Understanding Of Society s Portrayal Of The Poor

Emily,Vanessa,David Rhet 105-11am A Current Understanding of Society’s Portrayal of the Poor In this analysis we will be focusing on bell hooks’ essay, â€Å"Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor.† In the essay bell hooks tackles issues about misrepresentation of poor people in today’s society and how the media can skew reality. She notes that society sees the poor as people who are sub par and unimportant, as well as possessing fruitless qualities such as laziness, shame, dishonesty, and worthlessness. She primarily uses personal anecdotes to deliver her essay’s main argument along with pop culture references and the input of expert voices. She notices this warped image of the poor trends throughout society as a whole, even through television shows and Hollywood films, such as: Harlem Nights, Boomerang, Pretty Woman, and The Jeffersons. She references outside sources to compare their takes on this issue to hers to point out the similarities and dissimilarities in their arguments. bell hooks concludes her essay with a strong call to ac tion, saying that poor people can lead meaningful lives despite what the media and the privileged classes say, but educated individuals must work with the poor to change their circumstances. She argues for society to acknowledge its misrepresentation of the poor and for people to form a movement to make real change. bell hooks effectively appeals to her readers, may they be politicians, sociologists, or collegeShow MoreRelatedMedia s Portrayal Of The Black Age Of Media Essay1393 Words   |  6 Pages(Gabrenya 3). The portrayal of the class system has always been underrepresented or over represented since the golden age of media. The question arises what kind of ideas it puts in the minds of viewers about their society? 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