Contemporary media represent different groups of people in a number of different ways. For example, through the use of costume, language and behaviour. Some representations have a major affect on people's lives and the way that they are viewed by others. This essay will be focusing on the representation of Romany gypsies and Irish travellers in films, television programmes, newspapers and in the social media.
The main words associated with the terms 'gypsies' and 'travellers' are caravans, thieves and pikeys. People associate the terms with them words because of the way that they are represented in the media today. The documentary 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' is commissioned by Channel 4. It follows the travellers around showing the audience their lifestyle, how they communicate and their beliefs. It portrays gypsies and travellers in a very negative way and because of this the audience then attaches a negative label to them all. The programme is produced for entertainment however, this affects the reading as the representation of gypsies and travellers is mediated on a large scale. For example, the brides in each programme wear big meringue dresses to show that 'the bigger the better'. They also have big tier cakes and brand new cars. This shows that they have money and are very rich. The fact that is has been made for entertainment means that the editors may manipulate what we see in post production in order to make it more controversial.
Channel 4 have stayed away from the mainstream programmes like the ones shown on BBC and ITV. Instead they have gained the audiences trust through exploring and presenting stories of minority ethnic, social and collective groups. As not a lot of programmes focus on these groups we know very little about them therefore, the audience is more likely to trust the representation that Channel 4 present as this is the only source of information about these groups.
There is a strong representation of women in the documentary 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding', this is for them to get married at quite a young age and to become a Housewife. Their role presented in the programme is to stay at home and complete the domestic roles in the house such as cleaning and cooking, whilst the husband goes to work and provides for the them. The programme also shows that a lot of young girls drop out of school at an early age in order to become a good Wife and get married. Therefore, this is their main priority over education and live to please men and make them happy. However, the programme 'Thelma's Gypsy Girls' shows a different side to Gypsy girls and they are choosing a career and work over being a Housewife. In this programmes Thelma teaches a group of young girls how to sew and make dresses. She shows them that there are other directions and things in life than just depending on their husband; they can also provide and earn their own money.
Feminists would criticise the way that women are represented in the programme 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding', as it shows an inequality amongst the two genders. It presents men as the male dominant figure and the women as dependant on men. Mulvey would argue that the presentation associated with women is that they are sexualised, she calls this the Male Gaze Theory. The Gypsy women wear limited clothing and a lot of their flesh is shown. Therefore, they are used as sex objects through the costume as well as the way that the camera angles them up and down and focuses on certain parts of their body. This creates pleasure for men and makes it seem like they are inferior to men. There are also advertisements which do this in the media, for example this advertisement is used to sell alcohol and reveals the figure of a woman to attract a wide audience, especially men.
In conclusion, there are many negative representations of Gypsies and Travellers in the media. They are always frowned upon and used as folk devils in order to create a moral panic.
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