How far do the sources taken together support the view that 'it was mainly the media who turned the Kray Twins from villains into heroes'?

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Rebecca Hayes                                                                                                        Coursework

How far do the sources taken together support the view that ‘it was mainly the media who turned the Kray Twins from villains into heroes’?

The title of this essay already assumes that the Kray Twins were villains and that they were actually seen as heroes.  Not all of the sources say either, that the twins were villains, or that the Twins were heroes, some are objective.  It could be said that the question is biased towards the twins.

   The British media often represented the East End of London as a somewhat ‘glamorous’ and ‘trendy area’.  Photographs, by David Bailey, showed young men dressed in ‘stylish suits’, ‘narrow ties’ and ‘stovepipe trousers’.  These quotes come from source 3.  Later in the same source the author, Jones, the East End being one of the best and most prominent settings for thrillers and novels on which to be written.  He describes the ‘evil’ of the East End and its ‘poverty induced conditions’ and how people lived their lives against a back drop of ‘drunkenness, immortality, ‘rape’ and ‘assault’ and how gangs often ruled the streets.  In a way Jones is trying to make acceptance of the Krays behaviour because of their background, and because of the conditions in which they were brought up and the people who they mixed with, these were good enough excuses for the crimes, which they committed.  

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Another source that suggests the media glamorised the Krays is source 4.  It shows the promotional front cover of the video of the film ‘The Krays’.  The cover shows Gary Kemp, who played Ronnie Kray holding a gun.  Where the contents of the film are rated it suggests that there is ‘violence’ and ‘strong sexual content’ in the film.  Both these factors send out strong brutal messages about the film.  This source both glamorises crime and sensationalises the Krays.  

   

   Although some of the sources suggest that it was the media who turned the Krays into heroes ...

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