- In the London 2012 Paralympic games, there seemed to be drum up much more excitement and advertisement than in the past years. There was a television advert which, instead of calling them 'diasbled' or 'paralympians' they are called 'superhumans'. This is because people with disabilities are now being recognised as a part of society and are being shown as people who can do more than many abled people.
- In the Maltesers adverts on television, many use a disabled character or someone who requires additional support. For example, in one advert there are two women who are shown as deaf, and another where there is a lady in a wheelchair. This is accepting all walks of life and all abilities into media as it is something that can never be avoided and should always be accepted and no one should be left out of the media or any situation due to their disability.
- In many television shows, there are also disabled people included. In Hollyoaks for example, there is a character in a wheelchair called Courtney. Her storyline would really relate to disabled mothers as she struggles to care for her child due to her daily difficulties. There is also a character called Alfie who struggles with Schizophrenia. He hid it from everyone and tried to jump off of a Bridge. These stories can relate to so many people which is why it is good that they are included to show everyone to give more support, or even ask for some.
Regionalism:
- In the UK, regionalism is shown through a variety of television shows. For example, shows like Geordie Shore, Made in Chelsea and TOWIE show people who do not live in those regions the stereotypical behaviour and look of people that live there. In Made in Chelsea, the stereotype is that they are all very posh and well dressed where as that is highly contrasted in the other two shows.
Class:
- In many television shows, class is represented in two different ways. On a channel 5 show called "Rich kids go skint" it represents the A, B, C1 demographics as spoilt due to their wealth. It shows them that when they live the lifes of not as lucky people they become more humble and aware.
- In other shows such as "Life and death row", the criminals are all deemed as the C2, D and E demographics. This shows that the less fortunate are usually represented in a more negative way. Also, all of the victim's families are shown as much more higher class.
Age:
- In TV shows now, there are all ages represented. For example, in the highly popular show on Netflix called "Stranger Things" 99% of the main characters are children. The show represents the children being strong and independent in trying to save their friend.
- There is another television show which represents the older generation which is called "Off their rockers". The ITV show is all about old people pulling pranks and having fun which shows that people of that age do not all stay inside and are not serious all of the time but can be just like the younger people too.
Gender:
- Recently, gender has become a huge talking point in many communities. There are some TV shows showing people the complete day to day lives and struggles of people transitioning from one gender to another. One show is called "Transformation Street" which shows people going through the lengthy procedures that it takes to transform into the opposite gender. It shows that in everyday life it is getting more and more common all of the time and even more accepted into society. It has also been shown through another BBC show "Life Through My Lens" which shows the day to day challenges and the impacts on them and their families. It also just represents gender in itself and how some people can be one gender, but can completely feel like another one.
- There are also many other gender based debates going around because of the way that women and men are treated differently. For example, it shows powerful men taking advantage of women and manipulating them. Such as the Harvey Weinstein case where he sexually assaulted many actresses telling them that they would get a job if they took part. This shows how many people feel as though men are so much more powerful and still seen as more superior in society than women.
Ethnicity:
- Ethnicity has always been a popular subject in the media. On Netflix for example there is a show called "Dear White People" which shows the daily life of black college students and how they are constantly discriminated against and how it is still very common even though it isn't seen as much by everyone. Another show which is comedy on E4 called "Blackish" shows the life of a black family in America and how they have many different views and lifestyle choices compared to white people.
- The "Black Panther" film was released in 2018 which is based around a majority black / African cast. The film was based in Africa and showed all of its natural beauty and the tribes that are still present within the continent.
- In the news there has been much about ethnicity as Trump is deporting people to their home countries. Immigration issues are very popular in the news but it is rarely a positive message and leans more towards immigrants and other ethnicities being negative.
Sexuality:
- The LGBTQ+ community have shown themselves through many shows and have become much more common in society and more accepted due to the media playing a part. Shows like "Ru Paul's Drag Race" and "Queer Eye" represent the different sexualities that are around in the current day. The acronym for the community is now LGBTQQICAPF2K+ which stands for Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, curious, asexual, agender, ally, pansexual, polysexual, friends and family, kink and more.