MAP 1 People Just Do Nothing

Media MAP 1

The BBC Three sitcom called “People Just Do Nothing” is set in London on a council estate. The main character, Grindah, is in a grime band on a possibly pirate radio station, called “Kurupt FM” along with Beats, Decoy and Steves. He lives with his girlfriend, Michelle, and his daughter, Angel, in a small flat in London. In the episode “The Godfather”, his daughter is getting Christened and Grindah has to choose a godfather out of his friend, and asks his other friend, Chabuddy, to design and print the shirts for the guests to wear while attending the Christening, however after designing a poor quality shirt, which drove Michelle to tears, he got them professionally made. In the end of the episode, Grindah chooses himself to be the godfather, which caused disappointment for Beats, who wanted to be the godfather. While Decoy showed indifference to the possibility of becoming godfather, he seemed to be being set up as the godfather as he was the best with children. On the night of the Christening, the family celebrated with alcohol. Roche, Beats’ girlfriend, showed disapproval to the idea of Grindah being a father and a godfather.

The show is set in London on a council estate, which are commonly associated with crime, poverty and disrepair.  This shows that the main characters are poor and of a low social status, as they are forced to live in cheap council housing.  This shows the stereotypes that people living in council houses are poor, and that poor people live in council houses.

The costumes of the characters are made from sporting wear, such as branded sports jackets, jogging bottoms and trainers. This shows the characters fit the “CHAV” stereotype of wearing sports clothes. This could be because being ‘masculine’ is important, and sport is generally associated with being a more ‘masculine’ hobby. If a person living in an area such as the one where the show is set, having feminine characteristics is generally ridiculed.

The character Michelle wears thick makeup, which is another ’CHAV’ stereotype and is associated with a low social status, as more natural makeup is more expensive, showing that the characters are poor.

The dialect of the characters is informal and slang, as they use words such as ‘innit’, which is generally associated with a low social status, or a poor education. This may be because the area is a poor district, so education will suffer from a lack of funding.

Towards the end of the episode, the pries, from a high social status, is appalled by the main characters behaviour, showing how their behaviour is unacceptable in most areas, especially in spiritual places such as a church. 

Camera angles are also used. Grandah is sometimes shot from a low angle, making him appear more powerful, which shows that he is the ‘leader’ of the groupp

In conclusion, the main cast of the BBC TV show ‘People Just Do Nothing’, are of a low social status, showed through costume, dialogue and location, but they still have some form of hierarchy, with Grandah being the leader, which is shown through camera angles and dialogue.