Blog Post 5

One of my favorite television shows is called The Wire. Seeing as many television shows take on only one perspective from one social or economic class at a time, this television series takes on a different perspective and shows numerous social classes as part of the show’s plotline. The Wire, focuses on the inner-city Baltimore drug trade and the numerous entities and organizations that surround it. For example, there is a wide range of characters that are involved with the law enforcement organizations, criminal and drug enterprises, politicians and Congressional districts, educational facilities, as well as the newspaper and the media entities. This television series does a great job of switching back and forth between these different social forces in a way that flows along with the story’s plot while, at the same time, depicting different socio-economic class groupings as well.

This show is pretty consistent with the reading’s note of how poor whites and poor blacks are represented in the media. The reading noted how white victims of Hurricane Katrina, for example, were seen as hardworking people, pulling themselves by their own accord, and helping out other people. This reminds of character in The Wire, Nick Sobotka. Nick is a worker at the shipping ports at the Baltimore Harbor. He starts selling heroin and letting illegal contraband come through the Baltimore ports as a way to bring extra money to purchase a house for his girlfriend and young daughter. There is one scene where he blatantly states that he doesn’t take excuses for lazy workers and that he doesn’t work without a contract. It’s these subtleties that reinforces the media’s representation that blue collar whites are hard workers and live by strict principle.  

On the other hand, the poor black characters are cast in a different light. They are viewed as people who are lazy, have no morals, and aren’t willing to change their own situation. For example, one character named Bubbles, is a heroin addict. Throughout the premises of the show, he is seen as a thief; always looking for items to steal and pawn them for money to buy more heroin. There’s one particular scene where he is seen printing money out and pouring coffee over the paper to make it look like real paper money.  Another character named, Dukie, is also a heroin addict. In the fourth season, he befriends one of his teachers and the two grow closer and closer. Near the end of the season, Dukie asks his teacher for some money, under the impression that he would use it to pay for the upcoming semester classes at the local community college. Instead, he lies to his teacher and uses the money to pay for more heroin.

Coming from a family that lives in poverty, I have seen both sides of the argument regarding social class and I am in a state of contradiction about whether it’s the social and economic policies that keep people in poverty or whether it’s their own fault.  My parents use examples from my extended family to paint a depiction of what it’s like to live in poverty. For example, my uncle on my father’s side of the family is a car salesman. He works from 7 AM to 10 PM everyday of the week. He often works on major holidays and is never able to take vacation time off due to his busy schedule. On the other hand, my uncle on my mother’s side of the family is characterized as lazy and as someone who is willingly mooching off the government. He stays in his mother’s house and watches ESPN on a daily basis. The media’s portrayal of social class, especially when it depicts poor whites and poor blacks, has a lot of influence on my perspective on these issues. So, in conclusion, there are legitimate points on both sides on poverty. I think that while there should be government programs that are catered specifically to people who are trying to cover the basic necessities, I think it should be only offered to those who are willing to help themselves.

Interview-Blog Post #4

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always had to battle stereotypes in almost every aspect of
my daily life. I’ve dealt with stereotypes from, the way I dress, the kinds of music I listen to, 
the food I eat, my skin and eye color, my hair texture, and even the way I talk over the 
telephone. Growing up, I’ve had the unique perspective of seeing and experiencing problems 
of lower social and economic classes from an outside-in perspective. I’ve had the chance to 
experience what it’s like to be in a home situation that is constantly being undermined, 
yet still come back to a stable situation at my own home. I have family members who have 
been killed due to gun violence, yet I don’t have to worry about gun violence in my 
own neighborhood. I have friends that live in community housing and live on food stamps, 
but yet I come back to find a home cooked meal every night.  I’ve worked the night shift at a 
plastic injection mold factory, not to take care of and provide for my family, but to save up to 
buy new wheels for my car. I have childhood friends who have overdosed from drug abuse. All 
these are examples that have shaped my experiences and my overall view of the world.

My parents were the first ones in their families to not only attend and graduate from a university, 
but to go on and complete graduate school as well. They have always used examples from our 
extended family members to preach the importance of getting an education. Stories about my
older cousins getting into trouble with the law and having children out of wedlock.They use their 
own examples growing up for added emphasis. For example, my father tells me stories 
about standing on a sidewalk with his belongings, during a winter storm in Washington DC
 after getting evicted from his home. My mother tells me stories about having to explain to her 
parents what the letters from school were saying and having to interpret what the teachers said 
because they were immigrants who didn’t speak a lot of English. All of these lessons and recounts
were used to reinforce the importance of going to school and getting an education.  

Although the demographics of Hickory are changing with the influx of immigrants, 
the town has been a traditionally white, blue collar working, and a politically conservative area. 
One my bestest friends, who we’ll call Ben, is someone who fits the stereotypical description of
what a “redneck” is. He drives a run down, mid-1980’s Ford Pickup truck that screeches every 
time he presses the gas pedal. He never shaves his bushy beard, often wears an Iron Maiden or a
Metallica shirt, and has a Marlboro cigarette in his mouth while showing me the latest addition
to his bird and reptilian collection or his latest horror movie collectible. Ben, a smoker since 
he was 12, grew up in a relatively unstable home environment. His mother was addicted to
 drugs when he and his twin brother were just infants. His father was an alcoholic who could 
never really hold a stable job. I will never forget the time he told me about the sizeable holes 
in his door, when his twin brother grabbed a kitchen knife and violently stabbed the door
during a fight they had.

In combination of my experiences growing up around working class whites and my experiences 
with the media, I feel that the consistent positive light that whites are portrayed in is hurtful to
everybody, including white people. I virtually never see white people being portrayed as dirty, 
violent uneducated, or working manual labor jobs. My experiences with whites are the complete 
opposite of what I see from the media everyday. To me, this presents an unintended consequence 
of the media representation of white superiority. It hurts white people because not all white 
people are rich or educated or non violent as they are portrayed to be in our culture. My interactions 
with Ben and his family have taught me that there are opposite spectrums in every race, including 
white people. I believe that in order to fix the myth of white supremacy, there needs to be more 
media coverage of the poverty levels in the white community. For example, a statistics chart
released by the National Center for Children’s Poverty indicates that white children take up 
the biggest percentage of those living below the poverty line. The media should note that 
while, yes, whites hold numerous advantages over people of color in the United States, not every
white person is completely protected from the different societal forces that drive our existence. 
The general public needs to be taught the concept of internationalism, and how each person
 has inherit advantages and disadvantages in their everyday lives. If people study internationalism 
more frequently, I think the concept of race can be discussed across all spectrum and more progress
 can be through newfound understanding in less time.