How do the contemporary media represent regions and ethnic/social/collective groups of people (gypsies and travellers) in different ways?
The media is seen as a very influential institution in society, this could be seen as both a negative or positive, as some sociologists argue it could manipulate people opinion to suit societies needs. In this essay i will be looking at how contemporary media forms such as film, television programs and online newspaper reports represent gypsies and travellers and how this portrayal is seen by both collectives.
Firstly, the popular television show 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' commissioned by Channel 4 explores the lives and traditions of several Irish Traveller families when preparing to unite through marriage. However, the title in itself is misleading as it shows Travellers originally from Ireland as opposed to the the Romany ethnic group which originated from India in the 14th century. This already could cause questioning of how realistic the representation is, however as the groups are seen as the 'other' to the British public this representation goes unquestioned and it seen to be what it was supposed to be seen as, a 'documentary' on this collective of people that live in caravans and wear skimpy clothes. The documentary is presented by a 'factual', British, typically middle class woman, who we connect with as one of our 'own'. This could also have an effect on the way we see certain things, for when we connect with certain people we are more likely to value their opinion as fact. Because of the little we know about certain cultures and because Channel 4 is known for showing groundbreaking documentaries about minority ethnic/social/collective groups, this is one of the main ways we as viewers find out about things we may not have been able to research before. One perspective that links with this view is Marxism. This is because it believes that those in power reinforce their ideals and ideologies.
As I stated, the documentary focuses on such aspects such as the clothes the females wear throughout the show. This could link with the feminist Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze because of the camera angles and the close ups which suggest this is normal. Other feminists would also argue that the representations are negative towards women, not only presenting them as submissive to the Traveller men, but the fact that they need to be in revealing clothing and make up suggests they have to create 'perfect' versions of themselves so that they are able to get husbands which portrays a shallow and sexualised view.
Online student newspaper yorkvision.com did a feature on the prejudice, where several Romany gypsies discussed their opinion on the portrayal of 'gypsies'. Although E4 did make sure the audience were clear of the different groups being shown, there was confusion as to why the two collectives where put into a documentary together as their lifestyle is completely different to the other, the fact that they are both 'wandering' groups the documentary doesn't take into account the language, origins and culture that make both of them unique.
Finally, 2001 film Snatch by British Filmmaker Guy Ritchie also uses the term Gypsy to describe one collective in the film, however, like BFGW they are actually Irish Travellers and are seen in a very negative view, however the whole film does have negative depictions of many different collectives of people including Russians and Blacks it also uses the same effect BFGW does, using a voiceover of one of the main characters who was British which Marxists could argue aligns us that view because we as British people would sympathise more with our own as opposed to the 'alien' subcultures.
Snatch
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/tvs-portrayal-of-gypsy-culture-is-one-big-fat-myth-28773885.html
http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-gypsies-and-travellers/
http://www.yorkvision.co.uk/features/my-big-fat-gypsy-prejudice/
charlie chaplin, gyspy episode - historical
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