Soldiers who leave the army are not given the proper amount of support needed to continue living there lives in comfort and stability. They are often unable to get a job and accommodation due to housing agents not properly abiding by the law.
THOUSANDS of mentally traumatised war veterans are rotting on the streets of Britain because the Government is not adequately enforcing a law which states military heroes must be offered homes.
Social conditions, veterans and homelessness.
- PTSD (post traumatic stress)
- Alcohol & Drugs (form of escape)
- Unemployed (broke)
- Divorce 62%
- Mental health support wait list.
- Bottom of housing list.
Undeserving poor.
- Veterans
- Disabilities
- Refugees
Destroying poor.
- Wasters
- Work shy - lazy
- Addicts
- Ex criminals
The big issue likely chose to highlight this issue because the audience is more likely to support this group of people as oppose to other groups, this is an attempt t rally the public and cause a change. This is because it was the time of the year around remembrance day so veterans are seen as heroes and therefore should be more deserving than others.
Social context
Media
and the representation of poverty
•Most media studies on poverty point in
the direction of a recurring observation that usually the poor are
presented in one of two contrasting frames: the ‘deserving poor’ and the ‘undeserving poor’.
•While
the
frame of deserving
poor employs a sympathetic treatment of the poor, the frame of the
undeserving poor is built upon the rhetoric of deficiency in
individuals who
are portrayed as a burden on the taxpayer due
to their dependency on
welfare policies.
Essay
You will create an essay on isue 1332
of the Big issue: Still at War. You will
anaylyse the
media language and media representations associated with the front cover.
As part of the essay you will need to
discuss the social and politcal
contexts which have lead to a rise in homelessness in overall and inparticular
within the veteran community
You will also discuss how newspapers
(right wing and Big Issue) vary in the way the represent homelessness. As part of your arguments you are required to
use Gerbners
theory
The Big issue uses various media language to represent different types of depictions of homelessness in the context of modern society.
Firstly, the big issue diverges from the traditional right wing representation of the veterans by mainstream media as homelessness is often shunned despite being continuously brushed over by the government. The big issue more so have left wing views which consist of having idealisms that support social equality and egalitarianism (the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities), often in opposition to social hierarchy and social inequality. This is similar to how the big issue operates as evident of this ' still at war' issue, the Big Issue is a niche magazine outside the commercial mainstream that consumers may not normally engage with and provides a contrasting example of how modern day mainstream media outlets portray the homeless community. This can be used to construct alternative representations that appeal to particular audiences, including a consideration of the influence of the social, cultural and political contexts. The big issue is often to be considered different to other media outlets due to its' left wing views that reflect the views of the political left. The right wing newspapers reflect the views of the political right which opposes socialism and social democracy. Right-wing parties include conservatives, nationalists and on the far right racists and fascists, which is a political system based on a very powerful leader, state control, and being extremely proud of country and race, and in which political opposition is not allowed.
The colours used in the front cover are very reminiscent of the theme of war due to the vivid use of brown, black and khaki which is traditionally the colours of the British troops uniforms which was worn for the first time during the 1860's for the British army. This could suggest that this is how veterans see the world or how they might constantly feel like they are 'still at war' which is the running theme the big issue seems to be putting across throughout this front cover.
The illuminous green of the helmet is vibrant which draws focus to it. The helmet could be symbolic for something more, as it is protecting the mind externally from gun fire or shrapnel, serving it's main purpose, and internally from mental attacks that a lot of veterans struggle with post-war such as PTSD and addiction. The helmet perhaps represents the public as we are ultimately responsible for the veterans as it is up to us to spark a change in our communities.
The text is big, bold and in black and white to further emphasise the message being conveyed across to the audience which is the struggle that todays British veterans face. Due to todays society, soldiers who leave the army are not given the proper amount of support, by the government, needed to continue living there lives in comfort and stability. They are often unable to get a job and accommodation due to housing agents not properly abiding by the law. This often leaves to veterans becoming homeless and suffering with various mental health conditions such as PTSD and Depressions well as other issues impacting there social health and wellbeing such as a disruptive relationship with there associates leading to a higher divorce rate than the national average of 43%, this can often result in them finding a way of escape through various substances like addiction to drugs and alcohol. The soldiers eyes are also covered which could also suggest the soldiers lack of social identity out when not at war lacking a sense of belonging amongst modern society. This is further proven by the soldiers skin being dulled to a black and white colour, also implying that veterans are just seen as faceless servants to do the governments bidding to the point of dying for the cause. The word 'still' stands out to emphasise the message which tells the consumer that even after veterans come back from being at war, instead of resting and relaxing, they find themselves 'still' at war due to there internal struggles as well as the treatment they receive from local authorities.
In conclusion, I believe 'the big issue' deliberately chose to pin point and highlight these issues just from this front cover because they know that veterans are often seen as heroes amongst the public so it is more likely to receive backing from the public and encourage a change to happen.
