Is TV too White? The rapper Akala wants to make sure that Black and working class children see themselves in the media.
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The rapper with a passion for Shakespeare
Is TV too White? The rapper Akala wants to make sure that Black and working class children see themselves in the media.
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What's happening?
The rapper Akala has noticed something. There are lots of period dramasTelevision shows or films set in a particular historical time period. on TV - but most of them focus on very rich people, such as kings and queens.
If you want to find a historical show where the charactersPeople in a TV show, book or film. are working classUsually used to mean those on lower incomes, working in less skilled jobs, historically in manufacturing industry but now less so. or Black or both, you might find it very hard.
Kingslee James McLean Daley grew up in London in a working class area. His mother was Scottish and his father was Jamaican. His stepfather worked at a theatre and he met lots of Black musicians and thinkers.
He also sometimes saw violence in the area that he lived. When he became a rapper, taking on the name Akala, his lyricsThe words of a song. were often based on things he had heard and seen as a child.
His first album The Journey was released in 2005. People loved it.
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Akala often raps about race and class. He wants people to understand the challenges that many young, Black people face.
In 2018 he became an author too. His first book Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of an Empire is about race, class and his memories.
He has also written a fictionThings that are fictional are made up. book for young people. It tells the story of Henry, a 15-year-old Black, working class boy - who lives in the same time as the writer William ShakespeareAn English playwright and poet who is often called the greatest writer in the English language. .
Akala has been a fan of Shakespeare for a long time. He even set up The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company, which turns Shakespeare's words into rap.
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Is TV too White?
Yes! Often TV shows tell the same stories about the same people. Everybody should be able to see people like themselves on screen - and so we need more shows about people from different backgrounds.
No! Television today includes more people from different backgrounds than ever before, and new stories. And today it is also possible to find lots of programmes online.
Keywords
Period dramas - Television shows or films set in a particular historical time period.
Characters - People in a TV show, book or film.
Working class - Usually used to mean those on lower incomes, working in less skilled jobs, historically in manufacturing industry but now less so.
Lyrics - The words of a song.
Fiction - Things that are fictional are made up.
William Shakespeare - An English playwright and poet who is often called the greatest writer in the English language.
The rapper with a passion for Shakespeare
Finding the beat: Akala was born in Kentish Town in London in 1983. Glossary
Period dramas - Television shows or films set in a particular historical time period.
Characters - People in a TV show, book or film.
Working class - Usually used to mean those on lower incomes, working in less skilled jobs, historically in manufacturing industry but now less so.
Lyrics - The words of a song.
Fiction - Things that are fictional are made up.
William Shakespeare - An English playwright and poet who is often called the greatest writer in the English language.