Media products often challenge the social-cultural contexts in which they are created.

The song, Ghost Town by The Specials, clearly challenged the social-cultural context of the time period, commenting on subjects such as class, race, and politics. At the start of the songs music video, there are lots of run-down areas and empty streets. This creates an enigma for audiences and makes the town seem desolate and sad. The lines “Government leaving the youth on the shelf” and “Can’t go on no more / The people getting angry” illustrate the uneasiness that many young English men and women felt about how the country was being governed under Margaret Thatcher. In the music video, all the men have serious/vacant facial expressions, which suggests this song is sad and tackles serious issues. At the time of the song’s release (in 1981) there where there were many marches, protests and riots, where people showed their anger towards the government and its decisions to privatise and close many industries. Young men at the time were particularly angry and frustrated about the lack of jobs and support. This is shown through the line “No job to be found in this country”. Jerry Dammers, The Specials primary song-writer, stated that the overall mood he wanted to convey in the song was ‘impending doom’. The Specials were a Two-Tone band; meaning they fused Jamaican ska music with punk rock / new wave music. They had a huge following in the early 80s, and their music, therefore, had a great influence over culture. By producing protest music such as ‘Ghost Town’, the band could raise awareness about the issues going on in the country at the time. The aesthetic of the music video – the run-down streets and frantic, nauseating feel – as well as the lyrics, are a direct criticism of `the British Government, which introduced stop and search laws in the 1970s – 80s, which allowed police to abuse the laws and target black and Asian people to harass.

In conclusion, the song typifies the idea of using music as a political protest. The song’s writer, Jerry Dammers stated that when it came to the state of England under Thatcher “It was clear that something was very, very, wrong”. And the song lyrics paired with the hypnotic, almost nauseating music video, do a great job at making viewers (and listeners) aware of the state of political unrest that the country that the country was in at the time.