JULIANNE LINDNER BRANDING IMAGES - WHITE SAVIORISM AND SHOCK APPEALS BY BBC THREE - DIVA PORTAL
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Julianne
Lindner
Branding Images
WHITE SAVIORISM AND SHOCK APPEALS BY BBC Three
ComDev
Master – 1 year
15 credits
HT 2020
Supervisor: Anders Høg Hansen
SUMMARY
This research has focused on the representation of foreign cultures in four BBC
documentaries. To be more precise, it looked into how public documentaries
portray foreign cultures, specifically within a frame of development aid and white
saviourism when watching documentaries by BBC Three, a channel which is
centred towards a young audience. Previous research on white saviourism and
shock appeals analysed movies, documentaries and aid campaigns. Barely any
have so far researched representation of minorities, foreign cultures and aid topics
in public documentaries. BBC Three is additionally focused only on a young
audience and blends tv with social media engagement. This is an interesting angle
as youth will be the next policy makers and as they are starting to create their
worldview. The research is based upon a visual and textual analysis, following
Hall’s encoding/decoding model. It showed that all four documentaries (2016-
2018) misrepresent their “subjects” by focusing more on the presenter’s
perspective, e.g. concentrating on their emotional responses, asking loaded
questions, giving their opinions and solutions. All four documentaries also
presented a simplified local situation through Scott’s shock appeals and a bad-
good guy perspective (where the presenters address the local government and
stand up for the helpless subjects). One can therefore state that youth learn about
foreign cultures through the eyes of a “North” girl/boy next door presenter basing
upon a white saviourism perspective. The research additionally related the
findings to Goodman’s theory on iCare capitalism, the emphasis on creating a
brand and self-value out of caring for others so that other’s suffering is turned into
a theatre play. This is also visible through BBC Three’s and the presenters’ social
media presence. This research opens the discussion and defines a need to
research the responsibilities of public channels and the impact on youth when
developing opinions, views and stereotypes.
Keywords: White Saviourism - Documentary - Shock Appeals - Misrepresentation -
BBC
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction ………………………………………………………… p. 4
Theoretical Framework .………………………………………………………. p. 9
Methodology ……………………………………………………….. p. 13
Findings ……………………………………………………….. p. 19
Conclusion ……………………………………………………….. p. 36
Literature ……………………………………………………….. p. 38
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INTRODUCTION
In 2017 musician Ed Sheeran travelled to Liberia to raise awareness on children
living on the street. It was part of Comic Relief, an annual event to raise money
for thirteen British aid organisations (e.g. Oxfam, Save the Children and Action
Aid). However good the intentions, criticism developed quickly towards
Sheeran’s video, receiving even the award of “most offensive” campaign. The
award was handed out by the Radi-Aid awards, a contest organized by SAIH
(Norwegian Students and Academics International Assistance Fund) to
challenge aid organisations to move away from stereotyping people living in
poverty (McVeigh, 2017). Ed Sheeran received the award as he offered to pay
for a hotel for some of the street children. By doing so, the idea was given that
he was the only one to help them, portraying him as a so-called white saviour.
Comic Relief, which is broadcasted by the BBC, had also received criticism on
two other videos that same year and promised improvement. However, in 2019
criticism against Comic Relief was expressed again when BBC documentary
maker Stacey Dooley on her trip to Uganda was targeted. Dooley posted a
photo of herself together with a Ugandan child on her Instagram. The caption
read “OBSESSSSSSSSSSED
OBJECTIVE AND RESEARCH QUESTION
To gain an understanding of how a public channel represents other cultures,
the research question in focus is:
“How do four BBC Three documentaries capture and present
foreign cultures and peoples, within a frame of development aid
and white saviourism, through its visuals, sounds and text?”
Here we consider how BBC Three, through its documentaries, captures and
presents foreign cultures and documentaries instead of focusing on the
audience’s interpretation thereof. A visual and textual analysis will be
supported by a literature research on representation, white saviourism and
influencers.
Previous literature has indicated a relevance of looking into how cultures are
being represented. A representation is a construction where some aspects of a
culture are highlighted whereas others are concealed (Huang, 2015, p.336). It a
choice, deliberate or not, which elements are chosen to be portrayed, which
characteristics are to be represented. This choice will affect (Hooks, 1992, p.5)
how social, but also political, power is defined. It alters “how other people look
at you and how you look at yourself”. It is therefore of importance to
understand how stories are being told. How BBC Three, through its
documentaries, influences how British youth look at foreign cultures and
peoples.
The choice to focus on BBC Three, and not on documentaries produced by
other BBC channels, is due to its focus on 16-34-year olds. This rather young
audience is growing up to be the next policy makers, the next one to embark on
travels and potential voluntourism, the next one to study, work and create their
own worldviews. Additionally, the channel is online only, blending social media
and television easily. Like Michael Waugh (2017) argues the age group of 16-34-
year olds “are never outside…the digital realm” (p.234). They grew up with the
internet and use social media as part of their daily life. Their offline and online
lives blend easily into one. Internet, social media and television, become
important parts of their lives, and will impact how they see the world. That
said, other age groups are no less relevant. But to limit the scope of the
research, it would be interesting and relevant to look at an age group which
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blends offline and online lives so easily. BBC is chosen as it is a public channel
with a rather large budget of £5.2 million annually, plus an additional £1.3
million of selling their productions abroad (BBC, 2021). It is also perceived as a
giant internationally as well as a world leader across public and private media.
Just to mention that services, across the BBC channels and BBC News, reach
globally more than 468 million people a week, an increasing amount (BBC,
2020). But also e.g. politicians in France refer to the BBC as a model of public
service broadcasting, the Austrian public channel is based on the BBC model,
and its tv shows and drama series are bought by others such as Netflix and HBO
(The Guardian, 2020). Lastly, a report by UNESCO described the BBC as the
most famous public service broadcaster in the world (Banerjee & Seneviratne,
2005, p.47).
METHODOLOGY
The focus of this research are four selected documentaries. The documentaries,
presented by Livvy Haydock, Ben Zand, Sofie Morgan and Stacey Dooley, will be
both visually and textually analysed (see methodology chapter why these
documentaries were selected). This means attention is paid to words used,
surroundings, voice-over, angles, sounds up to even clothes. For this it is
important to note that documentaries, and movies in general, are subjective
constructions of reality. Rough material that is being shot is usually three up to
ten times longer than the final product. Scenes are selected and cut, others
thrown away. By editing, the producer can alter meanings or approach the
same material in different ways (Romic, 2018). To support the visual & textual
analysis of the documentaries, the research uses secondary material. This
includes promotion materials, social media channels of both BBC Three as the
documentary makers themselves. This puts the documentaries into a wider
perspective and enables the researcher to relate it to the branding process of
BBC Three. Attention is paid to visual aids and comments in particular. The
chapter on methodology will provide more information on choices made within
this research.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
Different research has explored how movies, documentaries, and in general
development aid campaigns, represent minorities, other cultures and
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immigrants. A large share of this literature focuses on movies. Take for example
work done by Cammarota (2011), Asif & Saenz (2017), Ash (2015), Murphy &
Harris (2018), Hughley (2010) and Stoddard & Marcus (2006). E.g. Ash (2015)
focuses on how the movie Blindside portrays the story of an Afro American boy
who is lifted out of poverty by a model white family whereas the real story
whereupon the movie is based is not as black/white. Stoddard & Marcus (2006)
look specifically into what students learn from the movies they watched in
American history class. They researched which movies were screened in class
and how these portrayed Afro Americans. All the research indicated what
Cammarota (2011, p. 243) perfectly describes as “White saviors represented in
popular media overshadow the fact that people of color are part of and, most
importantly, make history”. Many movies create images loaded with a sense of
inferiority and victimization which are being kept alive by constant repetition
(Cammarota, 2011, .250). Most of this research is, however, focused on
Hollywood movies and how, often, it portrays relations within the United States
of America (White – Afro Americans).
A different strand of literature focuses on how documentaries represent
different peoples, minorities or foreign cultures. Examples of such research are
Huang (2015), Cornwall (2016) and Alia & Bull (2005). Huang discusses how
newly female immigrants in Taiwan are portrayed in several documentaries.
Cornwell researched how Indian sexworkers were represented in a VICE
documentary. In their book, Alia and Bull discuss how minorities generally are
presented in the media. They argue that all documentaries present a subject
reality as the viewer only witnesses the issue or culture through the eyes of the
documentary maker. Additionally, they highlight the mistakes documentaries
make in mislabelling places and people or simple factual details. This leaves the
audience misinformed (Alia & Bull, 2005, p.34). This strand of literature is much
smaller, and up to now no research is done into documentaries made by public
channels. It does indicate the importance of doing similar research, especially
within the public sphere – as there is a danger of stereotyping and victimization
when audiences are misinformed.
A third, and last, relevant strand of literature focuses on the influence of
television on the audience. Whereas the previous two strands did a visual and
textual analysis of movies and documentaries, this strand researched the
effects of television on its audience. Research done by e.g. Strass & Vogel
(2018), Lee, etc. (2009) and Gerbner, etc. (2002) show that “If the depictions in
the media are stereotypical and the individual has limited information to
counter these messages” its leads to generalization, and eventually “to biases,
prejudice and discrimination against social groups” (Strass & Vogel, 2018,
p.657). Not only television can influence according to literature. Casalo, Flavian
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& Ibanez-Sanchez (2018) show in their research that social media can impact
behaviour. They claim that celebrities on Instagram have an influence on the
purchasing behaviour of girls. Concluding, this literature type shows the
relevance of visually and textually analysing popular movies, television series,
documentaries and social media.
The topic of white saviourism is touched in many ways within the
literature. It is e.g. reflected in literature on voluntourism, fund raising, social
media and photography. For this research, the focus was placed on white
saviourism and how cultures are portrayed in media representations. A concept
of white saviourism will follow in the theoretical chapter.
DISPOSITION
This report is structured into five distinct chapters. In chapter two explores the
concept of white saviourism and theories on representation, followed by
chapter three in which the methodology behind this research is presented as
well as gives relevant background. Chapter five presents the overall findings.
And finally, chapter six contains the conclusion. At the end, the report contains
all references.
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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
To provide the research with a theoretical framework, this paragraph will discuss the
concepts of representation, white saviourism and shock appeals in more detail by
looking into previous academic literature. This framework will be used when
analysing the findings, so that a deeper understanding can be reached. The above
three concepts were selected based on their relevance in previous research.
REPRESENTATION
Representation is a crucial concept within a textual and visual analysis. As already
indicated in the introduction, representation is a “construction”. This means that
certain aspects are highlighted whereas others are ignored. It is a choice, deliberate
or not, which elements are chosen to be portrayed, which characteristics are to be
represented (Hooks, 1992, p.5). This deliberate or not-deliberate choice is made by
the one making the representation and often, within development work and/or
documentaries, these representations are not made by the subjects themselves. As
Bandyopadhyay (2019, p.328) argues it is often the global north defining,
representing and theorizing about the “other”. Representation and power are
therefore strongly interlinked. Northern documentaries or movie makers tell a story
about the global south using their words, their choice in editing, their view on what is
right and wrong, or even more so their view of what is good and bad. There is
additionally a tendency to simplify stories to make them more approachable and
engaging for a broader audience (Stoddard & Marcus, 2006, p.28). Therefore, is
important to keep in mind while analysing the research’s findings that documentaries
always present subjective realities deriving from the maker’s point of view. This even
though documentaries are often seen as a more objective, factual form of media
(compared to tv and movie) (Alia &Bull, 2005, p.35).
Looking at representation, one cannot go further without mentioning Stuart Hall’s
theory on encoding and decoding. The cultural theorist created a model on how
messages in media are produced, circulated and consumed, both verbally as non-
verbally. He argues that videos, photos, text, etc. are not merely static and transparent.
The message sent by the producer, aka the encoder, can be interpreted differently by
the audience, aka the decoder. By arguing so, the audience is not just a passive recipient
of messages. Through their own experiences, they can interpret the message differently
from what the producer aimed for. Hall distinguishes three ways an audience can
decode media: (1) dominated (fully accepts the message), (2) negotiated (partly accepts
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the message and at times modifies it based on own experiences), and (3) oppositional
(completely disagrees and gives different interpretation). That said, Hall explains that
messages cannot be decoded in any possible way. Society tends to follow and reflect a
dominant cultural order, also referred to as “preferred meanings”. This reflects power,
practices, social meanings and interest. These preferred meanings are always contested
and open to change, according to Hall (Rodrigues, 2017; Shaw, 2017, p. 593-4; Mambrol,
2020, Hall, 2013, p.41-45). The current dominant order is influenced by Orientalism, a
term coined by author Edward W. Said. It describes how colonial knowledge was
produced and consequently propagated through novels, textbooks, newspapers, films,
exhibitions, etc. It became the overpowering system of thinking that enabled a hierarchy
and legitimacy for the North to rule and colonise the South. Said thereby challenged the
idea of neutrality and universalism that supposedly described Western modernism.
Nowadays, Sa’di (2020) argues a mild form of orientalism is still present (p.1-3) which
gives insight into the representation of power in the world (Sa’di, 2020, p.11).
WHITE SAVIORISM
To elaborate more on the above theory, orientalism (derived from the colonial time)
is still visible through the phenomenon of white saviourism. White saviourism is
centred around the idea of the white main character helping the helpless victim
(Murphy & Harris, 2018, p.52). This is reflected across media, news and literature.
Take for example the white family helping the Afro-American boy in the movie
Blindness, or the character of Jake in the movie Avatar who is saving the innocent
Na’vi who could not win without him. White saviourism is, however, not limited to
movies only. Just remember the example of Ed Sheeran’s visit to Liberia. Though, this
type of story line can have a dangerous effect. It renders “people of colour incapable
of helping themselves” (Cammarota, 2011, p.244). Repeating images of inferiority
and victimization over and over again. Qing describes it even better saying that the
non-Western world is looked at “through the lens of levels of ‘development’ or
‘modernity’ (2007, p.275). This world is seen as irrational and weak whereas the
north is perceived as modern, rational and strong. Whether it is intended or not.
Differently put, it shows a western coloured representation of the non-western
world. White saviourism relates to representation as it the North, or western world,
that decides, deliberately or not, how the South is being represented. It is their
words, choice of editing, view on right/wrong and good/bad, their world view and
interpretation that decides how the South’s story is being told as well as the
preferred meaning like described by Hall. As this research looks into representation
by a public channel from the “North” focusing on documentaries made in the
“South”, it is crucial to analyse them from a white saviour perspective.
10White saviourism is based upon another concept, Stuart Hall’s white gaze (1996);
which describes the way of looking at the exotic other from the high top, assuming a
hierarchy where whiteness is on top. This hierarchy is binary: the gazers and the ones
being gazed upon (Mostafanezhad, 2013). Or the objects who gaze, the North, versus
the subjects, the South. Developing countries are thereby portrayed as poor, weak,
ravaged, whereas developed countries are staged as the ones rescuing them. “In
essence, white is always right, and West is always best” (Pailey, 2019, p.5). Or as
Bandyopadhyay writes “A nobody from America or Europe can go to Africa and
become a godlike saviour, or at the very least, have his or her emotional needs
satisfied. Under the banner of making a difference (2019, p.331)”. The advocacy
campaign and Instagram page No White Savior plays with the phenomenon of white
saviourism and the white gaze by providing first-hand experiences, by a mostly
Ugandan-led team, about the power dynamics between the westerners and local
people (https://www.instagram.com/nowhitesaviors/?hl=en).
SHOCK APPEALS
To finally grasp the full theory on representation, media and development, one needs
to look into Martin Scott’s theory on shock appeals. In his book Media and
Development (2014), Scott explains in detail how some campaigns focus almost only
on the suffering, whilst little to no explanation is given about potential causes or
context. Consequently, only a simplified version of reality is presented, one in which
complex, longer term and structural causes are lacking. The “aim to provoke feelings
of guilt and pity in Western audiences through portrayals of extreme material
poverty and suffering (2014, p.141)”. Shock appeals further turn people into helpless
and innocent victims, if not passive objects that are being held captive by their
surroundings (Scott, 2014, p. 144). Cornwall (2016) refers to this phenomenon as
poverty porn (Cornwall, 2016, p.141), an overindulgence of poverty and display of
people’s fears, misery and grief just to trigger emotional response from the audience.
The danger of shock appeals, as Martin Scott (2015) mentions is that the subjects
within media campaigns, movies or documentaries will be deprived of their dignity.
They are merely portrayed as passive objects whose lives get directed by outsiders
and surroundings. As if only an external actor can change their situation. It
additionally risks of reproducing existing stereotypes (Scott, 2014, p.145-151; Dogra,
2013, p.65).
Martin Scott also mentions in his concept of shock appeals “to provoke feelings of
guilt and pity in Western audiences”. He speaks thereby of two sides, one of
(Western) spectators and one of objects to watch, similar as the White Gaze by Stuart
11Hall. To explore this side of audiences more, the theory of Nandita Dogra is used. She
namely explains how campaigns use both difference as oneness within the same
project to trigger emotional response from, mostly Western, spectators. This theory
is, however, not only valid for campaigns by NGOs, but also applicable to
documentaries. Difference, as described by Dogra, is shown through emphasizing
oppositions. This creates a us, the audience, and a them through words, material
possessions, clothing, etc. As a result of using difference, problems and people locally
are portrayed as spectacles that exist out there for which Western audiences feel pity
(Dogra, 2013, p.66). Nandita Dogra emphasizes in her theory that only difference
would not trigger emotional response - campaigns also need an element of oneness
(2013, p.108). As a result, viewers feel connected to the objects on the screen, they
feel pity for the poverty and replacements the interviewees go through.
This chapter has looked at the different sides of representation within development
work. It showed that representation and power are very much interlinked with a
binary hierarchy where whiteness is on top. This leads to oversimplification,
stereotypes and a repetition of images showing poverty and suffering. The visual and
textual analysis of this research will look into if the four BBC Three documentaries
show signs of white saviourism and shock appeals.
12METHODOLOGY
This research will be a case study of how public channels, through documentaries,
represent foreign cultures, with a specific focus on topics such as poverty and
violence. This chapter will look more closely into which methods are used. Overall,
four BBC Three documentaries are analysed visually and textually. This analysis is
supported by theory presented in the previous chapter. Additionally, secondary
material, such as promotion materials, social media channels of BBC Three as the
documentary makers, is used to gain an in-depth understanding.
SELECTED RESEARCH METHODS
The focus of this research is placed upon qualitative research methods, specifically
case studies and methods of textual and visual analysis. By doing so, the research can
bring forth a deeper understanding within a specific context and a rather small
sample. This, however, also means that by choosing qualitative methods it is difficult
to reach generalisations – as the methods do take more time and limit the amount of
e.g. documentaries analysed possible (Kvale, 2007, p.85). However, looking at the
nature of this research, aiming to increase knowledge on a small group (16-34-year
olds in UK) within a rather smaller defined context (BBC Three Documentaries and
media representation), it turned out to be a good fit. For this, case studies are
understood as a focus upon one or a few units, instances or phenomena to enable an
in-depth understanding of a specific issue (Gomm, Hammersley & Foster, 2009, p.2-
4). To analyse many documentaries will take a lot of time, plus one cannot go into so
much detail.
The documentaries are analysed both visually as textual. Attention is paid to words
used, surroundings, voice-over, angles, sounds, people who are talking, facial
expressions, tone of voice up to clothes. Textual and visual analyse is not about
discover the right and single interpretation. But, as described by McKee (2003, p.1);
“we make an educated guess at some of the most likely interpretations that might be
made of that text”. This educated guess will give an understanding how
documentaries will be interpreted by its intended audience, or otherwise put how
minorities and cultures are represented by others visually and textually. The basis of
textual analysis assumes that all texts have a “preferred meaning” but that no
“correct” or “single” interpretation of a text exists, as explained in the
decoding/encoding model of Stuart Hall. To gain an understanding of this preferred
meaning, textual analysis aims to identify all the interpretations which are possible
13and likely. This is crucial as consumers/receivers of the text, or image, might not
accept, understand or take the intended meaning given to the text by its producers
(Leeuwen & Jewitt, 2004, p.68). To identify these likely interpretations, the
researcher has to look into the text’s context, codes, conventions and genre.
Questions such as “Who created the test?”, “Who is the (intended) audience?”,
“What is the text’s purpose?”, “What is the central theme?” and “How does the text
relate to other texts?” can help the researcher in identifying likely interpretations
(Given, 2008, p.865). Other relevant questions relate to the text’s content, such as
“What language do they use?”, “What photos are used?”, “Whose voices are
heard?”, “Which elements are emphasized?” and “With whom is the reader
supposed to sympathize?” (McKee, 2003, p.30). Visual analysis, instead of textual
analysis, additionally looks into colour use, composition, symbolism and framing
(Leeuwen & Jewitt, 2004, p.68). This research will combine both to gain an in-depth
understanding. Only looking at the text, might ignore how e.g. colour and images
create a certain atmosphere. The analysis will further relate to the theory discussed
previously, as dominant cultural orders, flavoured by white saviourism, create the
preferred meanings in which media messages are being decoded. All of that said,
there has been critic on the method of textual analysis. It is argued that the
researcher’s perspective influences how a text is read, and which interpretations are
identified and perceived as most likely. That’s why it is important for this research, as
for textual analysis in general, to always reflect upon one own’s bias and to aim
towards using different methods of textual analysis if possible (Given, 2008, p.865-6).
Overall, looking into likely interpretations will tell us how foreign cultures are being
represented in the media. As said in the theoretical chapter, it is a choice, deliberate
or not, which elements are chosen to be portrayed, which characteristics are to be
represented. And as representation and power are interlinked, especially from a
white saviourism perspective in which the North’s power decide on how the South is
portrayed, a visual & textual analysis could tell us more how the BBC tells the story of
the “other” and therefore represents them.
LIMITATIONS & CHALLENGES
As the main challenge, as already mentioned before, I need to reflect upon my own
bias, place within the research as this could limit/impact the research. This is
especially important as within a textual & visual analysis, my perspective might
influence how a text is read and which interpretations are identified and perceived as
most likely. Besides reflecting upon my own position, I will aim to use diverse ways of
analysis and sources of literature to limit the influence. Additionally, it needs to be
14acknowledged that a fully correct analysis of a text is unattainable. Another challenge
is to get access to the documentaries – all in the same quality.
To limit the research, I will focus on four documentaries broadcasted on BBC Three
within a limited time frame – namely 2015-2018. This will make it difficult to make
generalisations. However, it will make the research doable and create findings that
are detailed and concrete. The purpose of the research will not be to generalize its
findings but has a qualitative angle. The documentaries are selected, and not
randomly chosen. As mentioned in the introduction, BBC Three is chosen as it
addresses a specific, and young, audience. This target group is one that seamlessly
blends offline and online words, and it is interesting to see how BBC Three tries to
reach them both via online television as social media related to the programmes. The
documentaries are chosen based on (1) being made for BBC Three, (2) broadcasted
on BBC Three, (3) each one by a different documentary maker and (4) having its main
topic focused on minorities or foreign cultures in respect to development topics (e.g.
poverty, education, violence, racism, medical care). It is crucial that all documentaries
are produced by different people – as if the research would only focus on one
documentary maker the report could not produce any conclusions on how BBC Three
represents others, merely how one specific documentary maker does. Based on the
above criteria, four documentary makers were found. From each documentary maker
one documentary was selected based on (1) the documentary was produced and
broadcasted during the last three years and the (2) topic relates to a development
topic. During the time period of 2016-2018 only a handful of documentary makers
made documentaries for BBC Three. Some of them focused on the UK itself. They
were excluded from this research. From the documentary makers left, 4 of out 6
were analysed based on the availability of their documentaries online. This offered
another limitation to the research. The chosen documentaries also represent
different countries and different continents (East Asia, Central Asia, Europe and
Africa).
BACKGROUND ON DOCUMENTARIES SELECTED
All documentaries analysed are featured by BBC Three, a BBC channel that is since
2016 online only. The same year, the channel underwent a complete rebranding
which included new lay-out, logo, and colours. It was not merely the idea to stream
their previous programmes online, but to re-invent new kinds of programmes. The
rebranding was aimed to please BBC Three’s core audience of 16 to 34-year olds
(Dawood, 2017). As Liz Warner, former BBC Television executive, argued British
television was “getting boring, old and boring” (Woods, 2017, p.140), and therefore
needs to be more active in the digital world. So, from 2016 onwards BBC Three
15created mostly short-form content which got spread through YouTube, Facebook and
other social media platforms. Their main focus was placed upon (1) documentary,
Make me Think, and (2) personality led comedy, Make me Laugh (Woods, 2017, p.
141; Ramsey, 2018, p.159). Or as Inge Ejbye Sørensen has argued, “[they] use
documentary as one of the main genres with which to promote their brands,
differentiate themselves from their competitors, and demonstrate their commitment
to serious, public service programming”. Within the programmes, the channel sees its
main role to capture the British youth’s own experiences, struggles and views, as
followed by the objectives of the 2003 Communications Act. The channel further
witnessed a budget cut by £45 million to £25 million the same year (Woods, 2017, p.
140-142). Documentaries made by BBC Three are by e.g. rapper Stephen Manderson,
actor and radio DJ Reggie Yates, Stacey Dooley, Investigative journalist Ellie Flynn.
The ones selected for this research are based on if they report on foreign
cultures/minorities in respect to development topics.
STACEY DOOLEY – GIPSY KIDS TAKEN FROM HOME
The documentary Gipsy Kids Taken from Home was broadcasted February 2018 and
produced as part of the tv series Stacey Dooley Investigates. Other episodes of the
series focused on a.o. child soldiers in Congo, the crystal meth industry in Mexico and
domestic violence in Russia. In total Stacey Dooley has made more than 80
documentaries across a diverse range of topics and a time span of just ten years
(Kellaway, 2017; BBC Three, 2018a). Many of Dooley’s documentaries end up being
one of the most-watched programmes on BBC’s iPlayer (Curtis Brown, 2018;
Kellaway, 2017). In this documentary, Dooley travels to Hungary to find out if Roma
children are in real need of institutional care or if their families merely suffer from
institutional discrimination. To find out she interviews parents, children and social
workers (BBC Three, 2018b).
Stacey Dooley started making documentaries after participating in BBC’s 2008 tv
series Blood, Sweat and T-shirts. She was one of six fashion obsessed British
youngsters travelling to India to experience the daily life of garment workers. Up to
then Dooley, being 21 years old, worked at a perfume and make-up store at Luton
airport. The 2008 series would, however, change her life and open up new
possibilities. Back in the UK, Dooley began campaigning against child labour and even
appeared on BBC talk shows to promote the cause. Soon, she was approached by
BBC’s Danny Cohen, who oversaw BBC Three. He commissioned the first of Dooley’s
sixty documentaries. Many followed (Gillespie, 2015; Kellaway, 2017; Curtis Brown,
2020). In 2018, Stacey Dooley published the book On The Front Line With The
Women Who Fight Back. The book talks about how it is to be a woman in today’s
16world. It draws from her documentaries, that often have a focus on (young) women -
from domestic violence in Russia and Honduras, girls fighting for ISIS, disappearing
women in Canada, up to sex workers in the Philippines. The book made it to The
Sunday Times bestseller list. Book tours and talks about her experiences followed.
Besides making documentaries, Dooley has participated (plus won) Britain's Strictly
Come Dancing show and presented the BB3 reality series Glow Up: Britain’s Next
Make-Up Star (Curtis Brown, 2020).
BEN ZAND - DICTATORLAND
Iranian/British video journalist Ben Zand produced the episode Dictator land:
Kazakhstan as part of a 3-episode series on the Stan-countries of Central Asia. As the
description reads “Ben Zand travels to some of the worlds’ longest running
dictatorships, discovering the sinister and at times bizarre reality of life there” (BBC
Three, 2020). The other episodes, all around 20 minutes long, focused on Belarus
and Tajikistan. In the Kazakhstan episode, Zand investigates the media freedom of
the country. It was aired in 2018.
Zand was born in Liverpool and studied journalism at Edinburgh Napier University.
During studies he already took diverse jobs within journalism and made his first
documentary, Tehrangeles which is about Iranians living in Los Angeles. From 2011
he started working for the BBC for a programme called BBC Big Questions, followed
by different jobs for BBC 2, 3 and Panorama. He describes himself as “I taught myself
how to film, edit, produce, present”, “I didn’t have anyone that I could use as a
mentor” (Middlesex University, 2016). In 2016, he received an RTS Television
Journalism Award (Rts, 2017). Other documentaries he made are e.g. Trump In
Britain: Protests, Pubs and Giant Balloons, the series Worlds’ most dangerous cities,
The Dark world of Kanye West, Cults, Gangs and God. He has also made travel shows
called Tripstar Travel.
LIVVY HAYDOCK – DEADLIEST PLACE TO DEAL
For the one-hour long episode Deadliest Place to Deal, Livvy Haydock visits the
Philippines where she investigates the country’s war on drugs. She follows police
men, talks to victims and interviews President Duarte’s sister while she takes her
viewers through the city of Manila. The episode was aired in 2017. No other episodes
were part of this series.
17Haydock is an investigative journalist who has studied at the London College of
Communications (degree in journalism) and has worked previously for Panorama,
Dispatches, BBC Three, BBC One, ITN, Channel 4, Al Jazeera, National Geographic
Channel, ITV, Sky One and Channel 5. As part of these jobs, she made documentaries
on child soldiers in Congo and investigated the international drugs trade. From 2016
onwards, she started to work for BBC Three. Since then she has made documentaries
such as The Illegal Job Centre, Girl Gangs, Drugs Map of Britain, Heroin Haters,
Festival Drugs and Breaking into Prison. She also writes articles for several UK
newspapers (United Agents, 2020). She emphasises that she is not a typical journalist,
as “When I’m on location – especially in more obscure places, like the Congo or
Sudan – people look at me, a blonde with a spray tan, and say "What are you doing
here?". I don’t look like a stereotypical war journalist – I’m a South London girly-girl,
and always have my mascara on (BBC Three, 2017)”.
SOFIA MORGAN – THE WORLD’S WORST PLACE TO BE DISABLED
Broadcasted in 2015, Sofie Morgan portrays the lives of disabled people in Ghana.
She visits prayer camps, interviews disabled people living on the streets, meets local
activists, and learns about children being “returned to the spirits”. The one-hour
documentary aims to understand if Ghana is the worst place to be disabled. Morgan,
in her wheelchair, is accompanied by her brother, and compares her findings with her
own experiences in the UK. She has made other documentaries previously, e.g.
Channel 4 News on indigenous boys in Australian prisons, Tricks of the Restaurant
Trade, a documentary on fresh and handmade food, and a Channel 4’s Unreported
World series.
Morgan is besides documentary maker, a British TV presenter, artist and disability
activist. As a result of a traffic accident, she ended up in a wheelchair in 2003. In
2005, she appeared on TV for the first time in a BBC Two documentary called Beyond
Boundaries. The show included 11 disabled people who trekked through the
Nicaraguan jungle. This was followed by her participation in Britain’s Missing Top
Model, a British reality tv show. She later became a model for Stella McCartney’s
collection (My 2012) and presented TV shows such as the Paralympics. Besides being
a presenter and model, Morgan invented the mannequal (a wheelchair mannequin
that can be used in stores) to change the perception people have of disability in
fashion. She furthermore supports diverse disability organisations and is a disability
campaigner (Disability Horizons, 2019). Morgan is expected to publish a book called
Little Brown, a “part-memoir, part travel log and part coping strategy on how to
adapt to life’s challenges”, in 2021 (Morgan, 2020).
1819
FINDINGS
This chapter presents the research’s overall findings. Four documentaries made on
behalf of, and broadcasted by, BBC Three were analysed. The findings are presented
in five subchapters which reflect all, or nearly all, the documentaries. The previous
chapters on background and theory will be referred to when relevant. Overall,
attention was paid visually and textually when analysing each of the four
documentaries. Based on these comparisons were made.
1. A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Images of marching soldiers. Faces of six men appear. A voice-over, “What do all
these men have in common? That’s right, they are all dictators. They hate journalists
like me [a shot of the presenter with his thumbs up and a big smile] and they are
quite frankly ridiculous. Complete mental”. Images of more marching soldiers follow.
And so, has Ben Zand’s documentary (2017) on Kazakhstan’s leader Nelbasy
Nursultan Nazarbayev officially begun. The tone has been set. A tone indicating that
the leaders of Kazakhstan, but also Belarus and Tajikistan (his two other episodes),
are simply ridiculous and that they hate journalists. The journalists are portrayed by
himself, his big smile and thumbs up showing innocence. All this shows the
documentary’s starting point but even more so that merely an introduction can
impact how the audience will perceive the rest of the documentary.
Zand’s documentary is not the only one. Dooley (2018) pictures an image even more
clear. “Images appear, a ticking sound in the background. The image of the text
CocaineHer voice-over mentions “I am Sophie Morgan, one of the 11 million disabled people
in the UK”. She puts on her mascara and then says goodbye to her brother. The next
scene she rolls with her wheelchair in downtown London. “Living and working in
London has its own challenges but it doesn’t stop me from doing what I want. But
there are many places in the world where it is terrible for disabled people”. Images of
a busy street appear. A disabled person trying to cross. Crawling over the ground, in
the dirt. “This is the place? This is the place you sleep?” “Yes, they have attacked me
several times”. The voice over starts again, “In this film I’m going to find out what life
is like for disabled people living in a country where they could be imprisoned”.
Followed by an image zooming in on feet locked up in chains. “They tricked you to
come here?”. The camera zooms into the chains. The voice-over continues
“abandoned”, followed with another interview fragment where Sophie is shown
whilst saying “Someone could help him. No one wants to help him”. Then the voice
over says, “And beaten”, fragments of disabled people being hit are shown”. As the
previous two mentioned documentaries, Morgan clearly starts with a rather negative
tone. It is already clear that Ghana is not a good place to be disabled. Even more so,
as did Zand’s introduction, Morgan clearly shows a two-side story from the start: the
west versus the rest. Whereas Zand portrayed the innocent journalist versus the
ridiculous dictator, Morgan is the image of being disabled whilst living in London
versus the hardships in Ghana. This makes it relatable to the audience who personify
themselves with the two presenters who are both from the UK so does the main
audience group.
The last to mention documentary in this subchapter is Haydock’s (2018). She sets a
tense dark tone from the start. “Pinkish skyline. It is dark. A busy street appears,
along with tense music. Next shot is from the car looking through the front window,
“We have got a tip that there has been a killing. So, we are heading to the scene
now”. Haydock’s face appears, she is sitting in the back of the car. Her face looks
worried and stressed. She rushes out onto the street. Pitch dark. “So, all the
journalists are running out this way, so we are following them”. She points in a
direction. A torch highlights a dead body lying on the ground. The boy lays on his
belly, his hands are tight to the back”. The documentary has set the tone, one of
tension, midnight trips, deaths and danger. As well as Dooley’s documentary, the
viewer already gets an insight into Haydock’s interpretation on the war of drugs. It is
one of death.
All four documentaries have created vivid images, worth more than thousands of
words. They influence how the audience will interpret the rest of the episode and
therefore they are of importance to look at.
2. POVERTY PORN AND SHOCK APPEALS
21Not merely do introductions set the tone, negativity continues throughout the
documentaries. Shots of broken toys, children’s drawings on damaged walls, and
close-ups of children are followed by a sad line of music. It is here where the theory
of Martin Scott (2014) on shock appeals comes into play. Dooley’s documentary
shows the children’s suffering whilst little to no explanation is given about potential
causes or context. Consequently, only a simplified version of reality is presented, one
in which complex, longer term and structural causes are lacking. However, it is not
only visually. Sound and words add onto the negative atmosphere. Dooley describes
the living situation as “I’m annoyed that Europeans have to live like this”, “Feels like
another world...like we went back in time. Houses are falling apart. There is no real
infrastructure. There is kids everywhere”, which is followed by more images of broken
toys, an empty child pram and a lack of basic housing. Images and words seem to be
carefully selected, in such a way that words are proven visually. This is also fitting to
Cornwall’s concept of poverty porn (2016, p.141), “an overindulgence of poverty and
display of people’s fears, misery and grief just to trigger emotional response from the
audience”.
Whereas Dooley shows the miserable living conditions of the Roma children’s
families, Morgan describes the situation for disabled people in Ghana; “This is
begging like I’ve never seen it”, “They aren’t human beings”, “In my opinion, Ghana is
the worst place in the world to be disabled”. This is strengthened visually. It is dark, a
shot of someone sitting hiding his face in his laps. There is garbage everywhere. “This
is the place where you sleep?”. Zoomed into a sleeping bag, “All that Adam has in the
world, is wrapped up in his bedding”. Words like in the world emphasize stronger the
few stuff he has. “This is just such a horrible place to stay”, while zooming into
another garbage pile. “The reality is that Adam does not really have a choice. Not only
is he incredibly poor but he is also disabled. And it is just the worst combination you
can have out here. He is so incredibly vulnerable….I do not even know what to think
about the conditions that people sleep in in the rural areas, or elsewhere, if this is the
best option”. She shakes her head. Another scene in the documentary shows some
buildings, sad music starts to play. “As I look around it is clear Kevin is not the only
patient in chains”, whilst the camera zooms into a sad looking woman, sitting on a
broken staircase, followed with a shot on her ankle which is chained up. The next
shot shows another half-finished building where a man stands in front. Followed by a
chain-up man standing with a plate in his hand. His ripped clothes are dirty with
holes. Some broken chairs in front of a broken wall and a yellow plastic water
box. The sad music strengthens it all. Or like Scott describes in his theory on shock
appeals, “aims to provoke feelings of guilt and pity in Western audiences through
portrayals of extreme material poverty and suffering (2014, p.141)”. Interviewees
thereby become victims, passive objects who are deprived of their dignity. It is not
22them who decide what is shown, what is said, which music is chosen, how they are
portrayed.
It is not merely Morgan and Dooley, Haydock’s documentary includes shock appeals
too. Take for example when she stands on a rooftop, the camera at times moves to
the children on the street playing. A child runs barefoot, tense music in the
background. Three other children wave at her, the building that they are in is semi-
finished. “They are the poorest, they are the lowest of the low. It doesn’t feel like this
is a war on drugs. They are not targeting the big guy, they are shooting fish in a
barrel”. The images strengthen her argument that the poor are the victims in the
situation. The choice of the children who play barefoot in semi-finished buildings are
the representatives, enforcing the idea of innocence and being passive victims. The
scene is directly followed by Haydock rushing down the street to encounter another
dead body. The camera zooms in. A girl lying forward over the edge of the street.
Blood around her face. Another camera angle is used. Throughout the documentary
more fragments of playing children follow. In another scene for instance, Haydock
hugs the mother of a victim. “That doesn’t justify being killed, this is just one case.
There are thousands like these in this country”. Sad music starts to play. A fragment
follows showing a sad looking child in a worn-off pink top, when she turns away the
dirty street behind her appears. The camera follows her, and another child is shown.
His shirt is ripped. Another kid comes in the camera, looking sad while blowing
bubbles with his mouth. The voice of Duarte, “You are worried about the death of
1000, 2000, 3000? Hitler massacred three million Jews” appears at the same time.
One can wonder, why is this so important? The three documentary-makers merely
show the reality, don’t they? The struggles of disabled people living on the streets,
the Roma children growing up in poverty or the Filipino children growing up during a
dangerous time. It is important though to consider that by selecting images, music
and text in such a way, people are turned into helpless and innocent victims, “passive
objects that are being held captive by their surroundings (Scott, 2014, p.144). It
additionally reproduces stereotypes and gives the impression to the audience that
merely outsiders, not the ones in the camera themselves, can change the situation.
Especially when little to no explanation is given about potential causes or context, a
simplified situation is created. One should always keep in mind that the rough
material that is being shot is way longer than the final product. Recordings are
selected and cut, others thrown away. By editing, the producer can alter meanings or
approach the same material in different ways. Furthermore, provided context and
showing people in their dignity plays an important role.
3. NARRATOR FOCUS: US & THEM
23Another striking element, which additionally triggers the misrepresentation discussed
above, is a wrong focus of perspective. One could expect a documentary talking
about journalists in Kazakhstan or Roma children in Hungary to focus on the
journalists or children themselves or in a broader sense on their families. Would it
therefore not make sense if one gains understanding on their experience, their
opinions, their values once the documentary finishes? However, the documentaries
rather emphasise the presenters’ experience of visiting the subjects and thereby
takes a so-called “white saviour perspective”. Focus is namely placed on how they
experience and react to the world around them. They become superheroes that
speak on behalf of. As a result, the documentary emphasises more on constructing an
image e.g. around Dooley and Morgan as caring and compassionate persons than on
creating awareness of the local situation. As an audience, the story is told by Zand,
Dooley, Morgan and Haydock and shown from their perspective. The subjects are
merely there to be talked about.
This wrong focus of perspective is noticeable through diverse ways. Dooley, for
instance, refers to her own expectations and emotions frequently. She as well as
Morgan, additionally, ask numerous loaded questions. Loaded questions are usually
only asked to verify and check reliability of information already at hand (Kvale, 2007,
p.89). However, the two journalists frequently ask this type of questions. For
example, Morgan’s ““You feel like no one cares?” or “Are you afraid you will be here
the rest of your life”, which is accompanied with some sad music and Morgan crying.
Dooley’s version is like “You feel like you’re powerless, like you can’t control the
kids?” to a woman working at the youth centre, or to a mother “So the situation is
now that you’ve got a perfectly lovely home but you are not able to live there because
you genuinely feel threatened, and if you didn’t leave, they’d have taken the kids?”.
This gives the viewer the idea that Morgan and Dooley already have the information,
and merely uses the interviews for validation. It emphasises the “white saviour”
perspective, of a white reporter knowing best and the locals just humming a mere
yes.
Dooley is further not afraid to share her opinions or thoughts on the matter. With
side words, “Awful”, “Frightening” up to full sentences “the evil that exists here”,
“treated like dogs”, “doesn’t really feel like there’s any care for these children”. Her
voice even gets shaky at times and she seems to get emotional. She further refers to
her own and her audience’s standards, “lots of people listening to this will be
completely outreached”, “circumstances are far from ideal” or “feels like another
world”. Morgan joins this tendency in her documentary, “really strange”, “It is
disgusting...absolutely disgusting”. Dooley even goes one step further, by saying “I
feel odd leaving this care home knowing that lots of vulnerable kids sat in there” and
“The thought of leaving them is haunting me”. This both expresses her emotional
response to the situation and creates an impression that she can help. This is even
24strengthened by Dooley having an interview with the local mayor, who is portrayed
as the “bad guy”, whilst she shows compassion for the local Roma families. Morgan
also visits a government’s official. She stands up to the “bad guy”, showing her
audience that she is addressing the “bad guy”. “What I am struggling to see is how it
is implemented and enforced” while she interrupts him talking. “Human rights watch
did a report. What has been done since the report has come out?...I want to know
what the government is going to do?...In my opinion, Ghana is the worst place in the
world to be disabled”. She, thereby, comes across as a wonder woman that speaks
for the poor and disabled. That leaves one to wonder if she has visited other
countries, if a two-week visit can make her an expert, if no one else has addressed it.
The emphasis on the reporter’s emotions towards the local situation is strongest in
Morgan’s documentary on Ghana’s disabled. Morgan continuously refers to her own
situation and experiences in the UK, e.g. “This is begging like I’ve never seen before”
or “Since my car crash, keep losing sight of him is making me nervous”. Scenes
visually strengthen her words. She travels across Ghana in her wheelchair, whilst she
looks very independent. The documentary even starts with her saying “It is a
challenge, but it has not stopped me from doing what I want in London” and “Still live
life to the full”. Whilst in Ghana, she relates herself on numerous occasions to her
subjects (e.g. “Like me, he can’t use his legs”). Visually and textually, a clear
difference is made between life as a disabled in the UK and life as a disabled in
Ghana, making the situation in Ghana seem cruel and harsh and something that
needs to look like life in the UK. She looks powerful. The fragment in which she
interviews a traditional doctor shows it most clearly; “Do you think my parents should
kill me? For fuck sake. I think it is wrong that you kill disabled children. Do I have to
continue asking these lunatic questions? That’s murder, nobody is doing anything
about it”. This is followed by a scene showing Morgan lying in bed. She got sick.
“When you get sick, you realise all the things you took for granted. The people out
here, when they get sick. Nowhere to go, no one to look after them. It reminds me
how lucky I am. I will be feeling that every single day”.
Morgan thereby creates a strong us & them perspective. The audience sees vividly
who the presenter is and who the subjects of the documentaries are. Stacey Dooley
for example describes the local situation on numerous occasions as “feels like
another world” or that it is unbelievable that people must live like this. Morgan says
“They are not human beings” whilst she gets comforted by her brother. These
examples create the image that the local community’s living conditions are quite
unlike theirs and unlike their audience’s. Visuals, clothes and voice-over add on to the
feeling. Dooley for instance wears Western and expensive-looking clothes. She
additionally never takes off her jacket, creating a distance between her interviewees
and herself. Her interviewees wear mostly sportswear or cheaper looking clothes. As
Dogra explains, clothes worn can create a difference. By wearing Western clothes,
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