Ryan Bray came to Channel 4 on a placement and wrote a blog about his experience.

Sat in a hotel room, discussing the ridiculous sexism that happened on television in the 60s is a conversation I was involved on a late night yesterday. Eighteen of us are currently gaining experience in the constantly changing television landscape with channel 4. With a keen interest in the business, we found ourselves debating how racist, sexist and homophobic television used to be in the past and no body questioned it. But today, we the audience, are constantly questioning the way in which people are being represented in the media, which is something that is in turn, changing our society which is an extremely good thing.

In this conversation in the hotel, we discussed how the first on screen kiss between heterosexual couple in the sixties caused massive outrage. The female was fired and never worked again as she was seen as sleazy. What about the guy? He kept on working because he was not a sleaze obviously.

Back in that day and age, people did not react to it, they accepted the sexism but thanks to feminism and how the current generation have been brought up with an open mind about sexism, sexuality and race, we are now able questioning the way people, groups, society are represented and change it for the better.

For example, superhero movies used to portray females to be damsels in distress. Always walking in to danger unexpectedly but with their hair on fleek. Too weak to save themselves the man would have to save the day. With superhero movies today, after the superhero boom in the recent years and the rise in feminism, women in them are able to fight for themselves, save the day without need of a man. Think Black Widow.  Although they are now fighters, they are still highly sexualised and audiences now know this, bringing it up in conversation and addressing it with our social circles.

Remember Dapper laughs television show that aired last year on ITV? They commissioned the series that was eventually cancelled as there was a huge public outcry because it was sexist towards women. It called a huge debate as the audience did not accept it and wanted to challenge it.

After working with channel 4 for a few days and gaining more knowledge about the company, I now know how great channel 4 is for our country. They literally have a remit which means they have to produce shows which push the boundaries of society and television which is only a good thing. Therefore pushing the boundaries we are constantly questioning and learning different opinions. With this remit we have programs like Cucumber, Undatables, The last leg.

These are changing the way we think, telling different stories that need to be told and could hopefully change the way we view society/people.

I find it incredibly amazing that people born in this generation are so open minded compared to previous generations. I find it even more amazing that channel 4 are able to constantly challenge people’s views due to their unique remit which means they are have to come up with new ideas to challenge society. Working for the advertising research team in Channel 4 has been fun, especially figuring out what the viewers like, what makes them tick and their opinions. This department is like the engine for the whole Channel 4, so they can continue to make these programs and tell new stories. Working for a place that makes a good outlet is something to be proud of.