Poverty in the Media

In class on Wednesday, Professor Jordan challenged us to think of any popular, contemporary TV show or movie that showed poor people as the protagonists. My first thought was Slumdog Millionaire but I realized that the protagonist does become a millionaire, so does that really count? I didn’t think so. In fact, no one could really think of anything, and that took me by surprise. I have always had the idea that Americans love rooting for the underdog and that a show about people who are down on their luck financially should be able to get an audience. And yet, the more I thought about it, the more I realized this wasn’t exactly true. Even shows which are about lower income people like Two Broke Girls feature characters who are well-off enough to have jobs and a home, at least. A similar example (in which I am a little more invested as an American born Chinese) is Fresh off the Boat, which shows a family trying to get their restaurant off the ground. The family often talks about money being a problem, but they have a nice house in the suburbs, cars, access to schools, etc. In both these shows, the situation is certainly nothing comparable to The Grapes of Wrath.

So what does this mean? Slumdog Millionaire, Two Broke Girls, Fresh off the Boat, they all have that underdog-cheering aspect I was thinking of, but they end up being generally comical and happy and we get the feeling that the protagonists will be triumphant in the end. There’s nothing sad or uncertain or downright depressing like in The Grapes of Wrath. I suppose we as people like to see someone work hard and struggle, but in the end it should pay off. Otherwise what’s the point?

Obviously this view can be very problematic for people who actually suffer from poverty, since no one likes to notice that they exist (myself included). It reminds me of the novel The Jungle, which I read a few years ago. Most people know it for revealing the disgusting conditions in the meatpacking industry but in fact, only a very small portion of the book is devoted to that. Most of it is devoted to describing the miserable life of an immigrant family who I dare say have an even more depressing story than that of the Joads. On this topic, the author said “I Aimed For The Public’s Heart, And. . .hit It In The Stomach.” It’s funny how that happens.

One thought on “Poverty in the Media

  1. Maggie Purcell

    I thought of this too after watching the film. It is hard for us to watch other people go through very real struggles, such as those faced by the Joad family, as entertainment. People use cinema as a way to escape from the issues in their everyday life and by watching real suffering this escape is not allowed. I tried to find some films in recent years that highlight the poverty that exists in society and does not lead to a happy ending and this was difficult to find. Perhaps this theme does not carry over as well to the visual media from the written as well as some other prominent ideas. However, that’s not to say that there are no films on poverty as it is well covered in documentaries. Maybe this idea of poverty is one we acknowledge exists in reality, but in the fantasy that is scripted films we, as an audience, don’t want to escape to something so hopeless.

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