Hey,, has anyone watched Struggle Street? I watched all three episodes on YouTube ( don't get Australian TV here). I was pretty much appalled by the goings on and how they cherry picked their subjects. No wonder the mayor of Mt Druitt is p!ssed off. Any thoughts? For those who haven't seen it, here are the episodes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmPuES9mpps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twlz0xa2h6o
Hi mate, interesting one. We have our own version in town, and yes they do exist and are proud of lousy manners and fruit-loop behavior. Many won't accept doing mistakes, nor do they want to change. Their kids are the same. Very sad story. I think it can be traced back to missing education and overall low standards. But you know the saying, if you tell a stupid one he/she did a mistake, you will be abused. You tell an intelligent person the same, they will thank you for it..... Bogans are everywhere, the big question mark would be: How can we change this culture, especially as our PM acts like a bogan as well.... Regards
This doco came at a really bad time when the LNP is targeting families, young unemployed and the have nots. The NLP firmly believe people on welfare are all like this. I have friends who believe all people on welfare are like this. Sad really.
Poverty porn plays to the base stereotypes. I have watched part of one of the episodes on youtube but have not finished it yet. From what I saw of him, the guy who had mental issues but was refusing to take medication in favor of trying to control his demons through different coping mechanisms seemed interesting.
Where my arguments lie, is all these people in the doco have been typecast as if all people on welfare, unemployed or below the poverty line are just like this. My home town has a far bit of commission housing. Built in the 1960s to accommodate the influx of migrants from Europe. My home town is incredibly multicultural. Parts actually look like Mt Druitt. There people just like the ones depicted in Struggle Street, but the majority are hard working family people.
That is true everywhere I think. Kind of reminds me of a fiction book I read recently by Ben Elton about a murder during a reality show competition filming. There was an exchange in which they looked at footage of this girl who was smug but polite and decided that they would make her into the biggest B of the cast just through editing because that was what their formula called for and the producer did not like her smugness so she picked her. In the case of this show, if the only showed hardworking people that too would be unreflective of reality in some critics' minds. I would certainly like to see more shows of working class people actually not be stereotypes, but ratings apparently take these producers in a different direction. The easiest advice is just don't watch it. I watched about 10 minutes of the Jersey Shore here in the US and spent the rest of the time that show was on avoiding giving them any ratings or traffic whatsoever. Didn't make a difference to anybody but me, but that is all that matters--I was happy with my choice.
Certainly not, but if we can get some of those bogans back into life/society it would be a great achievement, not only for them, but for us all. Having lived long enough in the same town means you know who can't find a job, and who doesn't want to find a job. Regards
