The Big Issue Part 2

The Big Issue Part 2

7,000 soldiers are left to "rot" on the streets which is such an awful thought. They aren't literally left to "rot", but the Daily Express, a right wing newspaper, described them as rotting. Ex Veterans fall into homelessness as they have no support and money when they leave the war. They have to jump from job to job because they cannot hold one down due to their medical issues and ptsd from the war. Ex soldiers have to wait over 2 years to be seen by medical professionals, and by then, a lot of them have committed suicide because they cannot cope. Lots of ex veterans' relationships break because they have been gone for so long and have been through so much, that nothing is normal anymore. A lot of them turn to alcohol, crime and substance abuse to ease them and make their life a tiny bit better.

Social connotations, veterans and homelessness

• PTSD- post traumatic stress disorder
• Alcohol/substance abuse
• unemployment 
• marriages breaking down
• waiting for mental health and medical attention
• waiting list for benefits
• no priorities for armed forces

Deserving poor

• Veterans 
• disabilities
• asylum seekers
• refugees with good intentions

Underserving poor

• wasters
• over eaters
• 7 kids that cannot afford them
• people that do not want to work 
• addicts
• ex criminals
• foreign beggars
• lazy refugees

Covering his eyes makes him anonymous with no identity because you cannot see anything. This could also represent that he is blinded from the real world after the war because everything is different and he is physically and mentally scarred. He is in black and white which also could suggest no colour, no identity. Ex soldiers have given up their lives, physically and mentally because nothing will be the same again. Use of green on the helmet links to army, peace and nature. The camouflage on the help could suggest he is hiding and blending in. This could also represent they are hiding their illness from the world. Still at war, even after the war they are still fighting inside and homelessness. The helmet could be worn to protect him from his mental health issues. Fighting for future, fighting for future generations and own life. Fighting for us, but no one is fighting for them. Poppy represents remembrance, in Flander's field the poppies grew when nothing else did. The red poppy links to blood and death of the soldiers. Poppy shows respect for the dead. 

At least 13,000 hero soldiers left HOMELESS

And almost all are struggling with the devastating affects of PTSD, which often leads to other problems, including addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Nearly all the homeless veterans we come across have PTSD or some form of mental health ­problem. Once they leave the Army, they loose their support structure.

“Those suffering from PTSD will often turn to drink and that can have an impact on the marriage and in a short period of time a veteran can find himself homeless.“We estimate 13,000 but we ­believe it’s an ­accurate figure from what our outreach teams are seeing.

Charity bosses say the problem has been made worse by cuts to the armed forces, which has led to almost 30,000 troops losing their jobs since 2010.

•Most media studies on poverty point in the direction of a recurring observation that usually the poor are presented in one of two contrasting frames: the ‘deserving poor’ and the ‘undeserving poor’.

•While the frame of deserving poor employs a sympathetic treatment of the poor, the frame of the undeserving poor is built upon the rhetoric of deficiency in individuals who are portrayed as a burden on the taxpayer due to their dependency on welfare policies

•(see also, scroungerphobia, Golding & Middleton, 1982)

Cultivation theory

Theory: Cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid. Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence and therefore are effected by the Mean World Syndrome, the belief that the world is a far worse and dangerous place then it actually is. According to the theory heavy viewing of television is creating a homogeneous and fearful populace, however so many studies have been done in this area that really no one knows how or even if violence on TV or in film negatively or positively affects its audience.

Now cultivation theory has taken on a more general definition in regards to mass media. It now extends to encompass the idea that television colours our perception of the world. For example; if someone stays inside and watch news about crime all day, they might be inclined to believe that the crime rate is far higher than it actually is and they might easily become the victim of a crime. Or in another sense heavy viewership of any media   can perpetuate stereotypes both positive and negative. It really comes down to the question of to what extent does reality shape TV and vice versa.

23/11/2018

You will create an essay on isue 1332 of the Big issue: Still at War.  You will anaylyse the media language and media representations associated with the front cover.

As part of the essay you will need to discuss the social and politcal contexts which have lead to a rise in homelessness in overall and inparticular within the veteran community

You will also discuss how newspapers (right wing and Big Issue) vary in the way the represent homelessness.  As part of your arguments you are required to use Gerbners theory

This edition of The Big Issue was published near to the 11th November which is the time of the year when we, as a community and a world, come together for a minute silence to remember those who had sadly died. By having a war issue magazine around the time everyone shows respect it suggests that it is still highly symbolic and a day that everyone knows about. People would have been more likely to purchase this issue around the 11th of  November as it highlights the massive problems that ex veterans have to face post leaving the war. It highlights that unfortunately, ex soldiers are still homeless and in need of medical attention and sadly they are not getting any help or sympathy. Without the soldiers, this world wouldn't be the way it is. They helped us, we need to help them.

With the soldier's eyes covered, it presents him as being anonymous with no identity because you cannot see his features. This could also represent that he is blinded from the real world after the war because everything is different and he is physically and mentally scarred. It could also show that he was a soldier for so long, that no one remembers him and he needs to start fresh again. He has been modified so that he is in black and white which also could suggest he has no identity because there is no colour and no expressions. The use of green on his helmet links to army, peace and nature. The camouflage on the helmet could suggest he is hiding and blending in and that it never ends. This could also represent they are hiding their illness from the world and bottling everything up. Unfortunately, as a result of them not speaking about how they feel, this is when medical problems start to get worse and they end up homeless or even dead. The helmet could be worn to protect him from his mental health issues from getting worse or showing anyone. Ex soldiers have given up their lives, physically and mentally because nothing will be the same again.

The line 'the battle for peace and mind' suggests that even post war, the soldiers don't stop having their own battles. The word 'battle' suggests that the ex veterans are desperate to get back to normal and that war, for them, doesn't end as life is a battle. The word 'mind' shows that the soldiers are very physically and mentally scarred which means they cannot forget what they have been through, and everyday the sound of guns and hiding is always on their mind. The other line 'rebuilding lives, fighting for futures' shows that they are fighting for us, but no one is fighting for them. The words 'rebuilding lives' shows that their lives were lost post war and that they had to come out and start from nothing with no support or money. The word 'fighting' again shows that fighting and battling does not stop, even in a 'normal life.' Their futures are a main priority as they have to fight to stay alive in this world with no one their for you. This is then how the problem of homelessness starts because they cannot keep down  job long enough to earn money. Fighting for future, fighting for future generations and own life.

Fighting for us, but no one is fighting for them. The poppy at the top of the page represents remembrance. In Flanders field the poppies grew when nothing else did which is why it is so symbolic to this day. The red on the poppy links to blood and death of the soldiers and they show respect for the dead every year on the 11th.

The social contexts of people becoming homeless are that when the soldiers leave the war into the normal world, they have no money to live on which puts them in a disadvantage because they have to properly start from the bottom and if they have no support or no families, the struggle to make any money will be extremely hard and depressing. If soldiers are lucky enough to leave the war and return to their families and a home and money, this does not always work out for every relationship because they could be too mentally scarred which leads to the break down in marriage. This is another reason why they end up on the streets because they have been kicked out and have no where else to go. The main reason why ex veterans end up on the street is because of mental health issues. They have to wait up to 2 years to gain any help and by this time, normally, the help comes too late and it has either become worse, or they are no longer here with us. From what they have been through, the soldiers wouldn't be able to keep down a job as they are so mentally unstable as they cannot forget what they have been through in the war.