AIBU to dread the commentaryin the media that I believe will happen after the C4 programme Skint?

[Allthingspretty]

Judging by the trailers?

And no doubt front page of Daily Fail next day ,complete with pictures and statistics as to why "they" are the cause of all Britain"s woes .

And the headline will definitely feature the word benefits somewhere. It wouldn't be the Daily Fail without it!

Isn't Channel 4 'The Guardian' of the telly though? I always think their documentaries are quite good

What about Labour? They had 13 years to do something about unemployment in the North and those on long term benefits. Why is it only the fault of the Tories? Could Labour not have created any more jobs in those areas?

The difference is Ophelia that Labour didn't construct the pernicious little narrative to go along with benefits.

Precisely, DD

The scheme was mostly horrific. There was the odd bit about old people who love their gardens and stuff.

If programme makers really wanted to challenge stereotypes, they'd make programmes full of the people living in these areas who don't set the daily mail off. But they choose to focus on the 'problem types'.

I saw the trailer last night and thought "here we go". I suspect it's going to be like Jeremy Kyle On Location or somesuch. How depressing.

I will lay money on it being presented as majority of poor estate families are reckless scum, minority are honest hardworking folk.

Please prove me wrong c4! You know you want to...

Would it not be a good idea to watch the programme first? You're all making assumptions.

YABU.... The 'commentary in the media' after what looks like it's going to be Shameless - Live will be no different to the assumptions made about Essex people following TOWIE, yuppies following Made In Chelsea or the Roma community after BFGW. The media is full of sterotypes - the Philpott family were a travelling media circus for years, right up to their demise - and there's no particular reason why poking in a few gutters should be off bounds.

This is a new run of a series from a few years ago. I'm hoping they haven't changed it because it was a really interesting, sensitively done documentary about the day to day lives of people on the lowest incomes. Much of it centred around people who ran and used a pawn shop and there was a lovely bloke called Vernon who busked and sold the big issue. I've been really skint as a teen single mother but it still broke my heart when he explained how he bought a box of smash and a box of stuffing mix, mixed them together and that would be his food for days.

I was really glad to see the series was on again and was looking forward to finding out what had happened to him and others on the programme so I will be really upset if it's turned into a look at how many kids poor people have and still have flat screens type programme.

Fingers crossed it should be entertaining though. I loved the 999 operator series set in Blackpool. It showed the poverty and some incredibly fucked up people but it was still decent viewing.

There was the odd bit about old people who love their gardens and stuff.

yes they did and they also showed the people who wanted to save their comunity centre but people remember marvin and the dog, and his GF who was in and out of the papers for months

there was a lovely bloke called Vernon who busked and sold the big issue. I've been really skint as a teen single mother but it still broke my heart when he explained how he bought a box of smash and a box of stuffing mix, mixed them together and that would be his food for days.

that was on BBC1 or 2 THIS 1 IS ON CHANNEL 4

oh sorry caps locked

I will probably watch it silver but I can guarantee it won't be a sensitive documentary

Yeah I hated the look of this programme too. It's like it is saying that all people are overweight, popping babies out all over the place, work-shy and criminals. When in fact there are plenty of skintight people out there who are none of these things.

You never know though, it could actually send out the message that living on benefits is not the life of Riley that the daily mail like to claim it to be. Doubt it though. Reckon there will be a few cleverly edited shots of bright house purchased wide screen tvs... .

Skint not skintight!

TBH there is people who like living on benefits and not doing anything and they 'get by' on whatever means possible but not all poor people live like that I hope it won't show a minority of people.

yes i remember VERNON. wonder where he is now/

they did an update and he was in hospital he had either been sectioned or admited to a phsyciatric unit. bless him

AnyFuckerThu 09-May-13 22:37:41

it's not a tv series ....it's a contrivance by the tory party to divide and conquer the populace even more than it already is

the Daily mail will love it

Agree with AF The Daily Mail office will need to order extra boxes of tissue as they will be having orgasms over this all over their office.
Yet this programme comes from the same channel as Channel 4 news where Jon Snow and his team have been doing very thorough reports on Welfare Reform. Krishnan Guru Murphy confronted Esther McVey on what her Gov had to say over THAT Daily Mail Philpott headline and Jon Snow had Emma Harrison from A4e on there to explain the failures of the Work Programme. So why is the same channel going to put out such blatent propaganda

Let's all hate the underclass!