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Publication
Working class in the 7UP documentaries
Book Contribution - Chapter
The 7UP-documentaries started in 1964 and followed fourteen British children when they were seven years old: "The children were selected to represent a broad range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the assumption that each child's social class predetermines their future". The original hypothesis of 7UP was that class structure was so strong in the UK that a person's life path was already set at birth.
By analyzing several parts of the series (1964, 1970 and 1977) I first make a description of all facts and opinions that portray working class and migrants in this documentary and question if the image we see is indeed as positive as Owen Jones wants us to believe.
After this, I have investigated if the opposition between "aspirational" and "non-aspirational" is really absent during the period 1964-77; and finally, if the community feeling Owen Jones is pointing at in his book "Chavs", was indeed obvious. This research topic is rather new and would place The demonization of working class into a new perspective.
By analyzing several parts of the series (1964, 1970 and 1977) I first make a description of all facts and opinions that portray working class and migrants in this documentary and question if the image we see is indeed as positive as Owen Jones wants us to believe.
After this, I have investigated if the opposition between "aspirational" and "non-aspirational" is really absent during the period 1964-77; and finally, if the community feeling Owen Jones is pointing at in his book "Chavs", was indeed obvious. This research topic is rather new and would place The demonization of working class into a new perspective.
Book: Social Class on British and American Screens
Pages: 76-89
ISBN:978-1-4766-6234-3
Publication year:2016
Keywords:sociology, documentary, classes