(SEE POST BELOW FOR TONIGHT'S PREP)
- Gender relations and roles, in particular, the absence of women in positions of influence in public life (except for one byline of a woman journalist and The Queen as Head of State); women depicted in relation to men rather than in their own right (Jackie Kennedy); women represented in relation to shopping for knitting, lingerie, stockings)
- The absence of representations of diversity, with few references to multicultural Britain (inter-racial marriage depicted as enough of an exception to make the front page)
- Deeply conservative culture with article on possible changes in divorce laws seen as a potential threat to the fabric of society
- The Observer reader's interest in hard news and current affairs includes concerns about The Cold War, fear of Russia
- The Observer reader's interest in the Special Relationship between the UK and the US (Jackie Kennedy defending her decision to marry Onassis, a Greek shipping magnate; representation of JFK's brother)
- The Observer reader's Interest in foreign news extends to Europe, in particular, places beloved by middle class, cultured British people who travelled for leisure (Florence, the Alps)
The Observer 30 October 1966
The Observer 6 November 1966
The Observer 20 October 1968
We make links between what we had noticed in The Avengers and The Observer in terms of social, historical and political messages and values in both texts.
We note that the modern Observer reader continues to share similar values with some new ones that reflect our current society:
- interest in hard news (as opposed to soft news like celebrity gossip);
- interest in foreign affairs;
- wide range of cultural interests (features on art, literature, music, theatre, ballet, exhibitions);
- interest in a wide range of sports;
- diversity of representations of different ethnicities
- women depicted on equal terms
