Media products used:
.UK Home Office twitter post ‘stop the boats’
The representations in the given media texts are very hegemonic, as it is clearly the work of the ruling classes pushing their beliefs and agendas, presenting immigrants and the struggle they are going through as a problem for our country and its people, with right wing newspapers like the sun claiming themselves to be a mouthpiece for the people, reinforcing these issues and presenting their opinions as factual and/or common sense. This could be even more dangerous should newer generations grow up surrounded by this belief and stereotype of immigrants, as it can lead them to believe there is no issue with presenting these marginalized groups this way, which would not only lead to more hate crimes and potentially even extremist actions, but also to the targeted group feeling powerless, and unable to do anything about this unfair resentment towards them. Another thing these media products all have in common is their use of the housing crisis as a means to justify their views, as it is not only an issue that’s more than likely relatable to plenty of the readers/viewers, but is also nowhere close to being resolved, meaning the government and other members of the ruling class can shift the blame for this off of themselves and onto these marginalized groups that have nothing to do with the issue or its cause. This is seen heavily in article headlines, for papers like The Sun these usually contain controversial wording or imagery that is presented as fact or something that should not be questioned, a dangerous normalization of xenophobic behavior for the purpose of pushing agendas and selling papers.
The UK Home Office’s post on X (formerly Twitter) announcing the plan for a new immigration bill to ‘stop the boats’ that are ‘overwhelming’ our country received plenty of backlash, with many people, including well-known pundit Gary Lineker, comparing home Secretary Suella Braverman’s language to that of ‘Germany in the 30’s’. This is once again another example of the ruling classes use of hegemonic representations, as many people disagree that Immigration is a huge issue, we ‘must stop’, with the majority agreeing we should help these people instead given their circumstances and why they need to immigrate in the first place. Its also very clear that this post is trying to normalize and push the tory government’s beliefs and ideals, using their opinions as fact alongside given statistics to justify their views and make It seem as though everything they are saying is true, with Braverman claiming her ‘and the Prime Minister’ have been working ‘flat out’ for ‘months’ on this ‘issue’ and that the fact immigrants are being seen as victims and given a pass is ‘unfair’ to the people of the UK and the others involved with the country’s economy and such.