judgments of the people on the show before they have actually watched it. The audience may feel like if they watch it the may have their opinions changed on the matter, causing them to be more open minded and even helpful towards people below the poverty line. Certain people watching this program may not understand some of the cultural codes and ranges of communication that the participants are using. This is due to the lower class having a restricted code with basic syntax where as some people observing the program may have an elaborated code with entropic words.
 
People now say that a culture of the 'under class' has been born, and programs like these seem to add to this belief. In the UK the media are using their power, to cause the audience to believe that 'all' people on benefits are cheating the system, as to get out of having to work whether full time or part time.