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| Struggle Street is only poverty porn if we enjoy watching, then turn away | Struggle Street is only poverty porn if we enjoy watching, then turn away |
| (2 days later) | |
| SBS’s Struggle Street concluded on Wednesday night, and what an uncomfortable program it was. Uncomfortable is a euphemism. Really, it was horrible to watch. | SBS’s Struggle Street concluded on Wednesday night, and what an uncomfortable program it was. Uncomfortable is a euphemism. Really, it was horrible to watch. |
| The voice-over was patronising and clichéd. “When life sticks the boot in, it’s about how you fight back,” said true-blue narrator David Field. “If you want to survive you’ve got to keep moving and never give up on your next silver lining.” It came close to ruining this program because the triteness was so out of sympathy with the despair on screen. | The voice-over was patronising and clichéd. “When life sticks the boot in, it’s about how you fight back,” said true-blue narrator David Field. “If you want to survive you’ve got to keep moving and never give up on your next silver lining.” It came close to ruining this program because the triteness was so out of sympathy with the despair on screen. |
| Heavily pregnant Billie Jo smoking a bong in the bathroom, off her face. Going into labour six weeks early, she demands her drug-addicted mother light her cigarette. Billie Jo was a heroin addict when she was born, a “methadone baby”. What chance did she have? | |
| And there’s Chris, the soft-faced 22-year-old removed from his mentally ill mother when he was five. He was raised in foster homes, and has returned to Mount Druitt to live with his aunt Michelle and to get to know his mother Cheryl. Chris is schizophrenic, has bipolar disorder and learning difficulties, but God he tries. He gets a job as cleaner and volunteers to help young children in the area. | And there’s Chris, the soft-faced 22-year-old removed from his mentally ill mother when he was five. He was raised in foster homes, and has returned to Mount Druitt to live with his aunt Michelle and to get to know his mother Cheryl. Chris is schizophrenic, has bipolar disorder and learning difficulties, but God he tries. He gets a job as cleaner and volunteers to help young children in the area. |
| One of the most moving scenes is when Chris and his cousin plan a surprise birthday party for his mother and aunt, who are twins and were both abused as children. They barely get on. Chris is anxious that the party will be a disaster, but it seems to go well. | One of the most moving scenes is when Chris and his cousin plan a surprise birthday party for his mother and aunt, who are twins and were both abused as children. They barely get on. Chris is anxious that the party will be a disaster, but it seems to go well. |
| The heart of the show revolved around Peta and Ashley Kennedy who day by day coped with their sprawling family of 10 kids and Ashley’s heart problems and emerging dementia. Their son Corey is addicted to ice. Their son Tristan had a motorcycle accident that left him with serious brain damage. Their daughter Chloe has autism and epilepsy and has been bullied all her life. | The heart of the show revolved around Peta and Ashley Kennedy who day by day coped with their sprawling family of 10 kids and Ashley’s heart problems and emerging dementia. Their son Corey is addicted to ice. Their son Tristan had a motorcycle accident that left him with serious brain damage. Their daughter Chloe has autism and epilepsy and has been bullied all her life. |
| Stress is not good for Ashley’s health and there is a lot of stress in their lives. Corey is accused of ripping off money in a drug deal. Those ripped off – his sister and her partner – turn up to collect the cash. Ashley loses it, screaming at his son to “get the fuck out”, punching him through the car window. | Stress is not good for Ashley’s health and there is a lot of stress in their lives. Corey is accused of ripping off money in a drug deal. Those ripped off – his sister and her partner – turn up to collect the cash. Ashley loses it, screaming at his son to “get the fuck out”, punching him through the car window. |
| Corey is a pathetic figure in the end. His girlfriend has had enough of him, leaving with their toddler son. “I’m dead set homeless, Dad, living out of a car,” he weeps. “Go write yourself off, you fuckhead, go and kill yourself you fuckhead,” Ashley screams, his face red. Peta keeps loving everyone, and has enough left over to organise a community fair. | Corey is a pathetic figure in the end. His girlfriend has had enough of him, leaving with their toddler son. “I’m dead set homeless, Dad, living out of a car,” he weeps. “Go write yourself off, you fuckhead, go and kill yourself you fuckhead,” Ashley screams, his face red. Peta keeps loving everyone, and has enough left over to organise a community fair. |
| A Mount Druitt schoolgirl asked a reasonable question on Q&A this week. She was “appalled at the elitism and disconnected privilege shown by SBS” and asked, “is all coverage good coverage? When do our personal stories become the ownership of the media?” | A Mount Druitt schoolgirl asked a reasonable question on Q&A this week. She was “appalled at the elitism and disconnected privilege shown by SBS” and asked, “is all coverage good coverage? When do our personal stories become the ownership of the media?” |
| Most journalists, if they’re honest, have confronted this at some point, knowing that people are being exploited but justifying it because the story is “important” and because the subjects have “consented”. Almost always, poorer people are more vulnerable to exploitation than wealthier people. They are less suspicious, more open. And most don’t understand that journalists will never be your friend, and shouldn’t be your friend. As American journalist Joan Didion famously wrote, journalists are always selling someone out. | Most journalists, if they’re honest, have confronted this at some point, knowing that people are being exploited but justifying it because the story is “important” and because the subjects have “consented”. Almost always, poorer people are more vulnerable to exploitation than wealthier people. They are less suspicious, more open. And most don’t understand that journalists will never be your friend, and shouldn’t be your friend. As American journalist Joan Didion famously wrote, journalists are always selling someone out. |
| And yet, the media are criticised for barely covering the reality of poverty in Australia beyond the dry reports of welfare groups that tell us that 2.5 million Australians, including 603,000 children, live below the official poverty line. | And yet, the media are criticised for barely covering the reality of poverty in Australia beyond the dry reports of welfare groups that tell us that 2.5 million Australians, including 603,000 children, live below the official poverty line. |
| Such reports have little ability to shock any more, because they are routine and because welfare groups will always say they need more money and that welfare payments should be increased. | Such reports have little ability to shock any more, because they are routine and because welfare groups will always say they need more money and that welfare payments should be increased. |
| Perhaps too, we have lost faith that anything substantial can be done. We’ve got used to serious poverty, willing to put up with it because for most of us it’s out of sight and beyond comprehension. | Perhaps too, we have lost faith that anything substantial can be done. We’ve got used to serious poverty, willing to put up with it because for most of us it’s out of sight and beyond comprehension. |
| Related: SBS reality show Struggle Street betrays vulnerable people, says missionary | Related: SBS reality show Struggle Street betrays vulnerable people, says missionary |
| The optimism after the second world war that the welfare state could eliminate poverty and disadvantage seeped away over the decades. Hearts hardened, money tightened, resolve weakened. Maybe tough love was the answer. Maybe personal responsibility. Or a combination of carrots and sticks. The very poor are now barely mentioned in our national political discussion, except to be kicked as “leaners” on the rest of us, with harsher restrictions and obligations. | The optimism after the second world war that the welfare state could eliminate poverty and disadvantage seeped away over the decades. Hearts hardened, money tightened, resolve weakened. Maybe tough love was the answer. Maybe personal responsibility. Or a combination of carrots and sticks. The very poor are now barely mentioned in our national political discussion, except to be kicked as “leaners” on the rest of us, with harsher restrictions and obligations. |
| Struggle Street was shocking because it pushed all this in our faces. This is what being marginalised feels like. This is what drug addiction is. This is what struggle means. The Twitter response exposed our confusion. Many people were moved, but others were angry. “Ok this is VILE. Billie needs this 3rd baby taken off her! SKANK,” said one. | Struggle Street was shocking because it pushed all this in our faces. This is what being marginalised feels like. This is what drug addiction is. This is what struggle means. The Twitter response exposed our confusion. Many people were moved, but others were angry. “Ok this is VILE. Billie needs this 3rd baby taken off her! SKANK,” said one. |
| As offended as many residents of Mount Druitt were about what they saw as the stereotyping of their community, Struggle Street wasn’t really about the western Sydney suburb at all. It was about entrenched poverty, generational disadvantage and the desperate fringe. Most people who fall into poverty – often through temporary unemployment – get out of it, but some never do. | As offended as many residents of Mount Druitt were about what they saw as the stereotyping of their community, Struggle Street wasn’t really about the western Sydney suburb at all. It was about entrenched poverty, generational disadvantage and the desperate fringe. Most people who fall into poverty – often through temporary unemployment – get out of it, but some never do. |
| According to a recent report by the Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss), poverty is highest in Tasmania, where 15% live below the poverty line. Poverty is higher in the country than the city, with single parents, the unemployed, people with disabilities and Indigenous Australians especially vulnerable. | According to a recent report by the Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss), poverty is highest in Tasmania, where 15% live below the poverty line. Poverty is higher in the country than the city, with single parents, the unemployed, people with disabilities and Indigenous Australians especially vulnerable. |
| Another report released last month found that around 1.5 million people – 4%-6% of the population – suffer entrenched or chronic poverty, with little or no hope of getting out of it. About a quarter of people who manage to exit poverty return to being poor within two years. | Another report released last month found that around 1.5 million people – 4%-6% of the population – suffer entrenched or chronic poverty, with little or no hope of getting out of it. About a quarter of people who manage to exit poverty return to being poor within two years. |
| The reason the media rarely covers this in any depth is because it doesn’t normally rate. In newsrooms, “worthy” stories about poverty are considered downers, unappealing to readers or viewers. The media often follow political interests, too, and the entrenched poor have little economic or political power, with even the left of politics obsessed with “working families”. The conservative side of politics has a view that may well now be shared by the majority. | The reason the media rarely covers this in any depth is because it doesn’t normally rate. In newsrooms, “worthy” stories about poverty are considered downers, unappealing to readers or viewers. The media often follow political interests, too, and the entrenched poor have little economic or political power, with even the left of politics obsessed with “working families”. The conservative side of politics has a view that may well now be shared by the majority. |
| “We can’t abolish poverty because poverty in part is a function of individual behaviour,” Tony Abbott said in an interview in 2001 when he was employment minister. “We can’t stop people drinking. We can’t stop people gambling. We can’t stop people having substance problems.” | “We can’t abolish poverty because poverty in part is a function of individual behaviour,” Tony Abbott said in an interview in 2001 when he was employment minister. “We can’t stop people drinking. We can’t stop people gambling. We can’t stop people having substance problems.” |
| Last year, a coalition of groups pushed for the government to make reducing child poverty a national priority. Acoss’s chief executive Cassandra Goldie said Australia needed a “national plan to tackle the scourge of poverty”. Professor Stephen Martin, chief executive of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia said, “We need to tear up the rule book and have a radical overhaul of how we tackle entrenched poverty.” | Last year, a coalition of groups pushed for the government to make reducing child poverty a national priority. Acoss’s chief executive Cassandra Goldie said Australia needed a “national plan to tackle the scourge of poverty”. Professor Stephen Martin, chief executive of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia said, “We need to tear up the rule book and have a radical overhaul of how we tackle entrenched poverty.” |
| He pointed out that our welfare payments were generally well directed and not overly generous by international standards, but argued they were too focused on labour market programs, pushing people into jobs that may not be there. They didn’t take into account all the complexity revealed in Struggle Street – mental health, drug addiction, lack of education and homelessness. Politicians barely commented on the calls for a national plan, and the media moved on. | He pointed out that our welfare payments were generally well directed and not overly generous by international standards, but argued they were too focused on labour market programs, pushing people into jobs that may not be there. They didn’t take into account all the complexity revealed in Struggle Street – mental health, drug addiction, lack of education and homelessness. Politicians barely commented on the calls for a national plan, and the media moved on. |
| Former Labor leader Mark Latham, for all his faults, has argued that tackling the human tragedy of Australia’s “underclass” should be a priority for Labor. It was, he said, more about an entrenched culture of poverty than about lack of funds. “In practice, this group has gone feral, leading lives of welfare dependency, substance abuse and street crime. Their political influence is minimal: many are not on the electoral roll and those who are tend to live in safer Labor seats.” | Former Labor leader Mark Latham, for all his faults, has argued that tackling the human tragedy of Australia’s “underclass” should be a priority for Labor. It was, he said, more about an entrenched culture of poverty than about lack of funds. “In practice, this group has gone feral, leading lives of welfare dependency, substance abuse and street crime. Their political influence is minimal: many are not on the electoral roll and those who are tend to live in safer Labor seats.” |
| His proposed solutions were contentious – dispersing the poor away from clusters of social housing and carrots and sticks to push people to send their kids to school and look after themselves. But at least he would put issue at the centre of our political life. | His proposed solutions were contentious – dispersing the poor away from clusters of social housing and carrots and sticks to push people to send their kids to school and look after themselves. But at least he would put issue at the centre of our political life. |
| For a day or two, Struggle Street has managed to do that, too. And, because it was controversial – another essential for media interest – it rated very well. It no doubt had a middle class audience perving on the lives of the “other”. And it’s doubtful that those who participated believe it has helped their lives in any way. | For a day or two, Struggle Street has managed to do that, too. And, because it was controversial – another essential for media interest – it rated very well. It no doubt had a middle class audience perving on the lives of the “other”. And it’s doubtful that those who participated believe it has helped their lives in any way. |
| It has been dismissed as poverty porn, but that’s up to us, really. It’s only poverty porn if we have a look, kind of enjoy being sad and shocked, and then turn away to other things. | It has been dismissed as poverty porn, but that’s up to us, really. It’s only poverty porn if we have a look, kind of enjoy being sad and shocked, and then turn away to other things. |
| This article was amended on May 20 2015 for legal reasons. |
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