How is diversity constructed in Gogglebox and how does it relate to Channel Four’s remit?

Gogglebox was a new innovative television show when it was first broadcasted in 2013 on Channel Four. The show mixes the genres reality, comedy and documentary into an interesting watch. Essentially audiences are watching members of the British public consume British television. Representation plays an important role in today’s media, audiences often seek to watch texts that represent themselves. I will be criticising whether or not Gogglebox represents modern Britain today as a diverse society or rather a conservative British ideology. Channel Four are a British public service television broadcaster that thrive on the idea that they appeal to a diverse audience (Channel4.com, 2017). I have been using a critical semiotic analysis to have an understanding of how diversity has been constructed within Gogglebox. I will look at particularly how age, class and race are portrayed through their language. A semiotic analysis helps us understand why and how language has been used to construct a particular image, which may have a deeper ideological meaning. It is important to be able to decode these messages due to the influence they may have on us as a society. This analysis is “suggesting that we are not mere bystanders in the advertising process, but participants in creating a code that unites the designer and reader” (Leiss, 2015, pg. 164). Essentially the media has a message which they encode into a text, it is then the audience’s job to decode the message, they can either take an oppositional, dominant or negotiated response.

Gogglebox features a range of ages from young to old in each episode. This enables audiences to see how people's perspectives differ or stay the same due to their age. With age groups comes certain expectations. We assume that the elder generation are more conservative than liberal, politically and socially. The media often do not represent the older generation due to the stereotypes of them being unattractive and ignorant (Amans, 2013, pg. 14). In an episode (Gogglebox, 2015) discussing David Cameron on the news, Leon became famous on social media for his honest rant at David Cameron. We expect Leon to discuss Cameron’s political agenda, he however decides to mock the way he talks and looks “Well you’re not good as prime Minister, your fat face Tory, posh nob”. He is responding to a clip of David Cameron looking down onto a crowd. As he mimics Cameron his face expressions are very childlike, as reminds us of when a child has a tantrum. Junes attitude towards Leon is in a parent manner, she looks at him in disgust and rolls her eyes creating the impression that she’s embarrassed by the language he uses. She asks him if he’s finished after he stops ranting, we often see this behaviour with a child and parent. It is clear Leon plays a binary opposite (Mabbett, 2013) to the stereotype of an old man as he does not fit the previous criteria. He verbally abuses Cameron, the words “Fat face” have negative connotations, this behaviour from an elder is not expected as he is at the top of the hierarchy with more responsibilities. He labels Cameron as a Tory, his tone of voice suggests this is not a compliment. The word can signify “backward-looking, negative and reactionary” (Padmanabhan, 2015) this is due to the use of the word by their opposition.

The reason for why there is a lack of representation of the elder generation is because they are “often seen as different from the rest of us” (Amans, 2013, pg.15) this implies we assume due to the generation difference that we won’t have similar thoughts on issues. However, Leon proves they do not have a lack of social skills and awareness. People have been accused of neglecting the older generation, this suggests that producers are now trying to promote and protect their value in society. One reason of disinterest is a result of mostly youthful people working for media companies (Carrigan, Szmigin, 1999, pg.311).

Gogglebox also gives the opportunity for younger people to have their voice heard on political manners, as they’re often ignored in terms of politics in mainstream television. Reports show that young people are stereotyped to be knife-carrying, drug taking, ignorant trouble makers who have a disinterest for politics (Mitchell et al, 2009). Gogglebox gives the opportunity to young people to have their say in politics (Gogglebox, 2017). This is an important scene also as the mother is shown distracted by the shoes Theresa May is wearing and it is the young adults who interpret the meaning of the text. The presenters are also particularly keen on the shoes she is wearing, this signified to the character that May is attempting to distract the viewers from discussing her actual policies. They are able to successfully and intellectually criticise her and the tactics used. There is a sense of self-actualisation gratification (Researchhistory.org, 2012) from Tom when noting that the supporters are ‘naive’ for finding the interview entertaining, suggesting he has a better understanding of the media than others. Katz and Lazarsfeld argue that opinions are fed through the media and that people are more likely to accept messages from an authority figure (Katz, Lazarsfeld and Roper, 2006). Tom however has taken an oppositional view towards the media, this provides evidence against the hypodermic syringe theory which states we as audiences are passive.

Krauss argues that “perceived lower rank in the social class hierarchy reflects an individual’s relative lack of perceived social and economic worth in society.” (Krauss 2015 pg2). Marx would argue that the media makes people powerful (Long et al, 2012) therefore any hegemonic representations ‘normalise the views’. (Gunn, 2015) Therefore Gogglebox has the opportunity to construct and normalise British social classes. Channel Four have casted people from different social classes rather than focusing on one specifically. This means we are able to gain an insight into other social classes perspectives, as it is argued that our upbringing influences our thoughts and opinions. The introductions for each family's home gives us an indication of their social class. (Gogglebox, 2013) In a scene taken from Bill and Joseph's home we see the camera pan from the right hand side of the terraced house revealing a window with shutters on either side. A bike is positioned outside, bikes have connotations with sport and being active. Terraced houses were considered as desirable architecture in upper class areas the shutters also suggest sophistication. This image of the outside of the house this represents the concept that the characters are financially wealthy. Both Joseph and Bill are wearing lavish jumpers with shirts underneath connoting they’re smart educated individuals. The artwork situated behind them shows a pair of breasts implying they’re very liberal and art enthusiasts as it’s very unique.

Their dialogue and actions also suggests they’re from a higher class. It would not be seen as the norm for a working class family to drink champagne whilst watching television as the alcohol is associated with money and celebrations. This is an important scene as the producers get to select what is show in the 60 minutes. Explained by the reception theory, Hall argues that texts are encoded with meanings put in place by the producers which is then decoded by the audience (Durham and Kellner, 2012). Thus meaning for the friends to be able to drink it on a casual occasion implies they’re from a wealthy background. Comparing this household to the following scene of Stephen and Christopher explicitly shows the difference between the social classes. For example, their substitute for champagne is a box of Hero chocolates, noticeably there is a difference in price. Also Chris has half a sleeve of tattoos on his arm, there are many stereotypes associated with them such as being uneducated (Barrett, 2016). Their lifestyle is more relatable for the audience as it is resembling a normal everyday behaviour. Television is supposedly supposed to show a reflection of our society. “Meaning is thought to lie in the object, person, idea or event in the real world and language functions like a mirror, to reflect the true meaning as it already exists in the world” (Kwiatkowska, 2017). This is called the reflection approach, it is common in genres like documentary as they’re supposed to reflect our society, just like Channel Four’s aims to reflect our British society. Marx would interpret this as our society competing against each other (Long, Paul, Wall, Tim, 2012), it creates the impression that Channel Four are trying to showcase our aspirations in life.

Following on from the fact that Channel Four have intentionally casted a diverse group of people, their ethnicity plays a huge important role. Britain is a diverse country with 20% of the population being of colour (Irr.org.uk, 2016). Due to the areas we live in we may be limited to the number of minorities that we are exposed to; therefore, the media plays an important role in constructing these images. Channel Four most recently have casted more black families although this is encouraging, considering the range of ethnicities that exist in the UK this is poor. As it suggests that one Muslim, Jewish and Greek family represent their whole population. Within the introduction they identify all the cast members, this is so the audiences will be instantly engrossed. By ensuring the audience that there are black and Asian ethnicities gives their minority audience a reason to watch as they feel like they’ll be able to relate. I looked particularly at the Brexit special (Gogglebox: Brexit Special, 2016)

as ethnicities played an important role in people’s decision for Brexit. Black people have a history of being poorly and underrepresented in the media. Medhurst argues stereotypes are used to short identify characters as they bring instant familiarity, however they often “play upon cultural clichés” (Joy et al., 2007). Sandra and Sandy are seen as the comedians of the show due to their reactions however, from the introduction they adhere to the black stereotype. We see Sandra and Sandy laughing and Sandra uses the words “You get me” with a Jamaican accent, this is a colloquial way of saying “do you understand me”. This signified that she is from an uneducated background. The mise-en-scene also contributes towards this impression as the photographs hung in the background are stuck by blue-tac this implies they are not financially stable enough to spend money on framing equipment. The religious ornaments symbolize they come from a religious background, this symbolises the assumption they are less educated as it’s part of the public discourse that the more educated you are the less likely you are to believe in religion. (Pew et al, 2017). Gramsci would argue this was intentionally done as it can be decoded that the producers are enforcing their dominant ideology.

Channel Four’s unique selling point is the fact that they are “the UK's only publicly-owned, commercially-funded public service broadcaster” (Channel4.com 2017). Their remit was decided upon Parliament; it must be fulfilled as it is governed. Channel Four focus on four main areas in their remit, “To champion unheard voices, to innovate and take bold creative risks, to inspire change in the way we lead our lives, to stand up for diversity across the UK” (Channel4.com 2017). When researching into my question I took into account that diversity was very important to Channel Four. Channel Four recognised a niche in the market as they realised the appeal for more diversity on television was increasing. “Channel Four says brands that include a more diverse range of people in their advertising will see a sales uplift” (Leonie, 2017) . Their studies showed that commercials “featuring disabled people tested better than any other advertising it had tested in the last six years”. (Leonie, 2017) Channel Four’s ideals have been embedded from the start, there was a desire for an institution that represented “a curious coalition of interests” and inspire to a new generation. Channel Four became to function in 1982 as “Britain first publisher-broadcaster” (Born, 2003). It was essential for Channel Four to follow its remit of being innovative as it’s what would enable the channel to stand out from ITV (Born, 2003).

Gogglebox is an appropriate media text that attempts to portray Britain as a diverse society. Initially the idea of watching the British public watching weekly television is an innovative idea, it is a concept that would have been an extensive risk for Channel Four. To guarantee success they have been at an advantage of targeting nearly all demographics. Their cast members range from working class to upper middle class, they’re from a range of ethnicities and represent all ages. Gerbner argues that television is able to change our “perception of everyday life” (Gerbner, 2017). Gogglebox proves that although we may come from different backgrounds and upbringings we may also share the same opinions, for instance my research showed me that age has no effect on your political values as characters from all ages. This finding would have a positive impact on our society whom often prejudge due to the stereotypes already embedded in our media. Channel Four have given a platform for voices that never felt heard before. The elders are ignored due to the nuisance they allegedly bring to our society, however Leon and June successfully prove to be counter-types. Gogglebox has been able to become successful by portraying a liberal ideological view of British values. The television shows are picked purposely to create a debate on important topics such as Brexit, the use of the hashtag encourages the audience to interact and carry on the character’s debates on social media.

In conclusion Gogglebox portrays Britain as a liberal diverse country. There is at least one family that the majority of the audience will be able to relate to, this may be through their ethnicity, age or social class. Essentially Gogglebox is a platform for unheard voices to be heard. My research shows me you are able to recognise signs from each family home that you can identify with. Diversity is not only constructed through visuals but the discussions, we often see debates and disagreements. This gives the audiences an opportunity to form their own opinion by seeing different sides of arguments that other media texts do not enable. However, some audiences may see this as an oversimplification portrayal of Britain. It is important to remember that Channel Four have to adhere to a remit, signifying that any opposing opinions will not be showcased. For many ethnicities there is only one family of their colour, it is important to remember that their opinions do not reflect those of the whole population.

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