Kirk, Daniel, Gemma and Mary: A comparison of attitudes of ordinary members of an ordinary community (Sociology Homework by Sam Blakeman)

 1. Explain the meaning of community.

Kirk:  Well community is like a chest. You get them in Monopoly.

Daniel: Community, derived from the Latin meaning a society or a relationship system.  Related words are common and communion. Thus, for me a community is a grouping of people who are linked by something that they possess in common, whether through location, social class, work or some other agent that pulls, or binds, them together.

Gemma: Me mam's had community service a lot.  She had to pick up litter and drain the canal.  One time she was gardening for old people but she kept nicking their vegetables and so got sent down for three months.  Community service is meant as an alternative to jail but for her, it led to jail. It's not fair really.

Mary: Community refers to the wonderful people with whom one shares this street.  They are all so special, though some are more special than others.  When I was a travelling person, I moved from town to town.  I often rode the spare horse if it wasn't towing the caravan.  Community in those days was about being able to share your spare horse, to be able to move freely and to set up our caravans in a defensive circle in case them darn natives attacked us.  Yes we were a community but now I have the community of Coronation Street, but no horses.  Regardless it's a stronger community and we don't get ambushed as often as we did.

2. Explain your role in the community.

Mary: I see myself as a Florence Nightingale character, shining my love onto all I meet.  I have a very bright lantern with lots of light. Sometimes, I feel I dazzle people with my enthusiasm.  Also, I have a strong moral compass and I set a fine example to others of loyalty and passion coupled with a sensible wardrobe.

Kirk: I pack boxes and deliver stuff.  I make people feel better about themselves but I'm not sure how I do it.  I suppose it's a bit like riding a bike - elephants never forget.  Whatever my role is in this community,  it's like I'm riding that elephant. 

Gemma: A mother.  Also, I was a surrogate child to Reet.  She took a shine to me so I suppose I help the aged.

Daniel: My role in this community is to set a good example to others, especially to my child Bertie.  I am exceedingly clever and I try to impart some of my wisdom to my girlfriends and neighbours.  I have a complex family structure and my other role is to show that non-traditional family structures are a feature of 21st century life, and that such families can be successful (even though my father's had more affairs than Bertie's had carrot casseroles, my adopted half sister is a murderer; my half brother had a serious alcohol problems and many relationship difficulties including bigamy; my nephew was fathered by a man who was twice his mother's age and who once had an affair with my father's wife Deirdre.)

3. What causes crime in your community?

Kirk: Crime is like when someone steals something. I work in a knicker factory and I know that sometimes the staff nick a few knickers.  That's stealing but it's a perk of the job.  I think there are other crimes in my community too, and that's why my stepson Craig is a policeman.

Daniel:  Picking up on Kirk's answer there, the truth is that the proletariat are exploited by the bourgeoisie, and the low wages they earn cause them to seek alternative ways to survive.  One must ask, who is the criminal? The employer who underpays workers or the worker who must steal in order to survive and to be able to continue to make money for the employer?

Mary: When I was younger, mother used to use me as a decoy.  We were very poor you see, so she would get me to have a tantrum in a shop, and whilst all eyes were on me, she would take some goods from the shelves and slide them into her special pocket inside her long cloak.  I didn't have a father, so I suppose being without a father causes crime.  Even now when I go into a shop, all eyes are on me, but I think this is because of my fresh-faced beauty. My favourite shop in this community is Dev's as I was once Anna to his King of Siam in Weatherfield Amateur Dramatic Society's production of the King and I.

Gemma: Quite often it's me mam that causes crime. But if I'm honest I think it's cause the producers are always trying to get a big audience so we can beat Eastenders.

4. What is the biggest social problem facing your community?

Mary: Not enough eligible bachelors going around.  You might be surprised to hear that I am single.  I had my eye on Norris but it was not to be.

Gemma: We're always skint, me and Ches.  We warned the producers when they first raised the idea of making us have 4 quads.  We already had Joseph and Chesney was happy with just one more.  I would have accepted twins but not quads.  We really are struggling even though we're both actors in the UK's best soap. So in my opinion the biggest social problem is not having enough money to feed five children.  But this was not our decision. It was thrust upon us by a ratings-hungry production process.

Daniel: Inequality. I see it every day.  Bertie has more toys than Gemma's kids.  My father owns a house which is too big for his needs, and some of my neighbours are sofa surfing or flat sharing.  Nick Tilsley, Carla Connor, Rita, Audrey, Jenny, Steve and Dev all run businesses and yet some of their neighbours are only working a few hours a month because characters vanish for long periods of time owing to cutbacks.

Kirk: We need a place for middle aged men like me to go to meet new partners. Since Beth left me I've been sitting at home at night and my brain is not being pushed to its full capability.  I am wasting away and some lucky woman could have me.

5. How has working class community changed since the 1960s and 1970s?

Mary: I believe that times were much harder.   This street was dominated by strong female characters such as Ena, Elsie, Bet, Hilda and Vera.  These women were hard working and hard done by. Now we have strong women such as Carla, very much like Ena, me very much like Elsie, Jenny, a modern-day Bet, Gemma a current version of Hilda and Leanne who fills the role once owned by Vera. However, women are criticised less these days. Look at Leanne for example.  She's had so many 'careers' and men-friends but no one criticises her.  So not much has changed, but it was hard to be a woman.

Kirk: I think that men were men in the old days.  They were great role models.  I myself would love to have turned out like Stan.  And Alf Roberts knew how to save a penny in a way that Dev doesn't understand.  Men in those days drank a lot and smoked in the Rovers.  I don't drink much and I don't smoke. But I'm all man.

Daniel: In the 60s and 70s my father ruled this street.  Sixty-five yeas later and he still rules this street.  At that time my dad was a bit of an outsider as he went to university.  Now we have Roy who is a bit of an oddball as he is neuro-diverse.  No one was neuro-diverse in the old days, but in truth every one was neuro diverse.  Look at Uncle Albert for example. He fancied Minnie Caldwell and was rumoured to be 'friendly' with Ena Sharples.

Gemma: The social didn't hassle you as much.  Dennis Tanner was always stealing 10 shillings from his mam's purse and Ena was always drinking every night in the snug. Bet was always inappropriately dressed and Ken's dad liked to mend his bike in the front room. But did the social work or police call around to assess their needs? Did they heck as like.

6. Who is a good role model in your community?  A bad role model?

Gemma: Audrey.  She must be nearly 100 and still works.  She's a good role model.  I wanna be like her when I'm 100.  Rita as well. A bad role model is Daniel.  He's a single dad and I don't think he looks after little Bertie as much as he should.  I won Weatherfield Mother of the Year in 2022, 2023 and 2024 so I should know.

Daniel: Audrey.  I like female hairdressers a lot.  My mother was a hairdresser you know.  I like Maria for the same reason but I don't show it as she would make a pass at me.  For a bad role model, I would say Mary.  She indulges in ridiculous flights of fancy which make some of Coronation Street's storylines sound tame.

Mary: Audrey. She is Gail's mother, David's grandmother and Bethany great-grandmother.  She's had a lot to put up with and she hasn't raised her prices since 1990.  Like me, she is a free spirit, at one with nature and welcoming to all young men.  I don't like to speak bad things about other people but I think that Kirk is a bad role model.  He dropped out of Cambridge at 17.  I think he dressed as Adam Ant for his wedding.  This is sacrilegious. I worked as a roadie for Adam in the 1980s (though actually it was much more than just that but I've signed a non-disclosure agreement and I can say no more).  I also appeared in many of his stunning music videos.

Kirk: Audrey. She has employed my sister for a long time and that must be hard work putting up with her for so long. Another good role model is Roy who makes the best bacon rolls.  So he isn't much of a model really but his baps look great and I love sinking my teeth into them.  A bad role model is Gemma. She stole my best mate Chesney from me. Also she isn't very bright not like me.

CONCLUSION

Participants did not agree on a definition of community beyond a basic understanding that it was best defined in relation to other people.  All interviewees had defined roles within a very narrow range of possibilities.  Crime is very much in evidence.   The community has changed but the types of character who once lived in this area have been replicated in the present. "Audrey" was seen as a good role model, but otherwise petty disputes and personal grievances led to participants seeing each other as negative role models.