The first example Will kick at is the Mackintosh Centre, Which shows how a sense of inequality in society can be produced through perception. The Mackintosh centre is a large sports club during the week and at the weekends it is transformed into a market which appeals to a wide range of people. John Shockley, the head coach at the centre, talks about how the majority of the sports clubs members are from outside the local area, ‘the people that I’m getting now aren’t actually around from this area, their actually coming in from different places.
The lack of local people attending the club and the appearance of the club being secluded and ‘gated off, although it is not deliberately excluding locals, creates an assumption that it is private, that they are excluded and not welcome which produces a sense of inequality. The Mackintosh Centre can also indicate inequality in wealth as the locals perceive the club as too ‘expensive’ and ‘daunting, and therefore they feel that the facilities that it provides are not available to them as they are outside their financial range.
The centre is a rime example of how certain groups of people in society are disconnected with different activities and facilities, (Making social Lives DVD, Scene 7) Poor the second example of inequality displayed on City Road, I will describe how the opening of Deco’s affected Colic the owner of a traditional family run corner shop. Colic’s shop has been open since 1930 and he describes how the opening of Deco’s has impacted on his business. He says ‘ Its knocked me a bit Deco’s opening up two blocks up’.
He also explains how the opening Of Spar 25 years ago didn’t affect him so much but ‘knocked’ the newsagents next to it. The changes over time that take place in society can contribute to inequalities, as some people gain from these changes but some people loose. There are winners and losers. In Colic’s instance, shops like Deco’s and Spar, the ‘big boys’, gained and also perhaps consumers gained from having more choice or from the convenience that these larger shops offer.
But the smaller traditional shops, such as Colic’s, lost out by their business’s being impacted in a negative way, Changes and developments reshape society by creating new and reinforcing current inequalities among different groups of people. Making social Lives DVD, Scene 3) Another example of inequality is how the shops and restaurants on City Road are aimed at specific clientele and groupings of people, and demonstrate how access to resources may not be available to everyone.
Different groupings of people can be down to factors such as age, gender and race. City Road is largely made up of takeaways and fast food restaurants which are aimed at the ethnic minority and students. This creates a sense Of inequality towards the locals and elder people. Although, the shops and amenities are still actually available to hem, we see how this idea of perception and experience shape what facilities different people feel more comfortable to use.
For example, the older ladies feel more welcome at the Taste Buds Cafe and Janet shop Exquisite Africa’ is aimed at the African population who may feel more disconnected to other shops and amenities on City Road. (Making Social Lives DVD, Scene 2) Some locals don’t feel safe at night and see the street as dangerous, such as the gentlemen at the Municipal club, where they talk about how they used to feel sate and long tort the past where things were different. (Making Social Lives DVD, Scene S) However, his perception is not shared by local police officer Bob Kenton.
In conclusion, the Making Social Lives DVD and Learning Companion 1 demonstrate many inequalities on City Road, Which can be created by a number of factors from material things and from the ‘feeling’s’ people have about particular places or things in their societies. My points above largely evolve the idea of how perception and experience create difference and inequalities in society. But we Can still See that how society and people are ever changing that there will always be inequalities and differences which make up a society.
