contemporary media representations of young people

Lesson Objectives: To be able to explain how young people are represented in contemporary media, and apply relevant theory.

Choose three words to describe the young people in the representations we have studied.


Text

Representation of Youth

How are young people represented?

Key Points What is the significance of the representation? You may want to consider the issue of social class.

Theory Which theorists can you discuss in relation to the representations

Additional References

Can you link your discussion to any articles we looked at.


Text ‘Eden Lake’ (2008)


Extreme representation of young people as violent and sadistic. Young people clearly represented as working class. Use of horror genre conventions to represent young people as horror film ‘monster’.

Key Points Very negative representation of working class young people, plays on middle class fears.

Theory Gramsci – hegemony; Giroux – empty category; Acland – deviant youths reinforce hegemony; Philo – middle class anxiety; Wood – normality and monsters.


Hoodie Cinema article.

‘Eden Lake’ (2008)


Text ‘Harry Brown’ (2009)


Stereotypical and very negative representation of young people as violent criminals who are a threat to social order and safety of ‘normal’ people.

Key Points Very negative representation of working class young people. Middle class fantasy or punishing working class youth.

Theory Gramsci – hegemony; Giroux – empty category; Acland – deviant youths reinforce hegemony; Philo – middle class anxiety.


Hoodie Cinema article.

‘Harry Brown’ (2009)


Text ‘Attack the Block’ (2011)


Begins with stereotypical hoodie representations, young people as criminal. Representation becomes more sympathetic as we get to know the youths.

Key Points Representation challenges the stereotypical representation of working class youth. Resolves class tensions with middle class adult character.

Theory Gramsci – hegemony; Dyer- entertainment and utopia.


Joe Cornish interview – challenging contemporary media representations of young people.

‘Attack the Block’ (2011)

Text







Text ‘Misfits’ (2009-)


Use negative stereotypes (ASBO, chavs) and subverts them. Use of superhero trope to make the representation more positive. Young people more sympathetic. Perspective of young characters.

Key Points Challenges negative representations. Shown on channel aimed at youth audience.

Theory Gramsci – hegemony; Wearing – negative discourse about social class.


Misfits article – part of a wider trend of media representations of the underclass.

‘Misfits’ (2009-)

Text ‘People Like Us’ (2013)


Use of negative stereotypes – benefits, single mothers, deprivation, but may encourage viewers to sympathise with characters.

Key Points Focus on lower class youths from a middle class perspective. Reinforces class prejudice.

Theory Gramsci – hegemony; Giroux – empty category.


Guardian article – ‘People Like Us’ as ‘poverty porn’.

‘People Like Us’ (2013)


Text ‘Hoodies or Altar Boys’ Report (2009)







‘Hoodies or Altar Boys’ Report (2009)


Text ‘Hoodies or Altar Boys’ Report (2009)


Found that most news stories about teenage boys were negative and usually in relation to crime. Words used to describe teenage boys in newspapers include yob, scum, feral, inhuman, monster.

Key Points Negative media representations are making people fearful of teenagers.

Theory Althusser; Acland; Gerbner – cultivation theory; Cohen – moral panic; Hebdige – hegemony.


‘Hoodies or Altar Boys’ Report (2009)


How might you answer this exam question?


• Refer to at least two types of media.• Answer must be relevant to the

question.• Make connections.• Clear argument.• Balance of theory and texts.• Personal engagement.• Discussion of past, present, and

future.• Terminology.

Media and Collective Identity Mark Scheme


Essay Structure

IntroductionBegin with a quote. State focus (social group, texts) and argument.Historical‘Made in Britain’ (1982)/’The Wild One’ (1953)Media Area 1 - NewspapersMedia Area 2 - Film(Media Area 3) - TelevisionConclusionSum up your argument, give your opinions, make a prediction for the future.


Introduction

Henry A Giroux argues in media representations ‘youth becomes an empty category’ reflecting the concerns of adults.• media representations of youth serve the purpose of the

middle class adults who produce them• media representation of youth reinforce hegemony • identify texts


Historical Representations

Media representations of young people have always tended to be negative, e.g. ‘The Wild One’ (1953) shows a motorcycle gang terrorising a small town. ‘Made in Britain’ (1982) focused on a delinquent, anti-social youth.

Both representations reflect anxieties of middle class adult society, in relation to the threat to hegemony posed by young people.


Newspapers

‘Hoodies or Altar Boys’ 2009 study

Giroux – constructed by adults.Gramsci/Acland – negative representations reinforce hegemony, ideology of protection.Althusser – media as ideological state apparatus.Cohen – moral panic – ‘clarify moral boundaries’.Gerbner – cultivation theory.


Film

Hoodie Cinema articleEden Lake/Harry Brown – negative, extreme, middle class fear of working class youth.Giroux – constructed by adults.Gramsci/Acland – negative representations reinforce hegemony, ideology of protection.Wood – normality and monsters.

Attack the BlockChallenges stereotypes – Dyer (utopia).


Television

‘Misfits’/’People Like Us’

Uses negative stereotypes.More sympathetic/less extreme – aimed at youth audiences, shown on youth broadcasters.

Giroux – constructed by adults.


Conclusion

Sum up argument – As I have shown most media representations of young people are negative. This is because they reflect the concerns of their middle class producers, and as a result usually reinforce hegemony…More positive representations can be found on television channels aimed at younger people.The effect of media representations of young people is…In the future I believe…(social media, young people can construct their own representations – Student Fees protests, power of mass media).


Choose one theory you can apply to the one of these representations.

contemporary media representations of young people

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