Intro to context – in the exam you may be asked to
refer to economic, political, social or cultural context. These of course tend
to overlap. Here is a taster for you to research and summarise. We thought
economic would be a bit too boring for the summer holidays but we’ll return to
it.
Big
news and current events:
·
Syrian war: 15 march 2011-
current: 13.5 million syrians needing humanitarian
assistance.
·
Immigration: immigration act 12
may 2016: introduces new sanctions on illegal
workers
·
Joe cox:16 june 2016: member of parliament stabbed
·
Brexit: referendum: 23 june
2016: promised by cameron. Leavers: 52% and
remainders: 48%
·
Cameron resigns: 24 june
2016: running for leadership - theresa may
- michael gove - stephan crabb - andrea leadsom - liam fox
·
Theresa may: 13 july
2016. Two days after becoming leader of the
conservatives.
·
Charlie gard: 4 august 2016: 28
july 2017: born with mdds at great ormand
street.
·
Trump election: november 8
2016: trump: 306 vs clinton: 232
·
Football sex abuse: november
2016: footballers abused by managers and
coaches
·
Westminster bridge: 22 march
2017: terrorist attack
·
Manchester: may 22 2017: terrorist attack at ariana grande’s concert
·
London bridge: 3 june
2017: terrorist attack
·
Borough market: 3 june 2017: terrorist attack
·
General election: 8 june
2017: conservative: 297 seats. Labour: 227
seats. Liberal democratic: 8 seats. Green party: 1 seat
·
Grenfell tower: 14 june
2017: fire started from fridge: 71 died;
investigation ongoing
·
Queens 90th: 10-12 june. Royal
babies: george, charlotte louis
·
Finsbury park mosque:
19 june 2017
·
Nhs: doctors strikes: junior doctor strikes 2017. Privation: private
treatment is not the answer: september 2017
·
Royals: engagement: announced: 27 november 2017
·
(hashtag) ‘metoo’
campaign: movement against sexual harassment
and assault - spread virally october 2017
·
Windrushscandle: 2018: political scandal - concerning people wrongly detained etc.
Deporting from the uk
·
Youth aggression zeitgeist: in london: acid attacks: 2016 - 395 attacks. 2017 - 465
attacks. Stabbings: 2016 - 1749. 2017 - 80 died
Zeitgeist:
the zeitgeist is a concept from 18th to 19th-century german philosophy, translated as
"spirit of the age" or "spirit of the times". It refers to
an invisible agent or force dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in
world history.
Disability:
-the para-olympics was covered
by the media the most it ever has been in the 2016 rio olympics. It
was shown on the bbc and also on channel 4. This shows that the
para-olympics is just as important as the olympics.
-coronation street, they showed a
storyline about a child getting sepsis and having to have his leg
amputated. This highlights to parents and carers the importance
of ensuring your child is safe and healthy. The
media, especially newspapers and magazines covered this as it is a common
thing that happens, but a lot of people are unaware of it.
Regionalism:
-towie stars used to be seen as stupid,
vein and fake. However, especially on social media, tommy mallet, pete wicks
and chloe sims have made successful businesses which all have been publicised positively
and cuts down the stereotype of a typical 'stupid' essex person.
-made in chelsea stars typically are
portrayed in the media as rich, posh and stuck up. However, when made in
chelsea star georgia ‘toff’ toffolo entered the i'm
a celebrity jungle, she became the nation’s sweetheart, and shortly
after she appeared on celebs go dating. She
stopped the stereotype of made in chelsea stars being stuck up.
-ex on the beach stars tend to gain
bad publicity. They are known for getting drunk, having sex on tv, and a lot of
swearing. The media tend to criticise them for everything they do, however they
are all quite successful as they all have a brand they own or represent. Many
stars then go on to being on other shows or becoming social influencers.
Class:
-in the media, especially
newspapers, 'chavs' are known for being rude, of low social class and not
very clever. They are stereotyped as wearing
tracksuits, carrying knives and doing drugs. They are represented in
a negative way, and recently, have had a lot of criticism due to
the increase of knife crime in london.
-abc1 is typically upper class /
middle class people. A is doctors, lawyers, bankers. B is teachers,
nurses, computer programmers. Finally, c1 is shop managers, office
managers and social workers.
-beyoncé and jay-z's
recent album 'the carters' has been publicised both positively
and negatively in the media. The positive of it was that they are a family
unit, they have brought together their solo careers to create a new album.
However, the negatives were that they are presenting themselves as
being severely upper class, making it hard for normal people to relate.
The media has criticised them as they have made themselves look
above everyone, however they are actually no better than an average family,
as jay-z cheated on her - showing they're not untouchable.
Age:
-following recent stories in the
news, e.g. Knife crime, bullying on social media and grime and
drill music, have shone a negative light on the younger generation.
They are being publicised as negative people, as they are causing reality
stars to commit suicide due to commit suicide and also knife and gang crimes
have increased dramatically. However, the stereotype is unfair and
incorrect as it is only a small portion of people like this.
-elderly people
are represented in the news as vulnerable and poor. There have been lots
of recent stories about abuse in care homes for the elderly. This
makes it seem as though all elderly people are vulnerable and
incapable.
Gender:
-#metoo is a movement against sexual harassment
and assault. It spread virally in
october 2017 as a hashtag used on social media in an attempt to
demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault
and harassment, especially in the workplace.
-lgbt
stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. After india willoughby
and courtney act entered the big brother house at the beginning of 2018,
it caused an uproar in the media, especially social media, as
people were unclear on gender types and identities.
Ethnicity:
-following the release of the
song 'this is america', the media went crazy about the music video and its
hidden messages. Childish gambino plays america himself, using violence and the
use of entertainment as a distraction. As he says 'this is america' he
shoots a black man, this represents the use of gun crime in america.
The video highlights black lives, and their history in the us,
childish gambino's dance movements represent those of jim crow who was
commonly used for minstrel shows. His dancing is a way to take
the audiences eyes of what is happening in the background (the
crimes). He is hinting that this is happening in america today, and that it
needs to change.
-the carters recent song and
music video 'apes**t' shows them as being of
high importance, regardless of their ethnicity. They are
stood in front of the mona lisa, which could be because 'they'
are similar to the mona lisa in the way that people come from all
over to see them. Later on in the video, during jay-z's verse, he is
stood in front of a painting of a french tragedy, where a naval boat
crashed - it symbolises where beyoncé and jay-z are in their relationship
right now, after he cheated on her.
Sexuality:
-netflix:
sophia burset (laverne cox) in orange is the new black is transgender
woman. The show is increasingly popular, and her story line
grabbed the media as she took the change from male to female, and her
journey was very heart felt and emotional.
-tv drama:
sonia fowler - eastenders - became a lesbian, after being straight
and having a child. The show took this as a chance to publicise how this
does happen, and how people who do this are normal, also showing you are
allowed to be true to yourself.
-tv drama:
rana - coronation street. Her change from heterosexual to lesbian took the
nation by surprise as she is a muslim. In the show, her parents
disowned her, but others accepted it and the media took this as
an opportunity to show that this can happen and although muslim
guidelines are strict about adultery and sexual relationships, she should
be allowed to be her own person.
