My Final Critical Investigation && Linked Production...

Critical Investigation ... An investigation into the UK news media's tendency to create moral panics and reinforce stereotypes when reflecting black teenagers.

Linked Production ... Two cinema adverts, using different methods to attract different audiences, raising different awareness of the dangers of misrepresentation, that reflects different approaches of black teenagers.

Ethnic Diversity in the BBC.

The BBC will only survive by understanding its diverse consumers
A snail could crawl the entire length of the Great Wall of China in just slightly more time than the 200 years it will take for women to be equally represented in parliament. That was just one of a series of striking statistics from the Equality and Human Rights Commission in their Sex and Power report published last week.

It added that women hold just 11% of FTSE directorships, with the judiciary and others also strongly criticised. At the BBC, the figures are a bit better - almost 38% of all senior managers are women - but it does bring into sharp focus the challenge the whole media industry is facing to improve diversity among its workforce.

Tomorrow's Guardian Ethnic Media Summit is a chance to debate what is arguably our most pressing diversity issue - ensuring more talent from ethnic minority communities reaches the upper echelons of broadcasting. The growth particularly of young ethnic minority audiences, is soaring - way above the population average - making them a critical cultural and business challenge for everyone in our sector.

Things are definitely changing but still not quickly enough. The whole media industry needs to look afresh at what more can be done.

So why does a white, middle-aged bloke like me feel compelled to write about this? As the BBC's chief creative officer, overseeing our programme production made in-house, I believe passionately that only by drawing on the talents of every part of society can we best reflect the lives and concerns of our diverse audiences on screen.

We must do more and the BBC is certainly redoubling its efforts. And though ethnicity is very important, it is only one part of this story. We must also think in terms of age, disability, gender, social class and regional difference.

That is why I think the historic changes to move a significant proportion of BBC network production out of London to places such as Glasgow or North West England over the next decade might be key to all this.

We will transfer large numbers of staff from London but we will also recruit many new faces - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add something substantially new to our gene pool of talent, to change the BBC's DNA a little.

We seem to be moving in the right direction, increasing opportunities for people from ethnic minority backgrounds at most levels.

The proportion of our staff from ethnic minorities is 11.5% - again comparing very well with both public and private sector organisations including the civil service, health service and the police. But as the Edinburgh Television Festival heard, still not enough people make it into senior management roles, particularly as controllers and commissioners.

The BBC has looked closely at the barriers to progress and announced new schemes to tackle them - costing £3m over three years.

Firstly, we need to change the way we recruit. We are dramatically increasing the outreach work we do - in community groups, colleges, schools and through open sessions across the UK - to encourage under-represented groups to apply to the BBC. I recently worked with an energetic bunch of young students, mainly from ethnic minority backgrounds, who were introduced to the BBC by the University of Central Lancashire - from the former mill towns of Blackburn and Preston, not places we'd traditionally think to look for the next generation.

Then we need to be better at retaining talented individuals and supporting them in reaching their full potential and moving into senior roles. Our new mentoring and development programme, which offers greater one-to-one and intensive personalised support, is so important. In addition, our new trainee production scheme, which has just kicked off, and our journalism trainee schemes, have a strong diversity focus, so we are providing clearer pathways into all parts of the BBC.

On screen, we must constantly strive to reflect as accurately as possible the rich cultural mix of the UK.

Earlier this year BBC non-executive director Samir Shah criticised what he called "inauthentic representation" of ethnic minority communities, citing the Ferreira family in EastEnders.

It is unfair to highlight one five-year-old example from a drama series that remains the most popular programme on television among ethnic minority audiences. This example fails to reflect many other aspects of our work, particularly our in-house drama output. Our continuing drama series, including Holby City and Casualty, have led the way in casting diverse talent, in leading roles as well. Though we do not always get it right, overall we have much to be proud of.

The BBC set up the Writers' Academy, under John Yorke, four years ago, increasing the number of writers from diverse backgrounds working on our biggest programmes, including some of our continuing drama series.

In addition, programmes such as Criminal Justice, No1 Ladies Detective Agency, Life Is Not All Ha Ha Hee Hee, Shoot the Messenger, the entertainment series Last Choir Standing and a lot of our children's output have also been praised for the way they have represented diversity or addressed issues faced by communities from different backgrounds.

Part of this is ensuring we get closer to audiences when making programmes. For example, White Girl - part of BBC2's groundbreaking White Season - told the story of a white family relocating from Leeds to a predominantly Asian community in Bradford. Here the production team worked very closely with the community to ensure a sensitive and accurate portrayal.
In an increasingly globalised creative economy where competition will intensify, it is only by understanding our diverse consumers that we can stay relevant and survive. The BBC prides itself on keeping in touch with its audiences - to do so successfully we'll need to keep making changes, and fast.

Media Guardian Homework . Race and Religion Articles..

Article 1

Joking Aside, Racism Lives.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/11/racism-strictly-come-dancing

Joseph Harker

Sunday 11 October 2009 16.50

What's the difference between good family entertainment and racism? The answer: time. The latest "race rows" (where white people argue over how offended they are by a bigot, with barely a black or Asian voice to be heard) have highlighted above all how attitudes change over the years.

American musician Harry Connick Jr slates a blacked-up white group performing a "tribute" to Michael Jackson on Australian TV, and explains how his own country has struggled to end the portrayal of black people as buffoons. Neither the programme producers nor the studio audience, it seems, had even considered this thought. They probably have now.

And in Britain, our own race controversy involves a white Strictly Come Dancing performer calling his partner a "Paki", with veteran entertainer Bruce Forsyth at first claiming that it's a shame people have lost their sense of humour. He later retracted, but still couldn't help making a dig at "political correctness".

Most British people watching these shows would be shocked to see the dancer utter those words, or the "Jackson Jive" promote that imagery. But turn the clock back three decades and the opposite would be true. On a Saturday night they'd be settling down to watch the peak-time Black and White Minstrel show. After that they might tune in to Till Death Us Do Part, to hear the racist rantings of Alf Garnett. Over on ITV they could be watching Mind Your Language, in which an English teacher struggles with his class of overseas students, filling every cultural stereotype from headswinging Sikhs to camera-obsessive Japanese, all "hilariously" failing to grasp the language. Or even tune in to the popular series The Comedians, starring that hero of the race equality struggle, Bernard Manning.

All of these shows were, at the time, good family fun. And if we could go back, Life on Mars-style, to any of those involved, they'd be sure to say they weren't being racist; it was only a bit of fun. And, of course, "Some of my best friends ..."
Brucie's formative years were, as we know, well before even this era, so it is maybe a bit harsh to blame him totally for carrying his views forward into this millennium.

Twenty years ago you couldn't go to a football game without hearing a mass of monkey chants whenever a black player kicked the ball. TV and radio match commentators would make no mention of it. It took a microphone malfunction by Ron Atkinson for the rest of us to realise that bigoted comments were also being voiced, and tolerated, within the commentary box itself. That was in 2004. Again, Atkinson denied he was a racist and called his comments an aberration.
So, many things have changed with the passage of time, but many others haven't. Now, as then, no one is racist, it seems. Not Prince Charles, who calls his friend "Sooty"; nor Prince Harry, who refers to his army chum as "Paki"; nor even Carol Thatcher, who dismissively refers to a tennis player on the TV as "golliwog". The remark was "in jest", she said. "I just happen to have the opinions of a normal person."

And I'm sure, if we asked them, the denials would come from the Spanish motor-racing fans who did their own black-up when goading Lewis Hamilton at the Formula One circuit in Barcelona; or the European football crowds which still abuse black players; or Australian singing doctors.
And in case anyone thinks that here, in the enlightened west, such attitudes and beliefs are now the preserve of a beyond-the-pale minority: what about the media, which gives out a daily dose of Muslims-as-terrorists propaganda (instead of giving the true picture, that al-Qaida is a crackpot group with a tiny number of fanatical followers and no base in the community)?

Yes, of course things have changed, and mostly for the better, since the 1970s. And I'd like to think that in another 30 years we could be looking back, for example, at today's xenophobic attitudes towards migrants with disbelief. Or in an era when "political correctness" is no longer a term of abuse against those who wish to treat minorities with respect.

But with the ongoing rise of the far right, and the infiltration of both casual and organised bigotry into the popular discourse, we might just as easily be living in a nation where the Black and White Minstrels are back in their old slot on Saturday night peak-time TV.

Article 2

'Sexualised' nun and priest ad banned by watchdog.

Mark Sweney

Wednesday 1 July 2009 07.35

A newspaper advertising campaign for ice-cream featuring a young nun and priest about to share a kiss has been banned after complaints that it was offensive to those working in a religious order.
The saucy press ad, with the strapline "Kiss temptation", was run by ice-cream brand Antonio Federici Gelato Italiano. The ad, which ran in Delicious and Sainsbury's magazines, featured a nun in full habit and a priest wearing rosary beads while holding a pot of ice-cream.

In its ruling, the Advertising Standards Authority said that the portrayal of the priest and nun in a "sexualised manner", and the implication that they were considering whether or not to give in to temptation, was likely to cause serious offence to some readers. The ASA banned the ad.

The advertising watchdog received 10 complaints that the suggestion of a kiss between a priest and a nun was offensive because it demeaned people who had chosen to follow a religious vocation.

Antonio Fedirici Gelato Italiano said the ad was meant to be a "light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek portrayal celebrating forbidden Italian temptations", which its ice-cream represented.
The ice-cream manufacturer added that the ad was unlikely to "offend deeply" and that it was significant that the image did not show the nun and the priest actually touching or kissing.

Article 3.

The right ethnic mix.

Yasmeen Khan

The Guardian, Monday 22 June 2009

The director shouts "Cut!" - and wardrobe, props and make-up people swarm the set. One of the principal actors beckons me over and asks: "Can you pronounce it for us again?" As I say "Alhumdulillah" (praise to God) the rest of the cast repeat it over and over until they are satisfied it sounds right. In the meantime, I am pulled into a discussion about the Indian sweets on set: are they the right ones; by tradition, which character would give them to whom?
I am not on the set of a British Asian film, but rather at the studios of EastEnders.

For six months I have been working as one of a group of occasional consultants: looking over scripts, sometimes being on set, and advising on aspects of British Asian culture relating to the Masoods.

Playing unsafe
Albert Square's previous Asian family, the Ferreiras, were criticised as boring and unrealistic - their first names were a mixture of Muslim and Hindu, their surname was Portuguese. "We admittedly came under the spotlight with the Ferreiras," says John Yorke, the BBC's controller of drama production. "We played safe with them and ultimately didn't give them good story lines. We're certainly not doing that with the Masoods, but the devil is in the detail and now pretty much everything we write for them that has a cultural or religious aspect is checked."

While the Ferreiras were "safe", the Masoods' current story line is at the other end of the scale - with the elder son, Syed, embarking on a gay affair. "Part of the reason we chose the Masoods is that it does present us with a whole new set of taboos," admits Yorke. However, he says merely being able to feature such an issue is a positive sign. "Post 9/11, Muslim characters in drama became either saint or terrorist - there was no middle ground. But the fact that we can now actually do a gay Muslim story line is testament to exactly how much we've moved on."

EastEnders is the third most popular series among ethnic minorities, according to Barb, the audience ratings body, behind The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent: on average 43% of the non-white TV viewing audience watch the programme. It also has a long history of featuring black and Asian characters: the first episode included a Turkish cafe owner.

And although cliched roles in soaps and primetime dramas also still exist, ethnic minority representation in drama has advanced across the board over the last decade or so with dramas such as the recent Moses Jones, which focused on issues in London's Ugandan community, and characters such as Anwar in Skins.

But Coronation Street's key Asian character, Dev, is rarely seen through the prism of his religion, and Channel 4's Hollyoaks takes a similar approach with its black and Asian characters. Does that make characters less realistic? Lucy Allan, series producer on Hollyoaks, says the show is keen not to hammer home ethnicity. "We recently had a skin bleaching story line around one of our female Asian characters, and obviously that is a culturally specific issue and it had a big reaction; some viewers were shocked, others identified with it. But as a rule we don't look at any of our ethnic minority characters in terms of just their ethnicity, and if the online viewer forums are anything to go by, we've got it right."

Research and consultation are employed by most broadcasters when it comes to black and Asian characters. But while this is a short cut to accuracy, it would perhaps not be necessary if there were more off-screen talent diversity.

Ade Rawcliffe, diversity and talent manager for Channel 4, believes there is still not enough representation behind the camera. "We're trying hard to make it easier to get in, to make it not about who your dad is, but there is still a way to go. There is no shortage of people from minorities looking to get into the industry, but finding and nurturing that talent is key."
Black Doctor Who

For Ben Stephenson, the BBC's controller of drama commissioning, on-screen representation is potentially even more important than off-screen in terms of attracting minorities to the industry. "The more on-screen we can do with minorities, the more those groups will feel like television is a realistic part of their experience and therefore a career option for them."

Stephenson insists that desire for more minority representation was not behind the casting of a black actor as Friar Tuck in Robin Hood. "Obviously you wouldn't cast a black actress in the role of, say, Margaret Thatcher but in a fantasy series like Robin Hood you've got leeway to play around with the characters. Similarly with Doctor Who - it's the least of our concerns whether the Doctor is black or white, it really is just about who is right for the part."

Yorke agrees that on-screen portrayal has improved, but acknowledges that diversity in the off-screen teams is still an issue. "We're working hard to rectify that, and what we really need is a long-term strategic investment in talent."

Things are changing - but given that one writer recently asked me "exactly how this praying five times a day works", there is some way to go before the industry can be sure that a lack of off-screen diversity is no longer an issue.

... Representations ...

On Screen ...

There are many examples of on screen representations used within the media platform of UK Contemporary news and Advertising. The main example i have chosen to focus on was the "Panorama" BBC show that was foccused on Knife Crime within the UK, and the view that only young black teenagers are commiting these crimes. After the show, people were able to share their views online, with whether or not they agree with this view. This therefore allowed people to enagge with the media as they were not jsut able to watch what was shown on TV, but also have their view put across aswell. Here is the website where this was done :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/6935545.stm

Off Screen ...

There are also many examples of off screen representations used within the UK Contemporary News and Advertising. Off screen foccusses on what is not shwon on tv or to a high popularity of the media. The main example i have chosen to focus on is the " Black Teenagers March".

This link shows the People's March, supported by Crime Stoppers, The Mirror newspaper and London-wide radio station Choice FM. This march was done to show their support for the parents of gun and knife crime victims. However this event was hardly shown across the media platforms. Choice FM is a dedicated black radio station and shows support to the stop of gun and knife crime. This therefore can be linked to the idea that the Marxism view that the bourgeoisie are able to make the public have a reaction to what is shown to a higher advantage within the media. In this case more gun and knife crime attacks being reported live within UK contemporary global news, rather than more than a thousand black people marching in order of good justice.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/black.teenagers.march.through.london.against.gun.and.knife.crime/21463.html

Presentation

Mini Essays ..

Stuart Hall - Critical Investigation

Stuart Hall was born on the 3rd of February 1932 in Kingston, Jamaica. Hall is most famous for being a cultural theorist and sociologist focusing on a high extent on studies of black people within the United Kingdom.

There are many types of theories that Hall can be associated with. For example audience theory and reception theory. Firstly Reception Theory refers to the idea of the audience being actively engaged in the interpretation of media texts rather than as passive consumers. Therefore meaning that audiences decode media texts in ways that relate to their social and cultural circumstances and individual experiences. This therefore being linked to my critical investigation, i will be using examples of how contemporary global news and advertising can affect audiences, but specifically in the black ethnicity. Secondly audience theory refers to to the behaviour of audiences with regard to media texts and how they react to them. The main example of this would be the uses and gratification theory. This can be referred to as personal identity and also finding out about the world and the events that affect them. This therefore links to my critical investigation as this theory shows how people react to the events of gunk and knife crime taking place and within society, and also the reaction of the killings mostly being done by young black people.

Hall - 'The news' performs a crucial role in defining events". This quote is beneficial to my critical investigation as it allows me to focus in more depth how the news events of negative portrayals of black teenagers play a crucial role when viewing by the public. Crime statistics, in Hall's view, are often manipulated for political and economic purposes. Therefore meaning that gun and knife crime within society creates a moral panic due to the negative approach and public approach given.

How are Black Teenagers Represented Through Advertising and UK Contemporary News...

Recent high profile media coverage of such events has certainly raised public consciousness regarding knife crime / culture in Britain. Whatever the published statistics show, most people now appear to feel (with some justification), that knife crime is rapidly getting out of control, and that urgent tough action is required to curb it before it gets totally out of hand. This therefore links back to Halls view that the moral panic of specific events enables the public to get involved and change actions within society. In this case, stop gun and knife crime.

Examples of teenage events follow:

14 year old boy stabbed (serious but not fatal) outside of school - Birmingham - attackers believed to be from another school- 15 year old boy stabbed (serious but not fatal) at Bexley - a 16 year old male arrested- 15 year old Kiyan Prince stabbed to death outside of school in North London - a 16 year old male arrested

These 3 events show that all the attacks were taking place by teenagers and as I focused into more depth of the attacks, I also found out all attacks were taking out by black people, however linking this back to my critical investigation and the view that the media focuses more on negative representations within the media rather than positives, here is a clear cut example.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/black.teenagers.march.through.london.against.gun.and.knife.crime/21463.htm

This link shows the People's March, supported by Crime Stoppers, The Mirror newspaper and London-wide radio station Choice FM. This march was done to show their support for the parents of gun and knife crime victims. However this event was hardly shown across the media platforms. Choice FM is a dedicated black radio station and shows support to the stop of gun and knife crime. This therefore can be linked to the idea that the Marxism view that the bourgeoisie are able to make the public have a reaction to what is shown to a higher advantage within the media. In this case more gun and knife crime attacks being reported live within UK contemporary global news, rather than more than a thousand black people marching in order of good justice.

... Half Term Work ...

Critical Investigation ... To what extent has the media created moral panic upon issues reflecting black teenagers within contemporary UK news, advertising and culture through association of stereotypes.

Linked Production ... A cinema advert lasting 1 minute reflecting a different approach on black young teenagers within society, acting in a way in which the media wouldn't associate them with.

MIGRAIN ...

Media Language ... This is a must have throughout my research and production criteria. Media language will be used throughout, in order for me to show my knowledge and understanding of the topic i am researching and taking part in, also by me using media language it will show how in depth my knowledge is as i should be able to give key examples of media language linked with my chosen critical investigation and linked production. Also as i am focusing on a wide range of media forms such as contemporary UK news and advertising, the type of media language therefore must be wide ranging and specific to my critical investigation, this also will show how much i know about my topic and research i am taking out.

Institution ... Due to the reason that I will be focusing on contemporary UK news, an example of an institution that can be linked with this could be News Corp. This can also be linked to the theory of Marxism as it will show how the Bourgeoisie control what is shown, in this case News Corp has the right to show the type of news and information that is broadcasted on TV. I Will also be looking at films, adverts, magazine articles, music videos, documentaries and TV programmes. The reason why i have chosen to look at a wide range of media forms is so that i can view a wide range of representations used throughout the media, and to see if there are any similarities and differences within the media texts.

Genre ... There is no real genre to what i will be investigating, as i will be focusing on different representations and stereotypes of black teenagers within different media texts. Also the use of a moral panic being involved within my investigation may show how people are influenced and gullible on what the media has to say.

Representation ... As the focus of my critical investigation is on black teenagers within the UK, I will be focusing on the view that more negative representations are shown throughout the media on black teenagers rather than positive representations. Examples of this could be the statistics of gun and knife crime teenage victims and killers, also the statistics shown on black teenagers failing school. Whereas more positive representations of black teenagers are shown through sports and music.

Audience ... As i will be focusing on Contemporary UK News, the audience therefore will be very wide as a lot of people may watch the news.

Ideologies ... The main ideology that is going to be represented throughout my investigation would be the idea that all black teenagers are bad. The idea that negative representations are being represented throughout contemporary UK news and advertisements gain a moral panic within society on the belief that all black teenagers have negative views. As a result of this different people may be able to relate to this issue as different people may have different views on the view that all black teenagers are not well behaved or " sensationalised" by the media that they have negative representations and life issues.

Narrative ... There is no clear narrative within the critical investigation i have chosen to undertake. However the use of Propps Characters theory can be linked to specific news stories. An example of this could be the negative news on gun and knife crime. The young black teenagers that are involved with the crimes are seen as the enemies, whilst the innocent people that are the victims are seen as the innocent people within society.

SHEP ...

Social ... The main social issues that are being portrayed within society linked to my investigation at this current time, would be the examples of gun and knife crime within the UK. Films such as Kidulthood, Adulthood and Bullet Boy are good examples of the social issues linked with black teenagers within the UK. The moral panic that all black teenagers are associated with gun and knife crime link to this. Also the lack of education opportunities and criminal minds are associated with these types of films. This moral panic therefore doesn't allow society to see that not all black teenagers are associated with gun and knife crime and also not all black teenagers are not keeping up with their educational purposes.

Historical ... The main issue i have chosen to focus on within this investigation would be the idea of negativity following young black teenagers and the negative representation used within the media from past history to the contemporary media texts today. Also the idea of positive black teenagers such as Chipmunk, Tinchy Stryder and Aml Ameen who are all positive black teenagers in the same living conditions as most stereotyped black teenagers within the UK.

Economical ... The main example i have chosen to concentrate on would be the example of Knife crime and gun crime being so consistent and high in the areas of South and East London in deprived areas such as estates. This therefore would be linked to my investigation as it will show stats and facts on those living in deprived areas and how they are influenced to take part in gun and knife crime. This also can be linked with the audience as they can be influenced where not to buy their houses and also can prevent less people to travel in those types of areas.

Political ... The main political view based on my investigation would be the idea of 'black on black' crime and also how high statistics have risen over gun and knife crime. There have been a number of campaigns taken out in order to stop and prevent knife crime within the UK. Also the idea of knife crime rising within the UK challenges tourists coming to the UK due to fear of getting stabbed.

Below is an example of a campaign that has been launched recently, where teenagers produce adverts that allow society to see the harms o knife crime. The reason why i have chosen this specific campaign is because my group and myself are going to be focusing on advertising within our linked production and also from the idea that teenagers create the adverts allows me to see they type of standards and abilities they have.

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/society/law_order/knife+crime+campaign+launched/2264362

This study fits into the contemporary media landscape because it shows how black teenagers are represented within society and how the rise of gun and knife crime within the UK today have caused a moral panic in believing that all black teenagers have the same ambitions and ideologies.