racism

10 August 2012 ... read more »

Written in 1995 when I was in my second year of my undergraduate degree, I wrote this essay about Rodney King, the LA riots, and the role of the media. I thought it was apt to upload it here today, on the day of Rodney King’s death.

http://westengland.academia.edu/ShawnSobers/Papers/1732932/THE_DAY_ANGELS_WEPT_Ideology_Television_and_Rodney_King

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The following is a reply I sent to Rachel MacPherson, a journalism student from University of the West of Scotland.  She was writing her dissertation on the media’s representation of victims of crime, in particular missing person cases, and read my post about Serena Beakhurst and wanted my opinion.  I provided answers to her questions, as shown below.  The topic i ... read more »

“Midsomer Murders producer suspended over race row

The producer of ITV1′s Midsomer Murders has been suspended after saying the drama “wouldn’t work” if there was racial diversity in the show.  Brian True-May, who co-created the series, told the Radio Times the long-running drama was a “last bastion of Englishness” and should stay that way.”

Quote from BBC news story – see full story here. ... read more »

I read with interest that Lenny Henry is to embark on a PhD researching into the representation of Black people in the media (see BBC article here).  25/30 years ago Lenny WAS the representation of Black people on UK television, so a big part of his thesis must surely be employing the methodology of vulnerable anthropology and autoethnography, which sees ... read more »

Now with the General Election less than a month away in England, all talk is on how many votes the three main parties will get.  The figures I am more interested in, especially long-term, is how many members will each party have?  The only talk of party membership in the media has been about the far-right British National Party (BNP).  There have been stories about their leaked membership list,  the legal challenge to their ... read more »

Flicking through my wife’s current issue of OK! magazine, I surprisingly found an article on page 33 that I would have been proud to write myself.  I congratulate whoever wrote it for their social commentary in what is (let’s face it) an otherwise superficial celebfest.  Print media are having to look for new business models in order to survive in a saturated market now online magazines are their competitors, so social engaged commentary could be a good angle for OK! ... read more »

Before the invention of photography and film, we got to know the world beyond our personal experience through the oral, drawn, painted and written descriptions of the explorers that went forth, and came back.  The communication between what was experienced via the explorer’s senses, and what was subsequently represented to the people, did not always match up. ... read more »

So it’s 2010 and Disney have finally given the world a black princess character in their latest film, the Princess and the Frog.  I saw it today and my children loved it.  My wife and I were not so sure.  I went in expecting a cinematic revolution, but all I got was, unfortunately, more of the same old same old ... read more »

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