Framing Class: Media Representations of Wealth and Poverty in America by Diana Kendall

Review by: Stephanie Moller

Social Forces, Vol. 86, No. 3 (Mar., 2008), pp. 1347-1349
Published by: Oxford University Press
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 Book Reviews . 1347

Small Wars. State, Society, and theFailures of France inAlgeria, Israel in

Lebanon, and theUnited States inVietnam (2003), a book curiously not
even mentioned bySmith,does not exactly deal with the same questions
Smith is concerned with. But itnevertheless tackles one ofSmith's central
theoreticalproblems, namelywhether and how (collective) actors within
civil society are able to shape foreignpolicy and even to end war. And
Merom's traditionalapproach, although notwithout problems either, is at
least as convincing as Smith's culturalsociology. This might be a hintfor
sociologists interested inwar and macro-conflicts to reread the good old
stuffwrittenby such figuresas Hans Speier orMorris Janowitz.Theymight
realize then thatclassical sociology ofwar is not as easily superseded by
a culturalsociology ofwar as Smith seems to indicate.

FramingClass: Media RepresentationsofWealth and Poverty inAmerica

By Diana Kendall
Rowman & Littlefield,
2005. 288 pages. $75 (cloth),$24.95 (paper)
Reviewer: StephanieMoller, University
ofNorthCarolina at Charlotte

During a period when substantial scholarship identifies excessive

consumerism as a key threatto themiddle and working classes, Dianna
Kendall has written an interestingand compelling book that implicates
themedia as a key driverof this excessive and sometimes "hedonistic"
consumerism. Kendall argues that the media constructs realityand
this construction determines themeaning of class. Working from this
assumption, Kendall examines how inequalityis legitimated intheUnited
States throughnewspaper articles and televisionprograms thatcreate and
reifyclass-based stereotypes. Kendall's book isbased on a frameanalysis
of entertainmentshows and newspaper articles,most notably theNew
YorkTimes dating back to 1850.
Kendall argues that themedia rarelydiscuss class explicitly,but their
portrayals of the classes generate perceptions that influencebehavior.
She illustrates this argument by identifyingclass-based frames (i.e.,
representations of the classes). The upper class is generally framed
positively in themedia: theyare composed of everyday individualswho
are generous and caring and should be emulated. Even when members
of the upper class are framed ina negative light,themedia illustratesthat
upper class criminalshave remarkablygood lives.
In contrast, the poor and working classes are largely ignored in the
media. When present, thepoor and homeless are oftendiscussed interms
of abstract statistics,and when a human face is cast, the framedepends
on thedemographics of the poor.Welfare recipientsand thehomeless are
frequentlydepicted as violatingmiddle-class values, while themedia are

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1348 . Social Forces Volume 86,Number 3 . March 2008

generallymore sympatheticwhen thediscussion revolvesaround children,

the elderlyand the ill.This findingcorroborates previous research onmedia
framesand reflectsthewell-established ideological images of thedeserving
versus undeserving poor thatunderlie the structureof governmental and
charitable programs.
Like the poor, theworking class and working poor are often ignored in
themedia. The working class' relative invisibilityresultsbecause theyare
frequently mislabeled as part of themiddle class. This impedes effortsto
develop class awareness because members of theworking class typically
self-identify as middle class, and thismisconception is reinforced in the
media. When theworking class isvisible,diverse framesemerge. The final
class discussed in the book is themiddle class. Kendall argues that the
middle class was historicallyframed intermsof values, but this framehas
increasinglybeen replaced by negative representationswhere themiddle
class is losing itssecurityand standard of livingbecause itisvictimizedby
multiple groups insociety, includingpoliticians and criminals.
Kendall argues thatmedia depictions of the classes ignoresocietal and
structural determinantsofclass positions,causes thatare heavilyemphasized
in the sociological literature.For example, depictions of the upper class
ignoreeconomic inequities thatgenerate upper class standing. Likewise,
themedia rarelyconsider macro-level causes of impoverishment,such as
educational opportunityor underemploymentdue to economic shifts.This
findingcertainlypoints to a need forsociologists to better publicize their
research results,making journalistsand the public more aware of class
based inequitiesand structuraldeterminantsof these inequities.
Kendall's book is novel because itconsiders the entire class structure
ratherthansegments of theclass distribution,and itconsiders class-based
framesovermore thana century.However, itdoes not sufficiently consider
how the invocation of frames is dependent on structuralconditions of
society.Kendall acknowledges structuralconditions at differentpoints in
the book, but there is not a systematic examination ofwhich frames are
invokedunder differentsocio-economic and political conditions. Kendall
criticizes themedia forneglecting structuraldeterminants of the class
structure,and Ioffer the same criticism.Media representations of the
classes are structurallyconstrained.This has been found incontentanalysis
ofmagazine articles,where representationsof the poor are influencedby
the state of theeconomy. Ina strongeconomy, individualistic explanations
abound. Inaweak economy, economic downturnsare oftendiscussed as a
source of destitution.Kendall's discussion ofmedia frameswould benefit
fromthiscontextual analysis. Itwould also benefitfroma discussion of the
packaging of frames.The frames invokedforeach class are discussed in
isolation. Itwould be interesting,forexample, to learn if,how and when

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 Book Reviews . 1349

negative frames regarding the poor and working classes are packaged
with positive frames regardingthemiddle and upper classes. This would
offera more comprehensive understandingof how the system of class is
legitimated inthemedia.
In spite of this, Dr. Kendall's discussion of Framing Class is a well
written, interestingexamination of the conceptualization of class in the
United States. Itsubstantiates claims that themedia reifyclass-based
stereotypes. Itshould appeal to sociologists interested inculture, frame
analysis and stratification.In addition, Iwould stronglyrecommend this
book foran undergraduatecourse because Kendall analyzes contemporary
television shows. This should help students criticallyassess theirreality.

Radical Nomad: C.WrightMills and His Times

By Tom Hayden
ParadigmPublishers,2006. 212 pages. $65 (cloth),$18.95 (paper)
Reviewer:Alan Sica, PennsylvaniaStateUniversity

A firstglance at this book might give the impression of a nostalgia-fest

for those of a certain age - born, say, in the mid 1930s - who were
young enough to lookup toMills as a hero, but old enough not to be too
damagingly swept intothe '60s infernothemselves. Their ages also kept
them from service in eitherWWII or Korea, and by the timeViet Nam
erupted, theywere too old to be drafted- insome ways a luckygeneration.
The first53 pages of this212-page book are given over to remembrances
by threemembers of this cohort,Richard Flacks, Stanley Aronowitz and
Charles Lemert; the book appears in a new series edited by the latter.
Flacks' observations (19 pages) are straightforwardand contextualizing,
with "What Mills Got Wrong" taking pride of place. He acknowledges
Mills' importance,butwithout adoration.Aronowitz's comments (6 pages)
are autobiographical and pointed: "RadicalNomad is simply the best and
fullestexposition and criticismofMills' theoryof power we have." (24).
He knew Tom Hayden personally at the time themaster's thesis,which
became the book,was written.
Most interestingof the three prefaces is Lemert's, not only because
of its relative length (27 pages), but due to its happily elegiac quality. It
amounts inplaces to a prose-poem tomemory, of a time thatseemed in
part incomprehensiblyconformist- college sock hops and fratparties -
butwhich turned intosomething quite differentas the late '50s became
the '60s. For readerswho can understand subtle implication,there's a lot
going on inLemert's meditation, e.g., "Atthe limitof the absurd, some -
who inthe 1960s recused themselves to carrels to readWittgenstein as a
relieffromParsons - come forth with collected essays on how the sixties

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