Discuss your views on "media representations of youth reflect societies concerns and fears"
Representation is the portrayal of someone or something in a particular way. When this is performed in media products, it can often be mediated, which conveys a false representation to the consumer. The age range for people who are grouped in the category 'youth' are typically aged between 12-21 years old. The youth are often being presented as reckless and troublesome in contemporary media texts, with a rise in the creation of urban and underclass crime genre products being created to focus on those who live more of an unfortunate lifestyle in the poorer areas of the UK e.g. London. Not all youths out there mirror the image that is portrayed in films such as Bullet Boy, This is England and Quadrophenia as these are media products that resemble a dangerous and violent stereotype of young people. The youth aren't in control of the production of these movies, adults are, which supports the fact that representations of the youth have been altered to suit the fears and concerns that society has towards this group of people.
Representation is the portrayal of someone or something in a particular way. When this is performed in media products, it can often be mediated, which conveys a false representation to the consumer. The age range for people who are grouped in the category 'youth' are typically aged between 12-21 years old. The youth are often being presented as reckless and troublesome in contemporary media texts, with a rise in the creation of urban and underclass crime genre products being created to focus on those who live more of an unfortunate lifestyle in the poorer areas of the UK e.g. London. Not all youths out there mirror the image that is portrayed in films such as Bullet Boy, This is England and Quadrophenia as these are media products that resemble a dangerous and violent stereotype of young people. The youth aren't in control of the production of these movies, adults are, which supports the fact that representations of the youth have been altered to suit the fears and concerns that society has towards this group of people.
Firstly, Bullet Boy is an example of the negative representation of the youth featured in this drama/thriller focused around two street-smart boys; 18 year old Ricky and his 12 year old brother Curtis. Already there is a 6 year difference between these two boys, however they are both presented in a harsh light. Ricky wears tracksuits and is only just released from prison at the beginning of the film, portraying how he doesn't obey by the rules and is therefore a bad reflection of society. Curtis is just a school child, who doesn't turn up to class because he wants to see his older brother be released from prison. This suggests that his rebellious brother is more of a priority than his education.
He does this by hiding himself in the boot of Ricky's friends car so that he'll take him to see Ricky. This hints to the audience that the two brothers are close and that Curtis looks up to Ricky. The plot of this film focuses around the fact a minor street crash of two cars escalates into a neighbourhood war, where guns are a fact of everyday life. Ricky and Curtis were both involved with guns, which demonstrates how the 6 year age difference between them doesn't matter when it comes to the youth living in poor parts of London; they're all represented the same. This is supported by George Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, where he looked into people who watched a lot of TV specifically and said that these people over estimate the amount of crime in the real world, beginning to assume that our world is something they need protecting from. It's an audience effect that any one text has minimal impact on the audience, but watching the same thing again and again will change their opinion.
Furthermore, This is England is another media product that casts a negative shine over youth. It is a 2007 movie that comes under the crime genre, with young people acting as the main characters. Skinhead culture, like any other subculture, is still ultimately about being in the company of like minded people. Their outer appearance was just one way of expressing to the others that there was a group in existence. The traditional skinheads were working-class. Their outer appearance was visibly masculine, hard and also aggressive. The young skinheads in This is England liked to party all the time. Those who weren't in school were also unemployed and hanging around in their gangs, conveying how they were avoiding the responsibility that comes with unemployment. When Shaun got accepted into Woody's gang, they all went out and began smashing up an abandoned home; which reinforces the idea of their personality being extremely aggressive and violent. This also signifies how the youth are unable to behave in a mature manner as they entertain themselves by being rebellious, and also by constantly drinking and smoking.
There has been an increases in this type of representation of the youth, perhaps supported by the devastating London Riots involving young people in 2011. Cohen's 'Deviancy Amplification Spiral' theory supports this, as he suggests that new media texts about troubled youths are being created due to a 'media hype phenomenon' as a cycle of increasing numbers of reports occur concerning youths, leading to moral panic. Anyone who consumes these type of news reports and movies will eventually begin to believe everything they're watching, convinced that the youth are nothing but a rebellious and out of control group in society. However, it is evident in these movies that the youth represented in a negative light are those who live in the unfortunate states of London. All of the characters vary from school drop outs and being unemployed, with no responsibilities or ambition to succeed in life. They are portrayed to be violent people where a fight or a shooting is the answer to a problem. They are drama's for a reason - to create drama. It isn't reality. Find a group of young people from a more wealthy area and they'll most likely be in education, having fun and enjoying life. Not all youth are the same, it is extremely dependent on their upbringing. But creating a film on the reckless youth is a lot more exciting for an audience because a lot of action and plot twists are involved, so the producers are able to exaggerate their worries and fears towards young people by making them even more criminal than they believe.
He does this by hiding himself in the boot of Ricky's friends car so that he'll take him to see Ricky. This hints to the audience that the two brothers are close and that Curtis looks up to Ricky. The plot of this film focuses around the fact a minor street crash of two cars escalates into a neighbourhood war, where guns are a fact of everyday life. Ricky and Curtis were both involved with guns, which demonstrates how the 6 year age difference between them doesn't matter when it comes to the youth living in poor parts of London; they're all represented the same. This is supported by George Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, where he looked into people who watched a lot of TV specifically and said that these people over estimate the amount of crime in the real world, beginning to assume that our world is something they need protecting from. It's an audience effect that any one text has minimal impact on the audience, but watching the same thing again and again will change their opinion.
Furthermore, This is England is another media product that casts a negative shine over youth. It is a 2007 movie that comes under the crime genre, with young people acting as the main characters. Skinhead culture, like any other subculture, is still ultimately about being in the company of like minded people. Their outer appearance was just one way of expressing to the others that there was a group in existence. The traditional skinheads were working-class. Their outer appearance was visibly masculine, hard and also aggressive. The young skinheads in This is England liked to party all the time. Those who weren't in school were also unemployed and hanging around in their gangs, conveying how they were avoiding the responsibility that comes with unemployment. When Shaun got accepted into Woody's gang, they all went out and began smashing up an abandoned home; which reinforces the idea of their personality being extremely aggressive and violent. This also signifies how the youth are unable to behave in a mature manner as they entertain themselves by being rebellious, and also by constantly drinking and smoking.
There has been an increases in this type of representation of the youth, perhaps supported by the devastating London Riots involving young people in 2011. Cohen's 'Deviancy Amplification Spiral' theory supports this, as he suggests that new media texts about troubled youths are being created due to a 'media hype phenomenon' as a cycle of increasing numbers of reports occur concerning youths, leading to moral panic. Anyone who consumes these type of news reports and movies will eventually begin to believe everything they're watching, convinced that the youth are nothing but a rebellious and out of control group in society. However, it is evident in these movies that the youth represented in a negative light are those who live in the unfortunate states of London. All of the characters vary from school drop outs and being unemployed, with no responsibilities or ambition to succeed in life. They are portrayed to be violent people where a fight or a shooting is the answer to a problem. They are drama's for a reason - to create drama. It isn't reality. Find a group of young people from a more wealthy area and they'll most likely be in education, having fun and enjoying life. Not all youth are the same, it is extremely dependent on their upbringing. But creating a film on the reckless youth is a lot more exciting for an audience because a lot of action and plot twists are involved, so the producers are able to exaggerate their worries and fears towards young people by making them even more criminal than they believe.
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