Representation of youth in the media

QUESTIONS WE WILL ANSWER IN TODAY’S LESSON:

• How is youth represented in the media?• How does media language work to

create meaning?• How are some representations

stereotyped and stylized?

MORAL PANIC

Moral Panic

A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media

Stanley Cohen (1972)

Cohen’s Moral Panic

Study of the representation of mods and rockers from the 1960s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r61ks18Bd7I#t=45

Although Cohen points to the ways in which the media amplify anxieties and events and create a moral panic, the demonization of youth in this way can only come about if there is some kind of collective identity to which to point.

In this case a ‘mod’ and a ‘rocker’. Two different identities formed through a collective wearing certain clothes and listening to certain types of music.

Rockers: rode motorcycles, wore black leather and listened to rock ‘n’ rollMods: rode scooters, wore suites and listened to south, rhythm and blues, and ska Sdgs

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You can also see how certain subcultures of youth were demonized in the 1980s;The punk era

The Mob’s Brief Rule

Representation

• Everything you see or hear in ALL types of media has been carefully SELECTED and CONSTRUCTED in order to create meaning

•Media representations often reflect the dominant ideologies of the society in which they are created

How is moral panic created in the media?

Through stylized images

Through stylized words...

“HOODIES AND ALTAR BOYS”The word most commonly used by newspapers to describe teenage boys was "yobs" (591 times), followed by "thugs" (254 times), "sick" (119 times) and "feral" (96 times).Other terms often used included "hoodie", "louts","heartless", "evil" "frightening", "scum", "monsters", "inhuman“and "threatening".Research showed the best chance a teenager had of receiving sympathetic coverage was if they died.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E1b_s9irUw#t=53

What are the wider social implications?

Question:

Who makes these media representations of youth?

Can this ever be a fair portrayal?

Let’s look specifically urban youth culture

• What do these people wear?• What music do they listen to?• What do they do in their spare time?• Where do they live?• Any other character traits/ appearance?

What is meant by stylized and stereotyped representations ?

Top Boy (2011)

Camera Angles/ Shots:High Camera AngleLow Camera AngleHand Held CameraPoint of ViewLong ShotMid ShotClose-UpExtreme Close-UpTracking ShotPanTilt

Editing:Shot/Reverse ShotCross CuttingCut AwayEye Line Match

Sound:Diegetic Sound (in the world of the film)- dialogue, ambient sounds, etc.Non-Diegetic Sound (not in the world of the film)- Soundtrack, voice over, etc.

Mise-en-Scene:Everything that is on the screen-LocationPropsClothing

Media Language

TECHNICAL CODES AUDIO CODES

SYMBOLIC CODES

Questions to consider

• How is youth represented in this sequence?

• How do technical codes, audio codes and symbolic codes work to create meaning?

• Can you apply Cohen’s theory that representations are stylized and stereotyped (through media language)?

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/top-boy

Going from the Macro to the MicroHow to structure your answerHistorical context- how has youth been represented in the past?

In this case through newspapers and news broadcasts. Apply Cohen’s theory of moral panic

Contemporary examples- how is youth represented now? In this case through newspapers (the student riots) and TV (Top Boy). Can you apply Cohen’s theory? What about other theorists you have looked at? Barthes, Gauntlett, etc? What are the wider social implications (the macro)

How are representations stylized and stereotyped? Engage in a detailed examination of Top Boy (the micro)

How is identity formed? How might different groups of people interpret these representations?

The future?- what is the future for representation of youth in the media? Do dominant representations inform identity?

Analyse the way in which the media represent one group of people that you have studied.[50 marks]