Exam Section 2 important information

The Bill -
Creator: Geoff mcQueen
Producer: Lloyd Shirley (1984-87), Johnathon Young (2005-10)
Original run: 16th Oct 1984 - 31st Aug 2010 (focussing on cotemporary)

Dixon of Dock Green -
Creator: Ted Willis
Starring: Jack Warner
Original run: 9th July 1955 - 1st May 1976
Note: not seen as realistic as later shows such as Z-cars and The Bill

Hillsborough Sun article -
19th April 1989 - four days after disaster
Orgreave Miners strikes & Hillsborough -
22nd Oct 2012 - calling for fresh enquiries into South Yorkshire police cover ups

Theorists -
Cohen - "the media reacts to an aspect of behaviour"
Althusser - "the power of the mass media resides in their ability to place a subject"
Perkins - "stereotypes are not always negative"
Gauntlett - "identity is complicated"

Further Textual Analysis(clips) & Comparison - The Bill

The Bill
This clip from an episode of The Bill from July 2009, just before the shows finish shows a supposedly innocent suspect decide to run from Police officers just wanting to enquire for possible evidence or witness accounts.

I feel that the short clip from the show does well to cover themes that appear through a contemporary crime drama and the issues that due come to face modern police officers. The scene shows that with modern day policing there is no racial divides with a black officer playing a protagonists role. It also opens up for a look into modern youth and the overall representation and trust towards police officers. With the intense, fragile situation the officers find themselves in, this also pulls on the differences of contemporary police to that of the golden age of policing with dramas such as Dixon of Dock Green.

Dixon of Dock Green
This is an episode from series 2 of Dixon of Dock Green broadcast in 1956. The focus of this clip will be between 1:30 to 5:00 in which the lead, George Dixon has to investigate the small, by today's standards, matter of someone having £10 stolen from their wallet.

This themes this allows the closer analysis of is the simple way the police go about matters in comparison to the contemporary times of The Bill. People these days wouldn't make much out of having £10 or £20 stolen out of their wallets, this is the more common crime police officers had to deal with back then and scale was much smaller. Scale would be effected by budgeting put into the show compared to the big budgets of contemporary works with movie-like proportions to dramas but also the frequency of large, daredevil crimes weren't as common in society during the 50's and 60's because of the much more positive way police were viewed by the public and that statistically they were brilliantly sufficient at stopping crime.

Comparison/ Textual Analysis

With looking at the Dixon clip, the difference of the 'golden age' of policing compared to contemporary is very evident. Dixon only needs to use some skill to defuse a situation and get people working together at a relaxed pace to find out where the money from the wallet has gone. The fact that it is at an occasion such as a wedding shows that the police had much more free time on their hands because crime wasn't a huge issue after the war years. When you look at modern day police they need to be focussed for entire shifts and are always involved in dealing with various forms of crime and a population that has grown more hostile to police presence. Just for context to that point, for example the 2011 summer riots occurred because young people thought they were not being acknowledged in society and the police were a repressive government force to keep them down and looking bad, making the police seem worse in the public eye. The view was also backed by the fact that people believe the police cannot deal with issues including this, so why could they help do anything else. The youth at the 25 seconds area of the Bill scene are a simple example of modern youth making the job of policeman very difficult. This small moment within the chase could have connotations to the youth in modern society, during the times of Dixon youth wasn't a large independent culture which it is nowadays and because teenagers always want to be seen and believe no one understands them they feel the presence of police is in fact a negative one for them and they are not afraid, hence increased violence and disobedience towards officers of the law. This does have its effects on the police because they struggle to deal with the modern stereotypical outlaw youth of today and this in turn is reflected in the media and the public view that the police are a fairly weak force even towards dealing with so much aggravation, this then leads on to society questioning their ability to be able to help anyone. The issue doesn't exist in Dixon's era because the youth were brought up in society by stricter means and the police were a more intimidating, strong presence and this garnered much more respect from the entire population in general therefore leading to less issues to be dealt with.

Even the basic elements of the Bill clip show what the modern day police force are up against. There is the rebellious youth, even shown again with the group chasing the suspect, reluctance to comply with police because of a society that fails to trust after events such as Hillsborough and the mid-eighties Miners strikes and finally extreme incidences involving people including suicide from the clip. The police have a huge array that they have to deal with compared to simple purse snatching of the Dixon era which again made the police force look much more positive because they seemed in control. To simplify difficulties police face now, with a rapidly changing society and the introduction of so many new things into everyday lives technologically, it allows for crime to become easier and cyber and near unstoppable for police at times. Even though it may not be their fault at most times, authorities get blamed when someone commits suicide because they were bullied on the internet but with these issues in modern times it has a huge impact on the stance the people take towards police and their reliability and trustworthiness is brought into question on multiple occasions. What can occur in society now are issues that are out of police control, because they are the authority they get all the blame when things turn ugly and wrong, for example the April Jones abduction in 2012 in which the police were viewed as not doing enough to really try and save the young girl even though they couldn't really do much. Society see it as the police have not done enough because the young girl has gone, if the step back is taken reliability does place parents responcibilities into the question because they are the child's authority in essence. A reason this would never be focussed upon in the media is because families clearly get distraught over heartbreaking circumstances and the police are in place to solve crime so they get the stick when it is not.

Further Textual Analysis - Cohen

The theory that I shall look into now is Cohen's theory that "The media reacts to an aspect of behaviour" which would allow for an increased insight into why the media focussed on the hammering of the police's reputation over matters such as the Hillsborough Disaster and The Miners Strikes.

It is clear that the media reacts to what goes on around the country at various times to gain information and evidence to big stories they wish to publish, to make their living and to shock and surprize the public order and opinions on sensitive subjects. When it comes down to the news that is placed in front of the public eye in cotemporary times the Negative stories are what make the more poweful, shocking and opinioated news which people are attracted to and want to see more of.

In relation to the Hillsborough disaster news articles. These presented the Yorkshire police force in the positive light at the time, the event portrayed through these stories from various news agencies, mainly The Sun, who lead harsh criticism angainst the Liverpool fc fans stating unbacked fact of assaults and violence against officers. Even though the police were presented in the positive light, it can be seen that the media has huge sway in what people all over believe and argue. The theory stating that the media "reacts to an aspect of behaviour" shows that even if uncorrect, the power of news and the word of mouth coming from a supposedly reliable source can totally sway societies thinking and in light of a supposed negative event taking place. So when the news decides to turn against the police in more recent 2012 articles of renewed reports, the affect has been widespread with many people losing faith again in the reliability of their police force. the public also turns against the police in a way because it was all a cover up which again shows further unreliability and uncorruptability of the police.

Further Textual Analysis - Althusser

In this analysis Althusser's 'The power of the mass media resides in their ability to place a subject' shall be used in relation to the News mass media representation of the British police force.

With most news people meet during their time, it in essence gives an opinion on a particular subject no matter what story is present. The news controls what people see on a particular subject and have the ability to control and change the public opinion to their own whims. As with this contemporary BBC news article on a call for a fresh enquiry into the 80's Miners Strikes the media uses specific language and fact-backed opinion to sway the public view on the matter. The content of the piece for a fresh enquiry into the behaviour of officers during the time period and their supposed brutality towards protestors over the country. When a step is taken back from the news article it can be analysed that the police's part in the protests might actually have been that bad considering the vast majority of people would not have been there to witness these events. If the media was to have presented the police in a much better manner and they weren't seen as a 'political army' they would have been backed by the public more and the populous would have seen the protests in a light where they might have been against the protestors. Althusser's theory is evident in this article with the police being portrayed in the more villain like role with their mis deeds against the miners strikes protestors.

Further Textual Analysis - Perkins

Looking at the representations of the police from within the press media but with consideration to the theory from Perkins that 'stereotypes are not always negative'. If a closer look is made into the events of something such as the Miners Strikes of 1984-85 the police when looked at from a neutral point of view did just do their job and were seemingly responsible with the attitudes and actions made. What allows the police to be viewed more positively is the fact that when analysed, police service people are given a duty to fulfil on behalf of the government and the laws they have have set in place. Therefore when a situation ever comes around that forms criticism towards the police, really they could actually not take the blame or at least not most because they are not in control of what they do, they are a government department and therefore have to serve the government. How this works is if the government wanted to cover something up because it would face harsh criticism and possibly loose it's power to others it would utilise the police to help establish a form of cover or diversion to allow for the criticism to die down or disappear altogether.

This is still a difficult argument and debate because the police could still be seen as individual people who can use their own morality and decisiveness to make the right decisions and good decisions and not fall down to essentially be bribed to make these bad decisions. 

Linking Theorist Quotes to 'Police'

Stanley Cohen - 'The media reacts to an aspect of behaviour.'

Link to the police - Police are in their occupation to maintain public law and order (the specifications of their job). whne extraordinary events do occur, the way the police react to that situation comes under heav scrutiny and criticism e.g. 1984-5 Miners Strikes, the odd instance did happen when the police were acting in an overly aggressive way towards innocent, non-aggressive protestors and the media would circle on the issue and the officers would face harsh critisism and the perception of the police with these events alters fairly drastically. With these Miners Strikes events the police were, as a result, seen more as a 'political army' of the government.

A quote to form opposition to the idea:

Karl Marx - 'Dominant ideology serves the interest of the ruling classes.'

An arguement in opposition to the above idea that Can arise from the Marx quote here. If the media was to seem so important in the re-casting of a groups image such as the police then how come the government wouldn't have been able to turn the presented idea away. If the ruling classes are in control of the ideologies that the people face then why would they allow for the negative alteration of a groups influence, support and image over a relatively simple issue such as the Miners Strikes. If the police serves as an important, needed part of the system of society and governance than why would the 'ruling classes', those as high up as ministers and the prime minister allow for the police to be portrayed negatively if the ruling class are in charge of what people read and hear about from the media.

Media Theorists and Quotes

• Stanley Cohen - 'People who supposedly threaten the social order, Folk Devils.' 
• S Cohen - 'The media reacts to an aspect of behaviour.'
• Defleur - 'The media has selective influences on people.'
• Defleur - 'The more one depends on media, the more media will be important to someone.'
• Gatling and Ruge - 'Exclusivity, proximity and recency.' - News and newspapers
• Gauntlett - 'Identity is complicated.'
• Judith Butler - 'Gender is what you do, not what you are.'
• Judith Butler - 'Identity is performed through your expressions.'
• Stuart Hall - 'Media seems to reflect reality, but in fact they construct it.'
• S Hall - 'Audiences read text differently, some accept, some negotiate and some reject reading.'
• S Hall - 'Identity is ambiguous'
• S Hall - 'The media defines for the majority of the population.'
• S Hall - 'Invisible nature of ideology', 'Other' - Binary opposition
• Althusser - 'The social practise of miss recognising yourself based on a full consciousness.'
• Althusser - 'The power of the mass media resides in their ability to place a subject.'
• Neale - 'Genre are instances of repetition and differences.' - Genre theory
• Mulvey - 'Media texts are created as if through the eyes of a heterosexual male.'
• Perkins- 'Stereotypes would not work if they were so simple.'