How far does the representation of youth change over time?

For many years the youth of today have had a negative representation within the media. Many events have occurred to support this such as youth violence of gun and knife crime and quite recently, the riots, whereby the 'youth' were stereotypically the dominant age group portrayed. I will be focussing on two films: ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ (RWAC) juxtaposed with ‘Kidulthood’ to see if the representation of youth has changed and how (if any) that is evident through these films.

The first few differences noticeable between the two films are the dialogue in them. The conversations held and tone of voice in RWAC is much ‘softer’ than what is heard in Kidulthood. There are very few scenes in Kidulthood where one character doesn’t swear or use harsh, inappropriate language to the other. (A few that can be pointed out are when they talk to their friends’ parents – respect is shown which suggests that even though youth are collectively portrayed to be disrespectful to one another, they know to respect their elders creating a positive representation of the youth.) To communicate, the youth use colloquialisms (slang) to one another where they understand each other, and anyone else (like adults) wouldn’t, which shows a sense of togetherness between their own generations. In RWAC, James Dean speaks respectfully to both his peers and parents and even when harsh language was used, it wasn’t as aggressive as Kidulthood, due to the fact that foul language back in the 1950s was censored.

The difference in social class between the two is evident by the way the characters dress and where they live. In RWAC, James Dean wears a leather jacket and has a smart-casual look whereas the characters in Kidulthood are wearing a typical “gangster” hoodie and tracksuit look. This represents the continuous changing and developing sub cultures over time. In Kidulthood, the characters seem to add their own style to their uniform by accessorising with a cap, loose tie and a hoodie which forms their own collective identity, separating themselves from the rest of the school which also suggests a sense of rebelliousness.  The theory of Foucault is present as he believes that “everyone is born with a basic identity, which is then mediated through the people we meet and is soon limited, as a stereotypical view is created.” Evidently, those part of the same ‘gang’ follow each other by the way they dress and are stereotyped heavily due to what they look like. For example, in a scene in Kidulthood, a security guard follows Trevor and his two friends out of the shop as he assumes that Trevor stole a hat, but was actually already wearing it when he came in. Perhaps, if Trevor and his two friends were dressed in a smart suited look, the security guard wouldn’t have looked twice at them. It is clear to see that the representation of youth has remained negative since the trend of hoodies and tracksuits have been in fashion and the negative stereotype will remain amongst this type of clothing until a huge impact can change the view of people.

Furthermore, the area they live in can help define the youth of today. For example, the area which the youth live in Kidulthood can be considered to be deprived and of a lower class, as various council estates are shown, which could suggest a hard lifestyle and neglected upbringing. In comparison to RWAC we see James Dean’s house which is of a modern size, in an area that can be considered to be more middle to an upper class which clearly presents a juxtaposition not just within the areas, but with their families and lifestyle too.

Other negative and rebellious views of youth are evident through both of these films which may question whether or not the negative stereotype has developed over time or if it has always been like this.  For example, although RWAC is much more 'cleaner' and less-violent than Kidulthood, it holds aspects where negativity it portrayed of the youth. There was a scene where all the students met up after college and had a car race. This is a dangerous and ignorant thing to do and is typical of the youth to carry out this event, almost as though it is expected of them. Theorist Isidore Isou said "the young, who have nothing to lose, are the attack. They are the adventure" this conforms to the scenario as the youth knew their lives were at risk, but do not realise the consequences until someone gets hurt. And in Kidulthood the violence, gang fights and obvious promiscuity is heightened which perhaps shows that the actions of youth have developed more-so for others to have a stronger opinion, rather than it being a whole new concept.

It is fair to say that the representation of youth has developed rather than changed as there has always been a sense of negativity for a long period of time. The extent to which this is revealed is quite explicit nowadays with regards to the sex, drugs and violence presented in Kidulthood in comparison to RWAC where it wouldn't have been accepted as society hadn't developed thus far. The media perceives the youth in a negative light whereby they can be seen as the 'out-group' and everybody else who doesn’t fit into the category as the 'in-group' conforming to Henri Tajfel's theory.

How do young people form their 'collective identity' through reality tv?

Use Michel Foucault thoery
'togetherness'
Collective identity: the individfual sense of belonging to a group (part of personal identity)
representation: the way reality is 'mediated' or 're-presented' to us.
self-construction by others of the media (what we watch/see helps us to make an image of myself)

Young people form the biggest part of their identity through the period of adolescence because this when they make the transition from childhood to adulthood and are still finding out who 'they are'. The media and those around us help us to form an identity which transforms to a collective identity (the individual sense of belonging to a group). This can be done in various ways, for example through music, having the same taste in fashion and clothing, or the one which will be focussed on; reality tv.
There are many popular and current reality tv shows that have a form of collective identity of young people such as 'The Only Way Is Essex', 'Geordie Shore' and 'Made in Chelsea.'

Made In Chelsea is a British reality TV show set in a wealthy area, Chelsea. It shows young people who are connected in a way of wealth which brings them together to form a collective identity. They live in highly materialistic lifestyles 'where the gossip is as startling as the prices.' Their clothing is designer and are dominated by their values of money. Collectively, the aristocrats are related in a similar way to one another as they share the same interests and lifestyles as each other. Michel Foucault's theory states that we are born with a basic construction of identity, which can be mediated through various influences. This is proven to be true, as in this case, these young people have been born and raised in a wealthy area so they know no better as to what life is like without the glits and glamour. However he believes that our identity can also be limited as a stereotypical view is portrayed by 'outsiders' looking in, therefore assuming wrongly about who we are and the identity that we hold. This can also be interlinked with Henri Tajfel's theory as two groups are formed here, those that fit in ('in-group') and those that don't ('out-group') - both of these groups are a form of collective identity. The young people in Made In Chelsea try and break the stereotype by subverting through discorse, as in a few episodes the conversations held between one another can be considered to be more of a lower class slang as opposed to an upper class posh.

Furthermore, Geordie Shore is a tv series with a group of middle-classed young people who are partying occassionally and can be seen to have quite low self-esteem. This automatically categorises them as the 'wild' ones who love to socialise and get drunk. They have an obsession with asthetic appearance and care more about being attractive and popular rather than rich and famous. These two reality tv shows seem to be the antithesis of each other and demonstrates clearly how two different forms of collective identity can be depicted by what they do together and how they live their lives. Young people watching these shows may favour one over the other. This subconciously could be due to the fact that they relate to the young people witin the Tv Shows in some way or another. 

The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) is a reality tv show filmed in Essex which shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." The young people in it are concerned with their appearance and are portrayed to be quite rich. To some extent, it can be argued that TOWIE represents a perfect mix of the two reality TV shows discussed before.

In conclusion, it is evident that the way media portrays people, their lifestyles and hobbies, others will also be able to relate, creating these collective identities. The way in which the three reality tv shows discussed, shows lifestyles of three completely different types of groups, classes and lifestyles but of all similar ages (young people) conforms to the fact that young people are still making the transition to finding their true identity. From what they see around them, and how much they adapt to other forms of identity throughout their adolescence through the people they meet, forms a collective identity.

What are the social implications of the ways in which different media represent social groups?

http://mediastudiesnwcc.blogspot.com/2011/02/media-and-collective-identity-essay.html

Notes from reading the chosen essay:

- Perspective of the youth is always from an adults’ interpretation in order to ‘serve the needs’ of adults’ society.
- Using peoples theories which support your argument, strengthens it (regardless of whether this subverts or conforms)
- Rebel Without A Cause – good example to use in supporting the era of youths out of control and generating their own identities. Young people are still related to the likes of knives, crime and theft. - The view of the youth of today remains the same. (slightly altered view)
- Use other forms of references – newspapers, films, tv.
- A strong negative representation of the youth is perceived.
Media construction is a dominant source.
- Misfits = stereotypical imagery ohf working class Brisitsh youth. Giving teenage protagonists superpowers creates a positive view. Perhaps minds of the media is changing slightly? Youths  seen in a positive light.
- Mass media products represents young people in such negative ways. Technological developments offer young people the opportunity to construct their own representation and respond to mass media representations

Using key terminology and backing up theories and idieologies with appropriate evidence is shown and elaborated. The use of films/tv and how that represents the era of the youth is demonstrated clearly. The explanation of different films/tv series represents how the view of the youth has been alternating and changing through the years. Mass media production dominates the way youth are perceived through the news and other sources which makes it impossible for the youth to be portrayed the way they want as adults have control over the way we are represented.

Relating theories to the London Riots 2011

Henri Tajfel

Social identity theory – 1979.
Understanding the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. Tajfel attempted to identify the minimal conditions that would lead members of one group to discriminate in favour of the in-group to which they belonged and against another out-group.
This can relate to the London Riots as the youth were portrayed by the media in a negative light which made us collectively the ‘out-group’ leaving the elder and ‘mature’ class and viewers of the news to be the ‘in-group’.
“After being categorized of a group membership, individuals seek to achieve positive self-esteem by positively differentiating their ingroup from a comparison outgroup on some valued dimension. This quest for positive distinctiveness means that people’s sense of who they are is defined in terms of ‘we’ rather than ‘I’.” – In other words, the riots and looting from the perspective of those involved was changed from a negative to a positive. People genuinely believed they were benefitting from it, as it would help their families and thinking it was right because others around them were doing it and were majorly influenced by the acts of others. Many united as one as they helped themselves and helped each other to carry the loot from one place to another. Tajfels theory shows that there is a strong distinction made by the media about the ‘youth’ that damaged the streets of London. 

Stuart Hall

Hegemony and Cultural studies
Crime statistics, in Hall's view, are often manipulated for political and economic purposes. Moral panics (e.g. over mugging) could thereby be ignited in order to create public support for the need to "police the crisis." The media play a central role in the "social production of news" in order to reap the rewards of lurid crime stories. – This suggests how much of a dominant role the media has against the viewers, so by seeing the riots, they can portray the rioters in a way which they want them to be shown to the viewers, creating a biased and stereotypical opinion of the situation.
‘Culture is not something to simply appreciate or study, but a critical site of social action and intervention where power relations are both established and potentially unsettled.
Stuart Halls believes that identity is affected by history and culture, therefore an ongoing production. The past has had an impact on the future so we see and expect a domino effect to occur.

Caroline Howarth

So you’re from Brixton? Struggling for Recognition –
Those who live in Brixton are often represented as ‘different’, ‘other’ and ‘inferior’. Already this creates a negative buzz about Brixton and by having the riots escalate to that location, from Tottenham originally, may not have come to a surprise to some. ‘Media images of Brixton, for example, portray the area and those who live there as threatening, aggressive and criminal.’ She goes on to say that ‘those who live there, and those who are well acquainted with the area, maintain that in spite of these inceptions, Brixton is a vibrant community, proud of a multicultural past and present.’ This suggests that the perceptions of those who aren’t associated with Brixton will automatically assume that Brixton is a rough area and perhaps not the best place of interest.  Prejudice representations create images to us via the media as it was mentioned that only ‘young black youth’ were rioting in Brixton. This, of course, is inaccurate information as many other cultures of all ages were involved also. However, the majority choose to ignore it as we are so enticed with what we read and watch on the news.

How are teenagers and young people in the media portrayed?

i have chosen to look at the TV series 'The Inbetweeners' because i believe it is quite a contraversial tv series and depicts a strange portrayal over teenagers and the youth of today. It follows 4 teenage boys who think about one thing, girls. except for Will who is interested in his studies. Will represents the youth of today who are interested in their education and are able to balance out their social life along with their working life. He is immidiately classed as a 'nerd' as he wears the typical glasses and holds a briefcase in the very first episode. He doesnt show an interest in girls because he doesn't think he can get anyone due to his looks and the clique he is with. They are embarrassing and get picked on by some of the bigger boys which shows that they hold no dominance unless its 'behind closed doors'. One of the characters, Jay is portrayed as a woman hungry teenager. He spends a lot of time talking about girls and tries showing off to his friends about what he has done in his sex-life but his friends know hes still a virgin and this is shown clearly to us as an audience too. This portrays teenage boys as a typical sort as we'd expect them to boast about the prettiest girls as they try to increase their 'rep.'
Furthermore, the boys decide to show a rebellious side as they bunk off for the day. They try and get served with alcohol also but are unable to do so, and in effect get caught bunking too. This portrays young people as the stereotype that they expect us to be which is exxaggerated and makes us assume that all teenagers are like that, and gives older viewers a negative view of the youth.
Throughout the series we see their identities change to fit into other groups and to be popular. This supports Jacques Lacans theory of the 'mirror stage' which holds the concept of imitating what we see around us and
adopting a new identity which we believe is the 'real us'. For example, in one series, to impress a girl, Simon tries to change his ways to be more noticed. He also starts making more time for her and less time with his boys which is the typical expectation when some you like is on your life.
The boys hold a collective identity even though they have completely different lifestyles. They interact with each other so much like going on a lads holiday in the movie that affinity is formed between them.