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The Traveller lifestyle often produces friction with settle communities, especially in urban areas. Travellers are accused of leaving behind large amounts of litter in temporary halting sites. Recently, certain highly-publicised scams, such as on the Discovery Channel, perpetrated by Irish Travellers have reinforced a negative stereotype of Travellers as dishonest or criminal. Travellers are known to settled people by a number of names generally considered pejorative, such as gypsy, tinker and knacker (in Ireland) and pikey (in Great Britain). Tinker and knacker are based on the historical occupations of some Travellers, wheras pikey is a generic term used for all travellers, regardless of origin.
Traveller advocacy groups insist that Travellers are a distinct ethnic group with a history of many centuries and that negative treatment of Travellers thus amounts to racism. The Irish Traveller Movement was established in 1990 as "a national network of organisations and individuals working within the Traveller community" and it campaigns for full equality for Travellers in Irish society.
Travellers have been portrayed on a number of occasions on film. Examples include the film Into the West which tells the story of two Traveller boys running away from home. The film SnatchSnatch is a film by British director Guy Ritchie. Made in 2000, it features an ensemble cast including Dennis Farina, Jason Flemyng, Adam Fogerty, Alan Ford, Stephen Graham, Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro, Vinnie Jones, Rade Serbedzija and Jason Statham. features Brad PittWilliam Bradley Pitt widely known as Brad Pitt (born December 18, 1963), is an American film actor. He was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri. In high school Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government and school m as a stereotypical Traveller who is an undefeatable Irish boxing champion.