The aspect of Gauntlett’s Theory of Identity that I wish to look at regarding the social groups of addicts and how they’re represented, is his idea that “some icons and celebrities become Role Models for an audience. In this instance, a Role Model is not someone whom the audience wants to be, but someone with whom they may share an ideological outlook.”
Now, it may seem strange that I am likening addicts to being Role Models as it implies for others to aspire to ideologically align with those of the illness of addiction, but here I am not looking at their addictions but instead how individuals have persevered through their battles. This is where The Big Issues’ choice on how they represent this social group is so important.
In the ‘Moving On’ article which introduces the audience to a multitude of the magazines ‘great success stories,’ we are introduced to Owen Baily (a man who struggled with a gambling addiction) and Mark Dempster (‘former addict, drug dealer and prisoner’).
The direct mode address is straightforward and holds no sense of prejudice against these two men which can sadly be common when the media represents addicts of any kind. Instead of focusing on the hardship they have gone through, the magazine has chosen to show us that both men have been able to ‘turn his life around’. The direct address also suggests that this magazine doesn’t shy away from hard-hitting topics and that they don’t belittle or segregate others in life therefore playing into their ideology of breaking down boarders within society.
The syntagm of the semantic field of ‘new beginnings’ is shown through words such as ‘change,’ ‘empowering,’ ‘recovery’ and ‘turning point’ and the images that sit alongside which show two seemingly happy and healthy men. All of this not only subverts stereotypical representations of addiction (often where the actual
mental illness is disregarded and subsequently the blame is placed onto the individual themselves who, as a result, are often shown to be a ‘lost cause’ with no future ahead of them) but allows for an ideology to be pushed across: that lives can turn around – that there is help there (and The Big Issue can be part of that help).
It’s interesting to see that the copy for both individuals focuses not just on their past and recovery but what they are now actually doing with their lives. Baily is now a Gambling Campaigner whilst Dempster is a therapist. This ties in with the magazine's key ideology of being ‘part of the solution, not the problem’ and getting involved with fighting back against social injustice. Also, their occupations are shown directly under their names and consequently, this becomes one of the first things that we as an audience can learn about this individual. This implies that The Big Issue
values the present and future rather than
the person's past.
By pushing across these positive ideologies, the audience (more importantly those of which who may be going through similar issues) can finally start to see a more positive representation of this social group and may align their own ideologies of positivity, turning points and getting better.
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