poverty porn
A 'Benefits TV' Star On the Reality of Benefits TV
After 'Benefits Street' came scores of copycat programmes that make entertainment out of claimants' hardships.
The Outrage About 'Britain's Hardest Grafter' Is Misplaced Bullshit
There's nothing dystopian about the BBC's latest slice of "poverty porn"—it's just the grim reality of life in Cameron's Britain. That's what we should really be getting mad about.
When Are We Going to Stop Laughing at 'Shit Britain'?
Sacha Baron Cohen's Grimsby is evidence that, in today's culture, working-class toughness is something to be mocked. Why have we turned poor people into punchlines?
What Kind of Politician Would Jeremy Kyle Be?
The ITV agitator has refused to rule out a political career, so let's consider the worst-case scenario.
'Prosperity Porn' Gives Britain's Super Wealthy Too Much of a Free Pass
Why haven't the recent shows about the UK's financial elite sparked outrage?
Black Friday Footage Is Basically Poverty Porn
If you think fighting over a flat-screen TV makes someone an animal, you've probably never struggled to afford anything.
Two Hundred Thousand People in the UK Have Been Assaulted for Being on Welfare
Nearly a million people living on welfare have been abused because of their financial situation. I called Katharine Sacks-Jones, head of policy and campaigns at Crisis UK—and spokesperson for the campaign group Who Benefits?, which commissioned the...
Is Slum Tourism Really All That Bad?
Going to Rio and drinking beer while ignoring the favelas doesn't make you a paragon of virtue. I guess the debate will continue, but it's safe to say it's more complicated than knee jerk cynicism will allow for.