The Big Issue - Windrush Day

Windrush Day Special with guest editor Baroness Benjamin

The Windrush generation and their descendants have contributed so much to contemporary Britain, and as we prepare for the first ever Windrush Day Baroness Floella Benjamin guest-edits our very special edition. From fashion to food, sport to entertainment, we turn the spotlight on the Caribbean pioneers who changed Britain for ever.

In this week’s issue:

• Historian Mike Phillips examines why the Windrush’s arrival in the UK led to a social transformation
• Baroness Benjamin speaks to workers on the front line who try to keep youngsters of all races and backgrounds away from gangs
• Olympic hero Linford Christie writes a Letter to his Younger Self about how a part of him will always be Jamaican
• Sir Lenny Henry explains how more diversity in the media will help preserve the stories of the Windrush generation and other minorities
• Ainsley Harriott recalls how the Brits once baffled by mangoes are now eating far more interesting and varied food thanks to immigration

The Big Issue:

• Liberal, left-wing viewpoint 
• Main purpose - promote care of others, the destruction of oppression and education.
• What the Windrush brought us - cultures and vibrancy
• Challenged and shape public perceptions

How does this edition of The Big Issue demonstrate the magazine's ideologies and viewpoints through media language?

The Big Issue's ideologies and viewpoints consist of promoting the care and acceptance of others, paired with educating those on each 'issue' at hand - in this case: 'Windrush Day'. The Windrush brought the arrival of several hundreds of people from the Caribbean to start a new life in Britain.

In the 'Windrush Day' special edition of The Big Issue, there are a wide range of media language characteristics that contribute to these ideologies and viewpoints. The use of vibrant coloured clothes (yellows, blues, greens) on the travelers of the Windrush implies how much culture and lifestyle that they brought to Britain, demonstrating the magazine's educational purposes. By bringing their culture and vibrancy, the magazine intends to say that this helped Britain grow from its originally bleak and cold atmosphere. 

The significant choice of using an illustration rather than a photographic image as the cover allowed the magazine to use colour and detailed expressions to convey their viewpoints and ideologies circling the prejudice against those of the Windrush. The lack of cover lines furthers this as it brings the reader's full attention to the illustration, letting it do the speaking, and as it is already a very cluttered and chaotic page thanks to the detail and contents of the illustration. The old fashioned appearance of the issue reminds the reader of how long ago the Windrush arrived and how long we've experienced the cultures of those of the Windrush.

Within the illustration, the expressions of the people change from joyous and excitement to disappointment and sadness. This indicates the journey of increased oppression that they have felt during their lives within Britain. The magazine makes this clear as to show that the externalised injustice towards them is 'the big issue' and that it should flipped in order to provide the right care for them and get rid of the racism surrounding them. This is furthered through the bold, sans-serif font used for both the anchorage text and masthead. This identifies the seriousness and significance behind the injustice towards the Windrush and allows the magazine to demonstrate their liberal views of the need for racial equality and human rights.

Overall, this edition of The Big Issue demonstrates the magazines ideologies and viewpoints of racial equality and acceptance, majorly, through its detailed and vibrantly coloured illustration as it artistically educates the readers of the 'big issue' at hand.