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Jan. 8th, 2014
Benefits and Cheats
Jan. 8th, 2014 08:16 amLast evening on catch-up I watched that Benefits Street TV show and I found it to be biased and infuriating. Many unemployed people are not benefit cheats and I know plenty that desperately want to work. I get fed up with people on benefits all being tarred with the same brush, when if you look at the facts, there are more people on benefits who are working than are not, simply because wages are so low and because many many employers only take on part time staff so they do not have to pay National Insurance even though the companies are making millions. Isn't it a pity that nobody does an in -depth series about the companies and people who scrounge far more from this country by evading paying BILLIONS in tax.
Until the Conservatives used the "hard working families" phrase to describe all the people they approved of as opposed to those that need help, and that Labour also took it up, this type of discrimination was never heard of. According to those in the house of commons and many who believe the rubbish written in papers and shown on TV the benefit claimant is the scum of the earth and must live in poverty. Getting back to this programme the majority of people living in this street were on some sort of benefit but we only saw a small minority of the people who live there.
TV production companies like 'Love Productions' epitomize the reality-TV zeitgeist that has plagued television content for over a decade now. Reality TV, an oxymoron if ever there was one, is not interested in elucidating the facts about anything it purports to 'investigate'; it's sole broadcasting remit is to deceive both the participants and the target-audiences (usually very gullible ones!) of the programmes it produces; this deception is necessary in order to distort reality, if not to manufacture or fabricate it even, so as to pander to the lowest common denominator-audience -the target demographic who are least able to think critically and just believe whatever story, or anecdotal gossip they may have overheard on the street corner, or have read in the gutter press.
So Reality TV reinforces and fuels existing misconceptions and bigotry; it is the ultimate dumbing-down of otherwise extremely complex issues that warrant serious and investigative journalism; but such journalism is expensive because it necessitates contracting high-calibre reporters, researching a wider socio-economic content-source market, and by extension, committing more production time; but the most riskiest factor of all, from a Reality TV producers Machiavellian perspective, is that intelligent documentaries risk alienating a stupid and credulous audience, and if that happens, the likes of 'Luurve' Productions (what an asinine brand-name!) would lose advertising revenue etc.
Another constituent ingredient common to the Reality TV model is its commercial imperative to *entertain* an audience -and to entertain them in the most voyeuristic way that current public taste will sanction- rather than seeking to *educate* them by relating objective facts, hence enabling informed and critical judgement; they further facilitate this voyeuristic 'pantomime' by insulting the dignity of the programmes' hapless participants -who are typically duped into taking part themselves, as has been patently demonstrated by the B'ham Mail's report - and then sending-them-up through vicious misrepresentation via heavy editing.
Sadly, the majority of the UK's media platforms, including the BBC and Channel 4, are only too happy to commission this inane crap in order to compete for viewer market-share, although the Beeb retains some of its journalistic integrity via its radio shows and a handful of television programmes.
Clearly then, the default 'gutter-media' appears hell-bent on perpetuating the stereotypical myths surrounding impoverished communities in Britain's cities by portraying them in a negatively skewed light, and by distorting, tweaking and manipulating reality to suit their own commercial agendas.
My advice, to the good residents of Winson Green: initiate legal proceedings immediately, and engage local, national, and if necessary, the international courts to shut these DESPICABLE Reality TV producers DOWN!!!
Of course, everyone feels strongly about people who abuse and defraud welfare services, whom are typically of the minority, but we should also feel strongly about people who are quick to point the finger, without having all the facts at their disposal, or who've been manipulated by moronic reality TV shows that attempt to masquerade as responsible journalism. Whose producing any documentaries exposing the multinational corporations who are defrauding the UK government out of billions of pounds via off-shored tax evasion and corrupted government collusion? Who is reporting about the one TRILLION POUNDS that was expropriated from the public purse to bail out a cabal of transnational banks who through sheer greed and short-term financial strategies caused the collapse of the entire global economy!
Until the Conservatives used the "hard working families" phrase to describe all the people they approved of as opposed to those that need help, and that Labour also took it up, this type of discrimination was never heard of. According to those in the house of commons and many who believe the rubbish written in papers and shown on TV the benefit claimant is the scum of the earth and must live in poverty. Getting back to this programme the majority of people living in this street were on some sort of benefit but we only saw a small minority of the people who live there.
TV production companies like 'Love Productions' epitomize the reality-TV zeitgeist that has plagued television content for over a decade now. Reality TV, an oxymoron if ever there was one, is not interested in elucidating the facts about anything it purports to 'investigate'; it's sole broadcasting remit is to deceive both the participants and the target-audiences (usually very gullible ones!) of the programmes it produces; this deception is necessary in order to distort reality, if not to manufacture or fabricate it even, so as to pander to the lowest common denominator-audience -the target demographic who are least able to think critically and just believe whatever story, or anecdotal gossip they may have overheard on the street corner, or have read in the gutter press.
So Reality TV reinforces and fuels existing misconceptions and bigotry; it is the ultimate dumbing-down of otherwise extremely complex issues that warrant serious and investigative journalism; but such journalism is expensive because it necessitates contracting high-calibre reporters, researching a wider socio-economic content-source market, and by extension, committing more production time; but the most riskiest factor of all, from a Reality TV producers Machiavellian perspective, is that intelligent documentaries risk alienating a stupid and credulous audience, and if that happens, the likes of 'Luurve' Productions (what an asinine brand-name!) would lose advertising revenue etc.
Another constituent ingredient common to the Reality TV model is its commercial imperative to *entertain* an audience -and to entertain them in the most voyeuristic way that current public taste will sanction- rather than seeking to *educate* them by relating objective facts, hence enabling informed and critical judgement; they further facilitate this voyeuristic 'pantomime' by insulting the dignity of the programmes' hapless participants -who are typically duped into taking part themselves, as has been patently demonstrated by the B'ham Mail's report - and then sending-them-up through vicious misrepresentation via heavy editing.
Sadly, the majority of the UK's media platforms, including the BBC and Channel 4, are only too happy to commission this inane crap in order to compete for viewer market-share, although the Beeb retains some of its journalistic integrity via its radio shows and a handful of television programmes.
Clearly then, the default 'gutter-media' appears hell-bent on perpetuating the stereotypical myths surrounding impoverished communities in Britain's cities by portraying them in a negatively skewed light, and by distorting, tweaking and manipulating reality to suit their own commercial agendas.
My advice, to the good residents of Winson Green: initiate legal proceedings immediately, and engage local, national, and if necessary, the international courts to shut these DESPICABLE Reality TV producers DOWN!!!
Of course, everyone feels strongly about people who abuse and defraud welfare services, whom are typically of the minority, but we should also feel strongly about people who are quick to point the finger, without having all the facts at their disposal, or who've been manipulated by moronic reality TV shows that attempt to masquerade as responsible journalism. Whose producing any documentaries exposing the multinational corporations who are defrauding the UK government out of billions of pounds via off-shored tax evasion and corrupted government collusion? Who is reporting about the one TRILLION POUNDS that was expropriated from the public purse to bail out a cabal of transnational banks who through sheer greed and short-term financial strategies caused the collapse of the entire global economy!
I have posted some applications to former market research companies i use to work for such as Outlook Research. Sent five of them today. Whether i get any response is anther matter, but at least i have tried.
Decided to put back any visits now till Friday, although today i am here in the Office. I printed out a few more visits and just been looking out to see the fine dry weather outside and thinking that i will have to finish things here soon and get some fresh air.
Decided to put back any visits now till Friday, although today i am here in the Office. I printed out a few more visits and just been looking out to see the fine dry weather outside and thinking that i will have to finish things here soon and get some fresh air.
Book 2 - Joseph O'Connor "Star Of The Sea"
Jan. 8th, 2014 08:51 pmJoseph O'Connor "Star Of The Sea" (Vintage)
Joseph O’Connor’s Star of the Sea tells the story of the tortuous voyage from famine stricken Ireland to the Promised Land of the U.S. The refugees undertake the perilous journey in an effort to escape the horrors and deprivations of their pasts. The further they travel from home, the more they are burdened by the weight of past events. The rotting decks of the rickety old ship represent an intricate game of ‘Snakes and Ladders’ where character’s stars ascend though chance events only to ride back down the serpents tail again.
A murderer is on board the ‘Star of the Sea’, a killer whose identity is unclear. The masks are gradually lifted in this psychological study of transgression and desperation, an analysis that also includes accounts of great compassion and humanity. A difficult text to classify Star of the Sea is at once a ‘whodunnit’, a thriller, a love story and a historical fiction novel.
Passengers are segregated throughout the voyage, primarily thought the class barriers that exist between the First Class and steerage passenger, though issues such as nationality, religion and gender also play a part. As the novel progresses these borders are breached to reveal that it is what these characters share that results in the deepest rifts and most shocking consequences.
In this meticulously researched piece O’Connor interrogates the notion of English Imperialism as being the sole cause of Ireland’s misfortune. Other contributing factors, particularly the abject failure of Irish landlords to aid their starving tenants, are examined. A complex text, made up of personal recollections, letters, diaries, illustrations, newspaper articles and ballads. The density of form heightens the sense of verisimilitude achieved through insistent attention to detail and a compelling writing style.
Joseph O’Connor’s Star of the Sea tells the story of the tortuous voyage from famine stricken Ireland to the Promised Land of the U.S. The refugees undertake the perilous journey in an effort to escape the horrors and deprivations of their pasts. The further they travel from home, the more they are burdened by the weight of past events. The rotting decks of the rickety old ship represent an intricate game of ‘Snakes and Ladders’ where character’s stars ascend though chance events only to ride back down the serpents tail again.
A murderer is on board the ‘Star of the Sea’, a killer whose identity is unclear. The masks are gradually lifted in this psychological study of transgression and desperation, an analysis that also includes accounts of great compassion and humanity. A difficult text to classify Star of the Sea is at once a ‘whodunnit’, a thriller, a love story and a historical fiction novel.
Passengers are segregated throughout the voyage, primarily thought the class barriers that exist between the First Class and steerage passenger, though issues such as nationality, religion and gender also play a part. As the novel progresses these borders are breached to reveal that it is what these characters share that results in the deepest rifts and most shocking consequences.
In this meticulously researched piece O’Connor interrogates the notion of English Imperialism as being the sole cause of Ireland’s misfortune. Other contributing factors, particularly the abject failure of Irish landlords to aid their starving tenants, are examined. A complex text, made up of personal recollections, letters, diaries, illustrations, newspaper articles and ballads. The density of form heightens the sense of verisimilitude achieved through insistent attention to detail and a compelling writing style.
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