Task 1

The text I chose for my critical investigation is Gridiron Gang.

The media language used in the scene is connoted through how most of the prisoners are from ethnic decent and how they are the athletes. It connotes a negative representation by the media on ethnic minorities from the majority of athletes as they are the prisoners however on the other hand they connote that sports is an alternative to issues associated with ethnic minorities in society i.e. knife crime.

However the institution decided to go for this representation as it provides an entertainment factor of how ethnic minorities are represented as underdogs in sport, and is a common representation we associate in sports through the media; which is also present through the movie.

The genre is linked to the narrative by following the “typical” narrative of sport movies. Since the 70/80s to now, the same narrative is played in the sport genre, how ethnic minorities are given a second chance and participate in a sporting event, which is the representation that would be carried on when watching actual sports, thanks to the media.

To a certain extent ethnic minorities are represented positively on the basis that they can change. However it is negative as the film is connoting Marxist arguments that the upper-class is using sports to reinforce their ideologies which are represented through the media (Althusser). The media representation is separating them into a different category from the majority of other athletes.

The audiences will consume it, and learn to subordinate ethnic minority groups, but it would be unintentionally, thanks to the representation from the film. The main ideologies from the whole area are that everyone is equal in our post-colonialist and globalised world. So there has to be ethnic minorities portrayed in sports for it to be seen as a norm. But there are colonialist values still present, which is why they are in jail using sports to be normal.

The narrative is that the prisoners are given a “second chance” to become athletes, which is the representation the press have on athletes from ethnic minorities in society today. This narrative has not changed from movies of the same genre. The movie has similar narratives to Longest Yard and Wildcats. It’s almost has become the cliché of sport movies that have ethnic minorities starring in the movies.

The social issues with the scene are that the difference between the ethnic minorities and the majority of athletes is apparent, which ethnic minorities standing out thanks to the issues surrounding them in the media, i.e. knife crime. The ethnic minorities are the people in jail, while the white people are the Christian football team. This has been the typical ideology in Sports Movies portrayed by the media. The ethnic minorities then become fairer and “change the way they behave” thanks to football.

The historical issues are that Colonialism still exists to a certain extent, the fact that they’re second class citizens. Another reason why ethnic minorities are present in sport is down to the fact that we live in a globalised world, and this diversity brings in more cash, this links in with how they are represented as underdogs and that they can change. The political issues are that the upper-class are using sports to reinforce their ideologies.