Marxism & hegemony

1) Re-read the Mail Online review of Capital. Why does it suggest that Capital features a left-wing ideology?

I think that it suggests that capital features left wing ideology, simply for the reason that it does. The show clearly shows left wing opinions and sides with everything which we think to be a left wing opinion. For example immigration, Quintina is represented to be a hard working individual who is being exploited and is not claiming any benefits and is only doing this for her survival as she knows if she goes back to her country she will be killed and even mocks that she will be lucky if she is just raped. The other immigrants which are shown at the Pakistani family, the Kamals and they are also represented in a very positive and sympathetic way, and appear to have integrated into the British culture as they show some of what we consider to be British banter and seem to respect the culture. This shows two very positive left wing opinions of immigrants and although I believe that they have made some valid points which make sense, they failed to notice the positives of the TV show and how it showed diversity for example.

2) Choose three quotes from the review that are particularly critical of Capital and paste them into your blog post. Do you agree with the criticisms? Why?

- "With a fizzle like a firework on a wet night, Capital (BBC1) dribbled to a soggy ending."
- "Everything British came in for a dose of loathing."
- "But that concept went nowhere. The residents were bemused, but not scared."
I think that all of these criticisms are very crucial as it will dictate how people view the program and what they think about it. I feel like this review is very important as they don't say a lot of good things about the TV show and a lot of things which they say are very relate able and that people will agree with a lot of the statements which have been said. To answer the question i do agree with a lot of the statements which have been said in the article as they have said a lot of things which have been said. With the critical things which i have chosen to speak about are all very true. I agree that there could have been a much better end and was very anti climactic due to the amazing concept which the show had which may not have reached its full potential which it could have. I feel like there was a few things which showed British culture to be good, for example Petunia being a sweet old lady who is just confused about the ethnicity of the the Pakistani family and how the Pakistani family want to adopt the British banter, however does show some negatives, for example that people may be working to hard but I don't really think that this is an offensive statement.
3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?

I think that the main character who promotes left wing ideology is Petunia as the rest of the characters which promote left wing ideology are either majorly impacted by it or impacted by it first hand, however Petunia is an old white woman and this group of older white people is thought to be the more racist, less accepting group of people as they are not used to the situation of multiculturalism and so much diversity and we can see that she has been left behind in this matter as she makes the mistake of confusing the Pakistani family as Indians, however is shown to be very apologetic and doesn't seem to be partial or rude to anyone who may have moved to the country through immigration. Although it may not be as important to show that she has left wing ideologies, but Quintina is clearly shown to have left wing ideologies as she has moved to the country as an immigrant, however we are still shown to sympathise with her as she is shown to be an immigrant who is working hard and is forced to get less money then she would if she was working legally and would be able to pay taxes and contribute too if the government allowed her too and isn't shown to be taking advantage of the government.

4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce the status quo in capitalist London?

There are many aspects in Capital which reinforce the status quo in capitalist London, for example Roger Youte who had a large amount of money in the beginning of the series and was expecting more money was shown to become a bit lazy through his years and was beginning to be replaced by a younger more hard working man, which suggests that the busy city of London doesn't wait for anyone. It may also be showing that the elite in London for example Roger and his family will always remain wealthy as even if they become lazy and stop doing work, may not receive as money as they has hoped such as a million will still receive money like 30K simply for a bonus as they are now in that position and will be sad and fight over that much money although his bonus is larger then the average wage in the UK. Another thing being that Quintina is such a hard worker and will still only be able to earn such a small amount of money with such a struggle because of her status and suggests that even the area in which she works constantly surrounds her with wealth and reminds her of poverty as the same time.

Media Magazine feature on BBC drama The Casual Vacancy and ideology

1) Why did the Daily Mail suggest The Casual Vacancy promoted a left-wing ideology?

It mocked and shamed wealthier residents when they planned to sell of the local food bank.

2) How does the article suggest characters, narrative and setting are used to promote a left-wing ideology?

The show suggests that the characters and narrative are used to promote a left wing ideology as it shows the food bank closing to be an extremely negative thing and shows the disgust of some of the characters when they close it down. It suggests that the right wing opinion of closing food banks is the correct decision as it would reduce the rate of taxes which means the people who are working will receive more money, however this also means that the very wealthy are not supporting the poor.

3) What research is quoted regarding BBC bias and what did it find? Do you think the BBC is biased?

"BBC is too cosy with J.K.Rowling" is quoted as the bias of the BBC and we know that the BBC is known and reported to have left wing ideologies and this may show a connection to J.K.Rowling as she is also known to have left wing views. I do think that the BBC is mainly fair and represents both views equally, however there are obviously their own opinions on what is right and wrong which may become apparent.

4) Gramsci's theory of hegemony suggests people are kept under control through active consent - the control of 'common sense'. How could you apply the Daily Mail or the BBC to the idea of hegemony and dominant ideologies in the UK media?

I think that the Daily Mail or the BBC are extremely popular due to the fact that they show things which are obviously seen to be common sense and even suggest certain views and opinions and know that these things will be popular and agreed with. I think that sometimes they can makes statements which will be the opinion of the people as this is more likely to bring attention to their programme. Although the BBC is funding based and should therefore theoretically be more fair, it may simply give the public what they want as this will give good reviews and attention to the show and is more likely to keep them as the public service broadcaster of the country. The daily mail of course hints to the fact that they are in fact right wing and have very specific views, however they are of course careful to ensure that they are not obviously denying left wing opinions as this would really restrict their potential audience.

Episode 2 & 3 summary -- Capital

Episode 2 Summary:

- When Arbella comes back from her trip she discovers that roger has hired a new nanny, as the  police assure them that they are trying their best to find out who is sending these postcards with the text "We want what you have". As the episode progresses we learn that the postcards have now developed into them sending dead animals, which makes the incident much more serious and could be a sign that whoever is sending these things could be dangerous. Petunia passes away and the builder begins work in refurbishing the home when he locates a briefcase full of cash.

Episode 3 summary:

- Roger and Arbella are forced to move out their home as the company which Roger works for discover that there has been fraudulent activity under his account, which pushes them to move house to somewhere in the countryside. We see that Quintina is then deported even though the circumstances in which she broke the law were special and attempts to appeal to the judge. Iqbal accessing dangerous websites causes Shahid to be arrested after he begins to blog about the issue and the police were already tracking the computer due to Iqbals actions, which is ironic as he is the one who said "he gets scared going north of the river".

TV: Capital - Representation questions

Additional questions

Group 1: To what extent do the representations in Capital reflect the concerns of modern 21st century London life? [25 marks]

The representations in capital clearly attempt to reflect some of the concerns of modern  21st century London life, as they do not portray all the Londoners in a positive light and may show some of the characters to be much more sympathetic then others and I think that a key part of the show is that some of the white British people who's parents and family have been born and brought up here, such as the family of Roger are not always perfect and face issues too. They are also not shown to be the most sympathetic bbbbbnnnnn family, which begins to show that the show is trying to show London for how it is, a multicultural city, however still shows the issues which we are facing. In the case of Zimbabwean asylum seeker, Quentina we are positioned to feel very sympathetically for her and feel sorry for her. We are placed on her side as we see the struggles which she faces, we can see the severity of her situation immediately as she is introduced as she gets ready and is seen to have to live with some random men, which she appears to have no connection to as they do not even exchange greetings with one another, although they are in the same household, we then see her in her traffic warden uniform and can already tell that this is not the most glamorous job in the world as she probably receives a lot of abuse from people, in fact we see an example of this when she puts a ticket onto Rogers car and he says "Go on, put another on the Range Rover, it’s so big" as he shouts at her in an angry manor. We then see her go to visit this man who we as the audience a  re already sceptical about and the show may be suggesting that there are a lot of people who very dodgy and are exploiting people and the government, when Quentina hands her the cheque of £300 and the man says, "you work too hard" in a condescending manor and doesn't seem as if he is actually concerned for her well being and when she responds that she has been working overtime he takes a larger cut and takes a third of her paycheck. When she is disappointing with this he says, "well if you don't like it you can have it paid into your own bank account" as he knows she can not. Anyone else who was working on this wage of £200 a week which is extremely low would have received money from the government to help her and wouldn't even have to pay any tax as the amount is under £12000. The reason we can feel very bad for the character is because she is seeking asylum and the reason that most illegal workers work is so that they can earn a higher wage without paying tax, however this character wouldn't even earn enough to pay tax and would in fact be entitled to benefits from the government, however as she does not want to be kicked out of the country and be sent home where she will be "killed" or "raped". Then there is the second generation Pakistani family who are portrayed very sympathetically as they treat the old woman very nicely when she comes to the store and take care of her when she comes to their store, even though she mistakes them and calls them Indians, but she seems very sorry about it, which may be showing that there is such a wide variety of people from other countries and shows that there may be an issue with immigration. We also see the younger members of the family who are attending university so they are clearly trying study and earn a living as they are in university. I think that the show is trying to show that immigration is not a big issue as they are clearly showing that the Pakistani family are clearly showing British banter when they speak that I think their British audiences would understand.
In conclusion I think that each character shows some of the 21st century issues and that each character shows one of the issues or has a story related to them which illustrates one of the issues.