Perceptions of Poverty: A Review of 'Representing the Poor'

The discussion of the poor and the rich are just not becoming a conversation that is being discussed publically. There is a huge difference between the two and many people do not know how it is done. Within “Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor” by Bell Hooks, She makes these keep information known to the public. The information that most people know, but just do not want admit. She tells the entire aspect of the poor situation, through the struggles, the emotions, and the hidden mentalities. She express her point of view, that poor is look down upon even though it the majority of the nation and they should think of themselves that way nor should anyone else think of them that way, through the use of several literary and rhetorical

She talks about the ethos used in these television shows to make the working class feel lower than they actually are. Then she uses pathos to strength her argument about the television. This is understood by, “Yet it is clear that humor masks the longing to change their lot, desire to ‘move on up’ expressed in the theme song of the sitcom The Jefferson” (Hooks 434). She used this to express peoples feeling about their economic status. They are never really satisfied with the amount of money they have. They are always looking to get more or find a way to get another object. Therefore, when people watch these television shows, they think they have a clear picture of what the poor or working class looks like, but in reality they do not. They show the working class a people that has situations thrown at them all the time or have a situation in their family that just keeps them down. This situations are not always true. Sometimes there is just not a job out there for a person in the economy. She expresses the view of poverty when she writes, “Poverty in their minds and in our society as a whole, is seen as s synonymous with depravity, lack, and worthlessness” (Hooks 434). This statements creates a question in the person mind. Is the definition of poverty that I always though was correct been wrong this entire time? Hooks knows that when a person ask this question, it is a loaded question. She

In this conversation Hooks point out the importance of image in this society. She wrote, “In their apartments they have the material possessions that indicate success (a VCR, a color television), even if it means that they do without necessities and lunge into debt” (Hooks 435). This proves that some of the poverty in the country is not solely on the persons fault, it is also the society that was created around us. People are buying objects that they do not need, just to make them seem more economically stable than they actually are. They do not want to look like they are poor because they are afraid that people will look at them differently, just like the workers at Hooks’ university. This was a good way to answer the question that most people had in their minds at this point. Then Hooks transitions into logic, explaining how the media creates these ideas in people’s