SUMMER HOMEWORK

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.