Comission Unit - The Pitch

Chavs: Segregation in the noughties

Pitch

This documentary is an investigation of rise and segregation of CHAVS during the 00’s, that is continuing into the 21st century. The labeling of the majority of Britain’s underclass as CHAVs, has become almost a form of social racism and acceptable snobbery. I want to show how this segregation widens the class divide, in the 21st century, and how we have allowed it. Focusing on the story of PHIL COLE, who is labeled a chav by the society around him, due to the clothes he wears and the music he listens to, and is consequently refused entry by shop owners, nightclub bouncers and restaurants, simply because of the way he looks. I will tell the story from his point of view, following him in the style of cinema verite, looking at the friends he hangs around with, the family he was raised in and societies perception of him. 

Chavs: Segregation in the noughties

Pitch Script

Yesterday is part of the UKTV brand, a forward thinking media group, that appeals to ALL THINGS BRITISH, with channels such as Blighty, Dave and Gold. I think the idea of CHAV, is typically British, especially prominent in the last ten years, and would therefore be well placed on Yesterday, which has commissioned, in the past, programmes such as Pornography – The Secret History and Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll in the 60’s.

The word Chav, is thought to have originated from Chatham, in particular the appearance of Chatham girls. However some argue it’s a extended use of the word Chavvy in the Romani Gypsy language, meaning youth.

The word Chav, has with out doubt turned into one of the most popular words of the Noughties. Susie Dent’s Larpers and Chroomers: The Language Report, published by The Oxford University Press, named it „The Word of the Year“, in 2004. I want to investigate where the word came from, Chav hysteria, the persecution of the hoodies and the point of view of those that are labeled with this now infamous stereotype.

Chavs: Segregation in the Noughties, will be an investigative documentary, exploring whether the term Chav is a justified label, or whether it is a loose term, thrown around in order to categories the under classes in society and is therefore used as a form of Social Racisms. I will also use cinema virite for elements of the documentary, when falling my central characters, letting their attitudes, opinions and actions tell the story.

I want to introduce the story through well known „chavs“ so people can immediately visualize the stereotype. I will therefore use clips from Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard, and The Catherine Tate’s Show’s Lauren.

The tension will come from the people who class these youths as Chavs, including industry giants and the media, and those that embrace the stereotype or oppose it.

Burberry suffered an identity crisis during the Rise of the Chavs. Their trade mark checkered tartan design became hugely popular with the Chavs in the early 00’s, mainly through counterfeit goods. I want to speak to someone from Burberry, and find out how this association affected their brand. Stacey Cartwright CEO of Burberry said „it was mainly counterfeit and Britain accounts for less than 10% of our sales“

My main character is Phil Cole, a boy that was brought up in a Christian Home, in Vinters park. Due to the music he listens to, the friends he hangs out with, the car he drives, the tattoos and the clothes he wears, he is often labeled a CHAV. During the Noughties, he was often drinking heavily, meddling with drugs, going to drum and base raves, and getting in trouble with the Law. Yet at the core, he is a sweet boy, with a steady girlfriend and now has a secure job. I want to see his friends, where they hang out and what they get up to.  I want them to show that although they fall into the stereotype, they are individuals, and resent the word CHAV, because they feel it is a term given to all those that come from Britain’s underclass.

Segregation is key to this documentary. By visually showing it’s existence, through sequences of the public staring at a group of Chavs, to shops displaying signs „NO ENTRY TO HOODIES or YOUTH WEARING CAPS. I would like to interview a shop owner that has this in their window, as well as Bluewater, who put a strict NO HOODIE policy throughout their shopping centre.

One sequence I would also like to use, would be to take a photo of Phil Cole to the high street, one in Maidstone and one in Chatham, and ask the public to tell me the label they would give him, just by looking at his photo. 

Throughout the documentary I want to use music from Goldie Looking Chain, as they are often seen as “taking the mick” out of Chavs‘ As well as Lasy Soveriegn and her song “hoodie”

This film should be commissioned, as there hasn’t been an insightful documentary into the word Chav, and how it affects society in terms of those who do the labeling and those that are branded with this derogative term.