Television in the 2010s

LO: research the 2010s (UK) in terms of social, cultural and political climate of the decade; research TV usage in 2015.

Cuffs was released in October 2015.
What were the key events in 2015 that might have influenced a TV series set in the present day?


Politics- after the 2015 election, parliament was primarily conservative with 331/650 seats, labour suffered their worst loss ever at this time since 1987.

Entertainment-

• Instagram and vlogging is popular.
• The rise of Harry Potter and Marvel showed the need for an escape for reality.

Sports-

• Rugby Union 6 Nations starts.
• Cricket World Cup.
• Golf Masters.
• Premier League.
• FA Cup.
• F1.
• Wimbledon tennis.
• Tour de France.
• Athletics World Champs.

Youth Groups-

• the youth stereotypes were chavs and roadmen.
• social media and iPhones.
• Drug culture.
• Knife crime.
• Videogame violence.
• Rap music.

Events-

• Terrorist Paris attack.
• Fuel prices drop  causing inflation rates to fall to 0.5%.
• Obama is still president but Trump is gaining popularity.
• Ireland legalised gay marriage.
• Brexit.
• Afganistan.
• Syria.
• ISIS.
• Korean Nuclear Capacity.

In 2015 the UK general election was incredibly slight. The Conservatives, while having the most votes only just had over half of the seats at parliament with 331 out of 650. Before 2015 the government was a coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. however since the conservatives had a stronger role in parliament in 2015 they were in power and have been ever since. Ever since 9/11 there has been a large scepticism towards muslims, causing a popularity in political parties such as UKIP. All over the world people were protesting about global warming in March and about the airstrikes on Syria which we were causing. There were also protests about student tuition fees and multiple anti-austerity rallies. In November there was also a terrorist attack in Paris which caused a lot of riot.

The key events shaped this era because of the violence and confusion. The wars and political riots caused a rise in the popularity of movies and videogames which let people escape reality. However the wide-shared acceptance of homosexuality allowed for gay marriage to be legalised in this era.

Media products have been created to fit this. For example movie franchises such as Harry Potter and Marvel have become popular due to people's desire to leave reality and the media takes advantage of this in many different ways such as videogames which are created simply because they're more popular now that people want lasting escapes from society.




2015 VS 1965

In 1965, gay marriage was completely suppressed and transgressive therefore in 1965 police dramas there'd be no homosexual characters however in a 2015 police drama there may be as gay marriage was legalised the year before. As well as this there would be a less diverse cast in 1965 and would follow British stereotypes whereas in 2015 the stereotypes would have changed and the acting wouldn't be so posh and traditional. In 1965 there was also a sexual independence for women allowing for women to dress how they choose and have affairs due to the contraceptive pill. However in 2015 there are restrictions for how women can be presented and the 1965 dramas violated this rule by portraying these characters too sexually. The crimes in 2015 would be more serious as there was the threat of terrorism and so more dramatic but the police officers in 1965 were taken less seriously as the crime rates weren't as high or at least they weren't perceived to be high compared to 2015.