Ill Manors broadcast platform: TEDx lecture

1) What are Plan B's beliefs/politics? What are his values/ideologies? Explain your answers.

Plan B beliefs that ''troubled'' youths are ignored by society and feel that they have no sense of belonging. This is the main reason why they act hostile when confronted by authority, whether it be teachers or the police. This leads to them listening to rappers -who although, recite lyrics that can be quite explicit-empower them and enables them to believe they can change their life. This form of music (called conscious hip hop) doesn't necessarily ''glamorize gang culture'' but exposes it for what it really is. By presenting the ''grim reality'', we are able to understand what they go through.

Plan B also believes, that this sector of society, is also convinced that they ''cant make it'', in other words, be successful or achieve their goals, as they come from dysfunctional families. Therefore he states that this could change if there is someone who can help them. 



2) Who is the target audience of the TEDx lecture? Demographics? Psychographics? How do you know? How does this compare to the audience for his music/films? Is there more than one audience for this talk?
I believe that the target audience is the upper/middle class as he refers to issues that would usually be initiated and discussed by this particular group. For example, the comments made about music (that appeals to the youth) and how it ''glamorizes gang culture'', would usually be made by those who see them as a threat to society. This belief was reinforced during the London Riots in 2011,as business owners and those who had been affected by the riots, believed that this reckless ''subculture'' was destroying society. 

Therefore the audience would mostly consist of white middle class/upper class people (who are mostly male) aged 30-50. In terms of psychographics they would belong in the ABC1 social bracket and would either be succeeders, or resigned (Young and Rubican model). This is because these groups are more educated and likely to have these opinions as they are more concerned about their security and status. This target audience is completely different to his target audience for his music/films, who usually target the ''troubled youths''. However, there is a possibility that the TED Talk is aimed at this group as well. It could possibly encourage them to ignore the ''demonisation of the youth'' in the media and strive for success. 

3) What does Plan B say about the media? Explain how this can be linked to Cohen's media theory of moral panics? Read this summary of moral panics and the definition from Wikipedia and use them in your answer.

Plan B explains that the media often use ''labels'' as a way of representing a certain social group. His example, referred to the word ''chav'', which came from the Romani word ''chavvy'', meaning child. However, in 2002, when Michael Carroll won the lottery, the local newspapers ''labelled'' him as a ''chav''. This derogatory word then spread across media and is now a way of referencing the ''less educated members of society'', who live in council estates and act in a violent manner.  

He also says that newspapers and the public openly ''ridicule the poor and less fortunate'', by using these derogatory terms, but would be outraged if a similar word/phrase was mentioned about race or gender. An example of this is when Plan B encountered a street gang during the production of ''Ill Manors''. He states that he ''stood his ground'' when confronted by them, and soon ended up being ''saved'' by another group nearby (that allowed him to continue with the production). However, when the newspapers referred to this they excluded the part where another group of youths helped him. He therefore states that the media purposely leaves out this type of information, as it doesn't suit the rest of the content - which refers to these youths as antisocial, and violent.  Ultimately,  he encourages the audience to ignore these disparaging remarks and not judge those who are unfortunate and restricted in terms of education and upbringing.

These two examples link to Cohen's media theory of moral panic, as the public fear that these ''violent youths'' are terrorizing society, due to the stories they have read in the media. Both, Wikipedia and Mediaknowall suggest that moral panic occurs in stages. The first stage being an event or a group that is targeted and pose as a threat to the community. This then goes onto the second stage, whereby connections are made between the group/event and other stories in the media (''the public attention is focused on the issues''). Finally, these issues lead up to the third stage- social control- which reassures the public that the issue is resolved (ultimately removing the feeling of ''moral panic''). 

Ill Manors: film review

''Ill Manors'', which was released in 2012, is a gritty urban crime drama, directed by Ben Drew (who is better known for his stage name, Plan B), that revolves around the lives of a group of young adults, in East London. Plan B is known for his valuable contribution to London's underground rap scene and has made many songs about the lives of ''troubled individuals'' which he recites in his official soundtrack album for the film. His success from the album – which peaked at number 1 on the charts-, could arguably be due to his exceptional ability to deliver such a captivating and gruesome film.

Its main stars, Riz Ahmed (who plays Aaron) and Ed Skrein (Ed), deliver outstanding performances, to say the least, as they are able to manipulate their conflicted personalities, in a way that reinforces the idea that not all youths that are reckless and unforgiving. The two characters were brought up in care homes and are involved in the local drug dealing business together. Throughout most of the film, Ed is seen as a strict, aggressive figure that is willing to go to extremes measures to earn his money- this includes various events such as forcing a drug addicted woman, ‘Michelle’’ (played by Anouska Mond) to work as a prostitute and selling a baby. Similarly, the troubled, unapologetic Aaron, gets wrapped up in the ‘’spirals of violence’’ that arise, and manages to deal with them through various unlawful acts. However, although these traits are typical to that of a disturbed individual, the characters surprise us towards the end of the film, and allow us to understand that through various experiences they can sympathize with those that have also had a troubled life. It just goes to show that Ill Manors is able to capture the conflicting moods of members of the ‘’alienated sector ‘’of society, and spark debates on how an individual can succumb to such extreme circumstances.

Many audiences would say the film's violence is detestable; however Ben Drew manages to capture the ''extreme reality'' of these explicit scenes, in a way that allows such audiences to realize that the lives of these troubled young people are affected by their upbringing and views on society. I would say that ''Ill Manors'' (although having a low budget - of only £100,000) deserves to be credited, as it manages to capture the essence of urban British film by exploring ''social realism''. This idea was envisaged throughout the production, especially when it came to casting and storytelling. Ben Drew claims that some of the events in the film were based on real life stories that had either happened to him or people that he knew. Furthermore, the roles of the younger characters in the film such as ‘’Jake’’ played by Ryan de la Cruz, were casted by Plan B, from schools. By doing this, Drew has managed to achieve the purpose of his film, which is to be a representative of the faction of youths that have come from rough upbringings and allow them to ‘’tell their story’’ and explore reasons why they act that way. It is right to say that the title ‘’Ill Manors’’ is the perfect title as it plays with the words ''manor''- which means landed estate or territorial unit, and the also ''manners''- a way in which you behave.