After watching a 15 minute part of the 'Benefit Street' documentary; a controversial british documentary series broadcasted on Channel 4 we were asked the following questions:-
What type of documentary is this and give three examples that back this up.
The 'Benefit Street' documentary would be put into the category of an Expository documentary. Firstly we know this because of the running voiceover throughout the whole of the programme, the narrator commentating on everything we see in the documentary, can be heard throughout the programme at key moments, the commentator often describes what the people are doing and gives key facts and stats that play an important part in this kind of documentary. Another example of this would be the interviews, although we as the viewer can not see or hear the interviewee it is plainly obvious that the subjects are being asked questions, which are then shown throughout the documentary. We can see this by the participants giving very specific and straight answers to question that would of been asked, such as main characters Mark and Becky being asked on there relationship and how they handle young son Calum and White Dee being asked about the father of her children. Finally the whole documentary jumps from different areas of 'Benefit Street' showcasing different parts of there lives and how each different family lives in various ways, we mainly see within the homes of each participants however we are also shown throughout the streets, shops and characters going about there daily lives.
Who are the main subjects of the documentary? List and sum up the most important participants.
From the 15 minute preview of the programme shown to us the main participants shown were -
- Mark, Becky & Family - a young couple who were shown to be struggling with there two young children, Calum and Casey. The documentary follows how they are trying to handle coping with having little money and also having to deal with there 'out of control' children, we see them discussing how there young son Calum refuses to do what he is asked and how this causes a stir between him and his parents and also how the children swearing and misbehaving is becoming a huge issue. We can also see how child services are taking maters into their own hands after Calum does not show to a doctors appointment after having 'chicken pox'. Finally we are given a lot of background on how the two met and how they have ended up in the position they are in, which is due to Becky taking heroin.
- White Dee - this episode also focuses on a large character of Benefit Street, Deirdre Kelly or on James Turner st, known as 'White Dee' and also portrayed as the mother figure of the street. Dealing with two children herself a young boy and 15 year old girl, the documentary showcases her life with her children and how they grew up without a father. White Dee can also be seen talking to Becky, another leading character showing us how close people on benefit street have become due to their situations.
- Sam can also be seen throughout small parts of the documentary. Sam has been taken away from her young children due to her addiction to heroin, we watch how Sam is trying very hard to cope with not having children and trying to fight the urge to get hooked on drugs again. She says 'her head tells her to but her heart knows she shouldn't' in reference to getting heroin again.
- Fungi - although we don't see him much throughout the 15 minute section we see, Fungi is a constant character that we see in almost all episodes of the documentary. Fungi can be seen with many problems, when introduced he is always seen with some type of alcohol in hand. Portrayed as a friendy man of the street we see Fungi interacting with kids and talking to other members of James Turner st. Although seemingly a happy man, Fungi has to deal with having no electricity in his home, no contact with his children and experiencing personal disappointment when a planned meeting with his son had been cancelled.
How does this documentary make you feel towards the subjects?
After watching the programme I feel as though I have very mixed opinions and feelings toward Benefit Street. When I first watched the programme my initial feelings towards it and the people showed made me feel quite outraged and angry whilst at the same time having pity on the participants. When I saw how they lived and the conditions they were in, I felt as though I was lucky to be where I am and sorry for how they had to live. however as you learn more about the reasoning behind there conditions and current lives I began to feel indifference toward them. The reason they are in the situations they are is there own fault due to not bothering to earn money with a job, and using the benefits which they get by having as many children wish, is used for drugs and alcohol etc, I began to have a completely different outlook on the subject. Whilst taking into consideration not everyone's stories are the same, what was portrayed to me showed a bad light upon people on benefits, and I'm sure this goes for the majority of the public who viewed the program too.
What issues are raised in the documentary?
The documentary follows a year in the lives of the residents of James Turner st, we see a number of families battling through the struggle of being on benefits and the issues it causes around it. Not only this but the documentary also shows the residents lack of motivation to find employment. Some residents are seen commiting crimes such as shoplifting, for example 'Shoplifter Danny' whom returned from prison after breaching anti social behaviour that excluded him from the local city centre, is seen stealing designer clothes and security tagged items and also gives demonstrations on the feloney. we see family members attempting to raise money to support there loved ones, such as 'Smoggy' a reformed ex convict who sells 50p satchets of everyday household supplies to raise money for himself. However the street is not all bad, the streets sense of community is highlighted to, through mother of the street styled 'white dee' who helps others though tougher times such as eviction and drug habits. Also shown is white dee's fifteen year old daughter who claims that she does not want the same life as her mother and is determined to become a gym instructor.
What codes and conventions of documentary filmmaking is used here?
There are a number of codes an conventions that can be seen throughout Benefit Street that tells us it is a documentary, first of the use of a VoiceOver is the number one thing used in a documentation, the VoiceOver encourages the audience to think that they either have some kind of specialist knowledge. in the light of Benefit Street, tony Hirst, the narrator, commentates almost everything seen along with relevant facts and statistics. Being non-fiction, a documentary should only show real footage of events, events presented to us are seen as real by the audience, howver in benefit Streets case there has been debate over whether the real footage has been altered to change the audiences perception on people on benefits. Funally A documentary should include 'natural' sound and lighting, in Benefit Street we see everything for how it really is for example the rubbish on the streets and the gangs hanging around at night.
What style of Interview is being used here?
The documentary uses indirect interview, it allows people being filmed to speak directly about events, prompted by the questions by the filmmaker. An interview may take place on screen or of screen however in this case, the interview is shown on screen however the questions have been taken out and cannot be heard. Interviews in a documentary give the viewer a sense of realism.
What is the purpose of this documentary? Do you think it achieves this?
the Channel 4 documentary Benefit Street was made to show 'real life' families and situations of people living of Benefits in Britain. We witness how different it is to be living on benefits and us as the viewer are showed how contrasting life is in and around Britain despite being such a small country. The programme follows each separate families who try to cope with what is portrayed as a tough life, I feel as though the participants involved wanted to push across show serious there situation is to the rest of the UK - and this worked. The documentary caused huge controversy and political debate in the issue of welfare. The program got controversial with the police - channel 4 and OfCom received hundreds of complaints. The series was mentioned in the House of Commons and prompted some political debate on the topic of welfare this resulting in Prime minister, David Cameron responding that the government should "intervene in people's lives" to get then off benefits and j to employment - although we don't fully know that this is what the documentary a participants wanted to achieve, the fact that they got there point across to the prime minister can be the most they can do.
This documentary caused a great deal of controversy. Why was it so controversial?
The first episode attracted hundreds of complaints to channel 4 And OfCom, complaints were received about alleged criminal activities, foul language and misleading portrayals of welfare claimants. OFCom concluded benefits street had reflected the real lives o the children taking part and channel 4 took into consideration the a mouth of screens one children had. As for the criminal activity the watchdog said it was satisfied that certain essential details were broadcast which may have enabled the successful commission of crime - so that which was shown was okay for material broadcast. However there was large controversy over people involved in the show, several James turner st residents have claimed they were tricked into appearing into the series by Love Production, who they say told them it would be about community spirit. Channel 4 was accused of making 'poverty porn' in response to all of this.
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