Royal Television Society lecture

Written and Presented by

Owen Jones

Royal Television Society lecture:

People like us

• People like us - BBC documentary series that focuses on a struggling group of people living in the North of Manchester.
• 200 Harpurhey residents attended an angry meeting when the series aired.
• Their  complaint was the BBC gave a biased and distorted view of the area.
• Local children were bullied at school as a result of the program.
• People even pulled out in buying houses as a result.
• A local council worker, Richard Searle whos daughter featured on the program argued that "The BBC should not be propagating this harmful and miss-leading image of the working class"  

How do you define what the working class is?

• Owen Jones view is somewhat old fashioned in the sense that "someone who has to work for someone else in order to live, and they don't have control over the work that they do"
• Which would indicate that this is most people, weather you work in retail, secretary or a nurse 

Depiction's of the working class in television 1960's - 1970's

• Early depiction's of working class television were scripted by working class writers.
• Shows like Steptoe and Son in 1963 was created by two members of the working class community Ray Dalton and Allan Simpson
• Only fools and horses was made by John Sullivan
• Back in the 60's the BBC was very middle class orientated, the channel even turned down Coronation Street, deeming it common. But as more and more shows were introduced the ratings went up.
• A couple of years later Danny Coen took control of BBC1, he thought that there too many middle class sitcoms and not enough working class shows.
• The BBC in the 60's still under the influences of John Reith's concept of broadcasting, educate, inform and entertain.
• The corporation could become an incubator for gritty, issue based working class drama.
• BBC opened there doors to young bright working class men, who worked their way up to become writers, directors and producers.
• The list is long as it is impressive with luminaries such as: Tony Garnett, Ken Loach, Dennis Potter and Allan Clarke.
• These were just some of the film makers at the BBC that wanted to cause controverse, headlines and great reviews.
• Occasionally the drama in these shows would lead to actions in parliament, such as Cathy Come Home in 1966. Tackled the issue of homelessness in Britain, alerting the public, the media and the Government to the scale of the housing crisis. The show won second place in the British Film Institute's TV 100 poll of industry figures. Watched by 12million people Cathy Come Home was a defining moment in 1960's television.
• Tony Garnetts depiction of the working class leading up to the 1977 Queens Jubilee 'The Sponges'
• Shows authentic problems faced by the working class, went on to win numerous television awards
• Boys from the black stuff, which struck a nerve and found large audiences in 1982
• Shows like Cathy Come Home, The Sponges and Mrs Brown's Boys we're a key part in Television ecology. Producers of the 1960's and 70's understood that there was a moral obligation for television to show healthy and constructive class portrayal. Producers were aware of the transformative power television held, they understood that this medium could shape society by bringing issues to light.

Depiction of Television 1980's - to present

• Television is a powerful medium, and with great power came great responsibility
• By the early 1980's some trends would seem to suggest that belief in collected responsibility were being over shadowed.
• Television producers were turning frequently to what was known as 'cops, docs and frocs'
• Some may argue that the reality of working class Britain has been entirely driven from our television screens, what remains are demonised depictions used to vent our anger and disscust