Representation on Poor

For as long as there has been media, there have been incorrect portrayals of different subjects, for instance what the perfect body image may look like, what beauty truly is, what happiness consists of, etc. Yet, there is one thing that media does not make popular. This subject happens to be the lower or “working” class, more commonly known as the poor. The different medias that society are exposed to usually show poor people as being lazy, dirty, and often uneducated. According to Bell Hooks essay, Outlaw culture: Resisting Representation, “value was connected to integrity, to being honest and hardworking.” (pg 433) Although she points out that the media portrays the poor as lazy, and non hardworking, she fails to speak on the fact that the most hardworking people are actually placed in the “poor” category. People that are categorized as poor are probably more hardworking and dedicated to their families than people who are a part of the middle or upper classes. This is said due to the fact that they have to constantly battle to provide for their families and themselves. Whereas people of the higher classes do not have to struggle as hard. They are not consistently worrying about whether or not they can afford to pay the monthly electric bill or go grocery shopping the following week. But no matter how hard a person of the lower class works, they never seem to find the light at the end of the tunnel, where money and finances will come easier and more abundantly for them. A poor person is not typically lazy, dirty, or uneducated, but perhaps the provider of one’s family who has lost his/her job and now must make that sacrifice of downgrading to a lifestyle that their family is not used to living. People that are “poor” did not choose to be labeled as such. There are situations where a “poor” person may wind up homeless but “poor” does not necessarily mean that you cant still try to pick up your feet and make your life better. Some people may have