Monday 9 November 2015
Love Thy Neighbour: Race Representations
In Love thy neighbour blacks are represented as the inferior race to whites and whites such as Eric see blacks as lower than him. This is shown through the dialogue when Eric quotes "bloody big-nogs, everywhere I turn theres a big-nog." This represents Eric as very racist and intimidating towards the black character as she (the black character) is behind him at the door as he turns. The programme represents interracial neighbourhoods as very strange and abnormal as it is meant to portray that it is abnormal for a black family to be living next to a white family. The show represents white people as middle classed and very sophisticated and represents black people as quite violent people. This is because in one episode the white woman is supposed to be fixing the TV and the black woman smacks the TV to try to help which could imply that blacks are more violent than whites.
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This is a very considered analysis of the representations at work in this text Jack. I like your point about the banging of the television set. This programme has divided many critics since being aired. Some see it as reinforcing racist stereotypes (through the dialogue and plotlines reflecting cultural norms) whereas others have viewed it as challenging societal norms by having a more intelligent and considered black character. What do you think? Research what is meant by cultural hegemony. See if you can apply the term in relation to the representation of race in mainstream television drama in 1970s Britain.
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