The Television Show Yes Minister
The British comedy Yes Minister is a brilliant satire in which the characters are creatively manipulated to form a humorous program. It deals with the wheeling and dealing of political life behind the scenes and attempts to expose its true nature. Although the series is set within the British political scene, it deals with political games and clashes between politicians and the civil service that could be found almost anywhere in the world.
Yes Minister started airing in 1980 on BBC 2 with each episode running for about 30 minutes. With its astounding success it ran for six years until Jim Hacker finally became what he always dreamt of throughout the course of the series: Prime Minister. At this point the BBC started a new series called Yes Prime Minister. The series is still shown on television today and people continue to enjoy the satirical British humour.
In the third season of Yes Minister and for the first time on 11 November 1982, two years into the series, ran an episode called Equal Opportunities. As its title suggests it encompasses the issues to do with Equal Employment Opportunities, focusing on the Civil Services and their attitudes towards women in the workforce. As in other episodes of Yes Minister, Equal Opportunities aims to educate and summon change, while simultaneously entertaining the audience it is targeted towards.
Clever incorporation of a variety of different types of humour creates a jovial façade for the underlying issues. In Equal Opportunities it has allowed the exploration of each sexes emotions and thoughts towards each other in the workforce.
A twist of irony occurs when Sarah announces that she is leaving the civil services. She explains to Jim Hacker that she wants a job that will appreciate her as a person and where she personally can achieve things and therefore has accepted a job at a merchant bank. She is absolutely not charmed by the fact that she would be part of a 25% quota and does not appreciate being patronised:
"Quite honestly, Minister, I want a job where I don't spend endless hours circulating information that isn't relevant, about subjects that don't matter to people who aren't interested. I want a job where there is achievement rather than merely activity. I am tired of pushing paper. I want to be able to point to something and say: 'I did that.'"
Sarcasm is used to cunningly say what is really meant without saying it straight out.
Holmes, P, Introducing Politics for AS Level, London: Polity Press, 2008. [Chapter 8, sections 5, 6 & 7]
In Mellon’s article, several aspects are mentioned supporting the belief that the prime minister is too powerful. One significant tool the prime minister possesses is “… the power to make a multitude of senior governmental and public service appointments both at home and abroad,” (Mellon 164). Mellon goes on to state the significance the prime minister has when allowed to appoint the government’s key member...
Although there are similarities and differences in lever of party discipline between the MPs and the Senate, they both work and are effective. For the MPs, levers such as collective responability, the danger of being re-elected or suspension, and control over Question Period help in securing high party discipline and unity by defining a stiff boundary and pulled them together. While the Senate does not face the problem of being removed from the party for displeasing their party leaders as the MPs do, the very method of being appointed directly by the Governor General (under the advice of the PM) and their background similarities ensure that they think alike and therefore have high party discipline. In contrast, MPs have a relatively more individualistic reasons for maintaining high party discipline while the motive for the Senate is more group-oriented.
Sarcasm: Also points to discrepancies between what exists and what ought to be. A writer using sarcasm often attacks an argument by saying the opposite of what he means.
For example, using sarcasm †̃well thatâ€TMs just greatâ€TM most often used in a sarcastic tone but taken literally it would be interpreted as amazing. The language we use can be confusing we must adapt our verbal communication accordingly.
Occupational segregation by gender is at the heart of stereotyped career choices and has shown a stubborn resistance to change in the labour market of the United Kingdom, despite women entering the labor market more highly qualified Clouds Work (2009).
Equality is about an individual’s rights, giving people choices and respect. It is about ‘creating a fairer society, where everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential’ (DoH, 2004).
The first significant equality legislation in the UK was the Equal Pay Act 1970 . However, the issue of equal pay in the workplace can be traced back to the 19th century. This essay will analyse how economic and social factors of the 19th and 20th century were the reasons for highlighting the issue of equal pay in the workplace. However, with the gender pay gap standing at 19.2 per cent in 2015 , there can be no defining reason for equal pay in the workplace. Consequently, this essay will then discuss how equality legislation has challenged unequal pay in the workplace, but in its reactive approach has failed its objective. Furthermore, this essay will then discuss the remedies for equal pay in the workplace by analysing the impact on both
Due to the high performance in education, workplace and family, society expects women more than before, such as: A wife must cook “good” food for her family, give “more” respect to her husband and nurture her children “properly”. A female employee is often perceived as a careful, conservative, considerate and friendly character of others. Regardless to any nature of individual and the group, an outstanding woman constantly involves conflicts because of her need and desire; now, need evolves to basic luxury need and the desire mutates to “I must have it”. Not only men, women fight for a better home, salary, job promotion, status and many more too. In the article, Cunningham speculates women’s smile as their burdens more than a weapon: “ Woe to the waitress, the personal assistant or receptionist, the flight attendant, or any other woman in the line of public service whose smile is not offered up to the boss or client as proof that there are no storm clouds-no kids to support, no sleep that’s been missed rolling into the sunny workplace landscape” (372). On that occasion, Cunningham sounds like a victim. In comparing to their social image, women have a stronger mentality and perseverance in the reality. The emotional appeal (ethos) is wonderful, it connects audience and writer instantly, but there is a risk; some rational readers might suspect writer is an implicit bias because her article laden with too much
“The Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 proposed that the act prohibits the discrimination on the basis of sex, pregnancy in a variety of areas within work, accommodation, education, the provision of goods, facilities and services etc.” The Sex Discrimination act seeks to protect the grounds of both women and men in all areas of work. It’s true that achieving gender equality in Australia is at a stand still. Despite that Australia has set in accepting women as equal as their male counterparts, which is in one way of moving toward to the future of true gender
Lack of equal pay for equal work has been a challenge that female labour forces have face...
Since the 1950s there has been a rise in the power of the Prime Minister, specially Crossman in 1962 and Benn, who in 1979 referred to “a system of personal rule in the very heart of our Parliamentary democracy”. As Britain has remained the “world’s most successful representative democracy”. The role of the executive has significantly increased at a great deal since the end of World War 2, however, the outward dangers of a supplementary individual hegemony attached to the Prime Minister shouldn’t be overemphasized. Although the modern examples of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair whose styles of leadership have each been labelled as presidential. In this essay I will be assessing the four main prime minister’s power and if his or her powers constrained under the British system. For instances, the power of patronage, cabinet power, the party leadership and the mass media. These are four main factors of the prime minister and its effectiveness can be argued.
Thompson, N. (2003) Promoting Equality – Challenging Discrimination & Oppression. 2nd Edition. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Despite many assumptions, gender equality is not limited to creating advancement and advantages for women. Instead, it simply aims to promote equal rights and access to
Detweiller, Eric. ““I was Just Doing a Little Joke There”: Irony and the Paradoxes of the Sitcom The Office” Journal of Popular Culture 45.4 (2012): 727-748. Web. 15 January. 2014.