In oktober-november zond RTL4 de docuserie Rondkomen in de Schilderswijk uit. De programmamakers wilden een documentaire maken over armoede in Nederland. Ik vroeg me af wat het programma de kijker nu eigenlijk vertelt over armoede en schreef daarover dit stuk voor weblog Sargasso: Krijgen we door ‘Rondkomen in de Schilderswijk’ meer inzicht in armoede?
Update 16/12: Lees hier de reactie (via Twitter) van programmamaker Peter van der Vorst.
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Inspired by the tv-series Benefits Street, the Dutch channel RTL4 recently broadcasted a series titled (my translation) Getting by in the Schilderswijk. The Schilderswijk is a neighbourhood in the third largest city The Hague. Many of its residents are socioeconomically disadvantaged. A recent study shows that one of the poorest areas in the country is located here. Based on a collection of thoughts on poverty porn, I wondered what this show really tells us about poverty and wrote a short blog post about it for weblog Sargasso (in Dutch). In line with Bernhard Wagner’s analysis, I conclude that the question of how people manage to get by (or not) on a low income is largely absent from the show, and that by focusing on blameworthy behaviour and individual responsibility the ‘documentary’ offers a distorted image of (the causes of) poverty.
Photo by Jiří Zralý on Flickr
class in/justice 