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Class production script
- 1. Amelia Cranstoun Media, identities & representations Being British is something to celebrate. 'The term 'class' will be used when (i) a large number of men have in common a specific causal factor influencing their chances in life, insofar as (ii) this factor has to do only with the possession of economic goods and the interests involved in earning a living, and furthermore (iii) in the conditions of the market in commodities of labour. This we shall call 'class situation'. It is hard to define someone by class. It is made up of status and wealth, opinions, breeding and taste, and there's always the concept of class politics that you have to take under consideration. Left wing politics tend to believe in the social and economic equality of the working and upper working classes, whereas right wing politics prefer the privatisations of the elite and typically believe in capitalism. However both are classes as neoliberal. It's come to my opinion that today's class system is so generalised compared to how it was just a few years ago. It used to be that we simply had upper, middle and working class. Today's class system shows there are now six different categories that you could fall into based on your background, your job or your living circumstances. A- Upper middle b - Middle c- Lower middle c2 - skilled working d - Working class E - unemployed/benefits According to the UK British class survey, the following statistics show the breakdown of the current class positioning. Elite- 6% Established Middle class - 25% technically Middle class - 6% New affluent worker - 15% Service worker - 19% Traditional worker - 14% Precariat - 15% In Britain class is very much an obsession, just like the Monarchy and the weather. What I am hoping to achieve in my assignment, is study the social interaction of the British class system and use what I find to try and pin point why there is a stigma around class. Why are we just so obsessed with it?
- 2. Amelia Cranstoun Media, identities & representations I expect to find it boils down to human instinct. That as simple as it is, we as a nation function with a leader and to have those leaders we need the sheep, those who are not leaders and are good at following the heard. Much like a food chain we wouldn't be able to function without our own categorised labels in which we find comfort. However, just as us English folk do we are able to find the humour behind our very typical and stubborn ways. The internet is very good at entertaining us, whilst dutifully procrastinating; an online news article from 'Buzzfeed' had an online survey to test just how British I am. This only supported and glamorised the UK's addiction to the status quo. After Watching 'Come dine with me' (every students go to watch) I decided to use the show as a form of social study. After considering and deliberating the concept of the British class system I found it was a topic where I found I had a lot to think about. What makes someone a different class to someone else? Why does class matter? How does one class act when paired with another? It was when I struggling to come up with an intelligent academic piece of writing that I started to realise the best place to start wouldnt be reading books on theory and fact that I didnt really understand, but to watch different people interact and react to each other. What better to use than a reality TV show that shows the general public exploring they're competitive side by being as English as possible and politely showing off there hosting skills. The TV show groups together four people who have never met, and asks them each to throw a dinner party. Throwing these people in social situations and forcing them to interact with each other can sometimes have humorous, yet interesting results. From watching the show it's very easy to decide who comes from an upper, middle or working class background - Mostly from their speech and conversation topic, and from their clothing and home environment. Upper class characters tend to be well spoken and boast of their cultural experiences, taste in wine and travel endeavours. As stereotypical as it may seem I found it was often the case. However I also found that they were often the friendliest characters and often in competition for the spotlight with the working class male. One episode for example showed retired business man Oliver and Local builder Terry. Immediately the job descriptions signify a certain position within the social circle. As the older and more experienced character Oliver is looked up to in the group and is also the upper class character, Terry is loud, working class and likes to be the group jester. These two characters have a juxtaposing dynamic but surprisingly got along, shown by Terry calling Oliver a 'Top Lad' (to which Oliver seemed rather confused as if he was foreign to such working class dialect) The unlikely friendship between these two characters challenges the stereotype of the British class system being competitive and that a conflict in class means a conflict in relations. It shows that it does not matter your background or bank balance, you can still see someone as a person and not a category of society.
- 3. Amelia Cranstoun Media, identities & representations This differs to the relationship between PHD student John and Working class Terry, who are initially very wary of each other. They are both aware upon introduction that they are very dynamically opposite people and both privately share concern that they're personalities will clash. If anything I think it is a positive that they are cautious of this as it shows that even though they are of different class they do not wish to dislike each other but only accept that they may share conflicting opinions. However it supports the common stereotype that those of separate classes do not integrate well. The two relationships bring the concept of essentialism and social construction to mind. With essentialism believing that we make our own identity it is the lighter of two concepts, as social construction believes our identity is constructed through society, i.e the British class system, marketing, and political interest. However, I wonder is it with age that we grow such ignorance to others? As a student myself, I witness if not experience the stigma of social class every day. Being a Sheffield Hallam student and the arch nemesis of University of it is often the cases that even on nights out the two do not mix. Being as open minded as I am I stand to challenge the stereotype. Friends from Uni of Sheffield are also aware of this divide and the typical routine of: Hi, where you from?, Hallam?...Never mind. My question is where does this resonate from? Is it just good old rivalry or does it stem from a matter our conscience isnt aware of had this stigma for redbrick universities and metropolitan been passed down to us from family or simply from the fact we are told if we dont get the grades for the red brick university then we simply are not worthy and will amount to nothing? So, can we really be blamed for our ignorance? It would be nice to think we live in a utopian sate where image and status doesnt matter however my perception would be that the connotations of social construction are much likelier the realistic option. If there was anything I noticed quite obviously about the way two classes interact with each other, is how the upper class used divergence and the lower class used convergence in efforts to become equal with one another. For example in one episode upper class PHD student John was very quiet, laughed at the appropriate times and curved his spine to shrink his posture. This made me feel he felt out of place and wanted to seem smaller and hide from socialising from the group. In contradiction to this working-class character Ita used large hand gestures, laughed too loudly and had very excited facial expressions throughout most conversations. This suggested that she felt she needed to be a larger character and compete for attentions, inferring she felt overshadowed or threatened by the upper class guests at the table. Our class may not define who we are but it has a large role in the way we think about ourselves and others. This study simply shows that we are mentally aware and active when associating ourselves with another class, projecting or introducing ourselves to a person or business; its even evident when we walk down the street.
- 4. Amelia Cranstoun Media, identities & representations Every common high street is the waterhole of social class. With a mixture of all stereotypes from business men, builders, house mums, underprivileged, public school and private school children it is easy to pick them apart.