Henri Tajfel
Social identity theory – 1979.
Understanding the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. Tajfel attempted to identify the minimal conditions that would lead members of one group to discriminate in favour of the in-group to which they belonged and against another out-group.
This can relate to the London Riots as the youth were portrayed by the media in a negative light which made us collectively the ‘out-group’ leaving the elder and ‘mature’ class and viewers of the news to be the ‘in-group’.
“After being categorized of a group membership, individuals seek to achieve positive self-esteem by positively differentiating their ingroup from a comparison outgroup on some valued dimension. This quest for positive distinctiveness means that people’s sense of who they are is defined in terms of ‘we’ rather than ‘I’.” – In other words, the riots and looting from the perspective of those involved was changed from a negative to a positive. People genuinely believed they were benefitting from it, as it would help their families and thinking it was right because others around them were doing it and were majorly influenced by the acts of others. Many united as one as they helped themselves and helped each other to carry the loot from one place to another. Tajfels theory shows that there is a strong distinction made by the media about the ‘youth’ that damaged the streets of London.
Understanding the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. Tajfel attempted to identify the minimal conditions that would lead members of one group to discriminate in favour of the in-group to which they belonged and against another out-group.
This can relate to the London Riots as the youth were portrayed by the media in a negative light which made us collectively the ‘out-group’ leaving the elder and ‘mature’ class and viewers of the news to be the ‘in-group’.
“After being categorized of a group membership, individuals seek to achieve positive self-esteem by positively differentiating their ingroup from a comparison outgroup on some valued dimension. This quest for positive distinctiveness means that people’s sense of who they are is defined in terms of ‘we’ rather than ‘I’.” – In other words, the riots and looting from the perspective of those involved was changed from a negative to a positive. People genuinely believed they were benefitting from it, as it would help their families and thinking it was right because others around them were doing it and were majorly influenced by the acts of others. Many united as one as they helped themselves and helped each other to carry the loot from one place to another. Tajfels theory shows that there is a strong distinction made by the media about the ‘youth’ that damaged the streets of London.
Stuart Hall
Hegemony and Cultural studies
Crime statistics, in Hall's view, are often manipulated for political and economic purposes. Moral panics (e.g. over mugging) could thereby be ignited in order to create public support for the need to "police the crisis." The media play a central role in the "social production of news" in order to reap the rewards of lurid crime stories. – This suggests how much of a dominant role the media has against the viewers, so by seeing the riots, they can portray the rioters in a way which they want them to be shown to the viewers, creating a biased and stereotypical opinion of the situation.
‘Culture is not something to simply appreciate or study, but a critical site of social action and intervention where power relations are both established and potentially unsettled.
Stuart Halls believes that identity is affected by history and culture, therefore an ongoing production. The past has had an impact on the future so we see and expect a domino effect to occur.
Crime statistics, in Hall's view, are often manipulated for political and economic purposes. Moral panics (e.g. over mugging) could thereby be ignited in order to create public support for the need to "police the crisis." The media play a central role in the "social production of news" in order to reap the rewards of lurid crime stories. – This suggests how much of a dominant role the media has against the viewers, so by seeing the riots, they can portray the rioters in a way which they want them to be shown to the viewers, creating a biased and stereotypical opinion of the situation.
‘Culture is not something to simply appreciate or study, but a critical site of social action and intervention where power relations are both established and potentially unsettled.
Stuart Halls believes that identity is affected by history and culture, therefore an ongoing production. The past has had an impact on the future so we see and expect a domino effect to occur.
Caroline Howarth
So you’re from Brixton? Struggling for Recognition –
Those who live in Brixton are often represented as ‘different’, ‘other’ and ‘inferior’. Already this creates a negative buzz about Brixton and by having the riots escalate to that location, from Tottenham originally, may not have come to a surprise to some. ‘Media images of Brixton, for example, portray the area and those who live there as threatening, aggressive and criminal.’ She goes on to say that ‘those who live there, and those who are well acquainted with the area, maintain that in spite of these inceptions, Brixton is a vibrant community, proud of a multicultural past and present.’ This suggests that the perceptions of those who aren’t associated with Brixton will automatically assume that Brixton is a rough area and perhaps not the best place of interest. Prejudice representations create images to us via the media as it was mentioned that only ‘young black youth’ were rioting in Brixton. This, of course, is inaccurate information as many other cultures of all ages were involved also. However, the majority choose to ignore it as we are so enticed with what we read and watch on the news.
Those who live in Brixton are often represented as ‘different’, ‘other’ and ‘inferior’. Already this creates a negative buzz about Brixton and by having the riots escalate to that location, from Tottenham originally, may not have come to a surprise to some. ‘Media images of Brixton, for example, portray the area and those who live there as threatening, aggressive and criminal.’ She goes on to say that ‘those who live there, and those who are well acquainted with the area, maintain that in spite of these inceptions, Brixton is a vibrant community, proud of a multicultural past and present.’ This suggests that the perceptions of those who aren’t associated with Brixton will automatically assume that Brixton is a rough area and perhaps not the best place of interest. Prejudice representations create images to us via the media as it was mentioned that only ‘young black youth’ were rioting in Brixton. This, of course, is inaccurate information as many other cultures of all ages were involved also. However, the majority choose to ignore it as we are so enticed with what we read and watch on the news.
No comments:
Post a Comment