Youth Essay

INTRODUCTION

Over the past 100 years, the media has portrayed youth in a mainly negative way for the largest majority of this time period. I am going to explore this question further with reference to various case studies I have been studying from online media, films and newspapers from the last 100 years. I will also make references to the theories of Hall (1904), Medhurst (1998), Cohen (1972), Osgerby (1988) and Hebdige (1998) to support my argument.

One example of a film that disrupts the negative portrayal of youth is ‘In which we serve’ (1942), as the film portrayed youth as a positive patriotic representation. This is also supported by a newspaper headline from The Daily Mail (1939) which stated; ‘these men laid down their lives for this country’, (Daily Mail, 1939). This disrupts the theories of Medhurst who said that those who are outside the dominant group are portrayed as; ‘awful because not like us’ (Medhurst, 1998) and Stanley Hall who argued; ‘youths are extreme and must have excitement in the form of sex, drink, or drugs’, (Hall, 1904). The representation of youth was mediated in this way because young men were encouraged to go to war, and were praised when they did so. This had a positive impact on most youth because it made them feel significant, but the negative portrayal of youth continued after the war, possibly because they were no longer seen as important. The youth who signed up might have felt pressured to do so, and feared ridicule and being seen as cowardly by elders. This falsified representation was based on a small stereotype because not every young person fought in the war, as there were young criminals, deserters and looters. In my opinion, this era was one of the most positive in the representation of youth, primarily because the older generations wanted to pressure/encourage teenagers into signing up for the war. When the war finished, the representation of youth continued to be negative.

In the 1950s, the term ‘teenager’ was created as a consumer group by companies as a way for them to widen their audience demographic, therefore making more money. This began as a positive, because companies were creating products that specifically appealed to teenagers, which made them feel more involved and important. However, in this era a group called the ‘Teddy Boys’ emerged, which involved teenagers, (primarily males) who wore rebellious clothing associated with American Rock and Roll music. Their clothing was expensive as it typically consisted of suits with velvet trim jackets and drainpipe trousers, and hair was usually greased with a quiff at the front. The Teddy Boy culture tended to be gang-led and had a reputation for violence. They were blamed for many of society’s problems in the 1950s, and many of the newspaper headlines portrayed Teddy Boys as violent, terrorist like characters. Examples of these are; ‘Teddy Boy Terrorists’, (1958), ‘Police dog in hunt for young Teds’, (1955) and ‘Armed “Teddy Boys” hold up Americans’, (1955). Negative representation of youth culture and Teddy Boys were also presented in the film ‘The Blue Lamp’ (1950), when a policeman was shot by a Teddy Boy. These negative representations support the idea that teenagers began to lose their positive portrayal by society in the 1950s when the Teddy Boy group emerged. In my opinion, teenagers were mostly seen in a positive light during and after the Second World War because they had contributed to Britain’s victory against Germany and the Nazis, but once they had “served their purpose” they were seen as a nuisance by society again. This supports Medhurst’s theory of youth as; ‘awful because not like us’, (Medhurst, 1998) and Osgerby’s theory, which states; ‘we do not have to search hard to find negative representations of youth in post-war Britain’, (Osgerby, 1988).

The representation of youth in the 1960s was mostly negative, due to the creation of three social groups – the mods and the rockers, as well as the hippies. The mods were fashion conscious youths with short hair and motor scooters, and the rockers were long haired males in leather jackets and motorbikes. Hippies were people who were very relaxed about smoking, drugs and sex, which was a shock to society and the media’s negative representation of them made people see hippies as lazy, scruffy tramps obsessed with drugs. This supports Hebdige’s theory of; ‘youth as troublemaker’, (Hebdige, 1998) and Halls theory of youth being; ‘extreme and needing excitement’, (Hall, 1904). In my opinion, the 1960s was one of the most influential for youth culture, and the differences in clothes and behaviour varied greatly, therefore creating different representations of youth, but the overall portrayal of youth was negative. Examples of these negative representations are in 1960s newspaper headlines, such as; ‘Wild Ones “beat up” Margate’ (Daily Mail, 1964) and ‘Mods and Wreckers!’ (Daily Star, 1960). One film that supports Hebdige’s theory of ‘youth as fun’ and ‘youth as troublemaker’ is ‘Hard Days Night’ (1964), where The Beatles are presented as young, mischievous men who enjoy dancing and flirting with women. Some diegetic dialogue from the film consists of a news reporter asking John Lennon, one of the Beatles, ‘Are you a mod or a rocker?’ to which Lennon replies ‘I’m a mocker’. This response seemingly mocks the media and their creation of these youth groups. The Beatles, along with many other pop stars today reveal how much control the older generation have over mediating stereotypes. The Beatles mockumentary highlights many of the issues in society in a comedic way, such as with their hair and clothes. Another film that also supports Hebdige's theory of;  'youth as troublemaker' and 'youth being extreme and needing excitement' (Hall, 1904) is Quadrophenia, a film released in 1979 but focusing on 1960s youth culture, particularly the violent conflicts between mods and rockers. The film represents youths as being violent by smashing up shops, and drug and sex obsessed. The main character Jimmy is heavily involved with the violent fighting in Brighton between the mods and rockers, as evidenced by him and his friends driving up to Brighton in order to fight their rivals, the rockers. He is also involved in buying and selling illegal drugs, and his impulse to steal drugs from a pharmacy supports Halls theory of; ‘criminal activity increasing between the age of 12 to 24’, (Hall, 1904) and Hebdige's theory of; 'youth as troublemaker', (Hebdige. 1998). The film also supports Osgerby's theory, which states that; 'crime, violence and sexual liaisons have been recurring themes in the media's treatment of youth culture', (Osgerby, 1988). In my opinion, the 1960s was one of the most negative eras for youth, and the continuous negative portrayal of ‘mods and rockers’ would have made a vast majority of the older generations grow a fear and dislike for youth.

The 1970s saw the creation of punk rockers, and this group had anti- sexist, racist and homophobic views, as well as believing in individual freedom. Punk rockers were ‘magnified’ (Medhurst, 1998) by the media, and as a result the representation of this youth group in the media was largely negative. This is evidenced by newspaper headlines such as; 'The Filth and the Fury' (Evening Standard, 1978) and; 'Sid Vicious knifes girl to death' (Evening Standard, 1978). Whilst Sid Vicious did not classify as a youth, he would have been associated with almost every teenage punk rocker, therefore contributing to their negative representation. This representation supports Medhurst's theory of; 'awful because not like us' (Medhurst, 1998) and Hebdige's theory of; 'youth as troublemakers', (Hebdige, 1998). One film that supports the negative representation of youth is 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971), because it presents; 'youth as troublemakers', (Hebdige, 1998) and shows support for the idea that; 'criminal activity increases between the ages of 12 & 24', (Hall, 1904). The film shows the main character, Alex, participating in horrific acts of rape and violence, with the murder of one woman by Alex, when he broke into her house. The film was banned until the director’s death in 1999, due to the occurrence of numerous copycat crimes. This film may have created a sense of moral panic amongst the audience, as some of them may have thought that many youths also participated in such atrocities.

The representation of youth in the 1980s was largely negative, and the creation of skinheads meant that racism was frequently present, as skinheads were associated with being white supremacists. One newspaper headline that supports this is; 'Nazi gang leader is jailed' which supports Hebdige's theory of; 'youth as troublemaker', (Hebdige, 1998). One film that supports the negative representation of youth is 'Scum' (1980), which shows violence, rape and racial segregation in a borstal environment. Medhurst's 1998 theory of; 'awful because they are not like us' can be applied to the film as well as his ‘magnification theory’, because violence is magnified and inflated to shock the audience. The high level of violence in the film may shock the audience into thinking that all youths behave in this way, thus possibly creating a sense of moral panic. This shows support for Cohen’s 1972 theory, which argues that; 'the media creates an idea of youth as a folk devil which fuels the negative representation of youth'. Another newspaper headline that supports the negative representation of youth is; 'Acid crackdown, panic in the streets of London?', (NME, 1988). This will also create panic amongst the general public, especially those living in London, as they will associate all youths as being drug takers.

The representation of youth in the 1990s was also negative, and youths were continued to be associated with being rebellious by going to parties and taking drugs. This representation was supported with the story of Leah Betts, a schoolgirl in Essex who died after taking an ecstasy tablet and drinking excess amounts of water. Her story was presented by the media as a warning to youths about the dangers of drugs, and it was suggested that the pill Leah had taken was from a contaminated batch. A newspaper headline used at the time was; 'Ecstasy pill puts party girl in coma', (BBC, 1995). Another significant death in the 1990s relating to drug use was Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994, where it has been said that Cobain was high on heroin when he shot himself. This supports Hall’s 1904 theory of; 'criminal activity increases between the age of 12 & 24'. There is also a part of Stanley Hall’s theory that states 'the common mood for teenagers is a state of depression' but this is inapplicable to Kurt Cobain as he was 27 years old when he committed suicide. However, his heroin addiction raised awareness on how dangerous drugs are. One film that portrays the danger of drugs is 'Trainspotting' (1996), which has recurring themes of drug overdose, violence and one case of an infant death due to neglect. The characters in 'Trainspotting' are portrayed as violent and depressed, and the case of Renton and Spud shoplifting supports Halls theory) of; 'criminal activity increasing between the ages of 12 and 24' and; 'the common mood for teenagers is a state of depression', (Hall, 1904). Another film that features drugs is 'Human Traffic' (1999) which follows a narrative involving a group of friends fed up of their demanding jobs, and find enjoyment from taking drugs and clubbing. This supports Hebdige's 1998 theory of; 'youth as fun' and 'youth as troublemaker' and Cohen’s 1972 theory of; 'the media creating an idea of youth as a folk devil which fuels the negative representation of youth' because the film would create a sense of moral panic by showing a large amount of the youth population as drug takers.

2000 - Present Brit films differ from previous decades because there has been a massive tonal shift in the representation of youth. For example, films such as; 'The Inbetweeners Movie', 'Harry Potter' and 'Billy Elliot' present youth in a way that is more positive and relatable for teenagers. 'The Inbetweeners' presents youth as 'trouble and fun', therefore supporting Hebdige's theory (1998). The main characters would all show support for Stanley Halls theory, which states; 'youth are extreme and need excitement (Hall, 1904).' Therefore, this is why the profits of British films in this decade have increased. This is evidenced when compared with the success of 'Trainspotting', which made £48 million at the box office, in comparison to 'Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone' which made almost £975 million in box office sales. However, newspaper coverage of youth still remains to be negative because they are aimed at an older target audience and therefore want to appeal to them.

In my opinion, with the advancements in technology and with Gauntlett's theory of the 'consumer becomes the producer of their own media texts' (Gauntlett, 2007), teenagers have now been given the opportunity to express themselves positively across a range of media platforms, and challenge traditional negative youth stereotypes. However, recent events such as The London Riots, neck nominations and The Blue Whale Challenge presents youth in a negative manner. This negative portrayal is extended further when pictures from these events are posted on social media accounts. This is supported by the following newspaper headlines; 'Hashtag becomes bashtag' (Metro, 2014) and 'Racial face-off flares on Facebook' (Cape Times, 2015). This is presenting youth and their use of social media in a negative way, therefore supporting Hebdige's theory of; 'youth as troublemakers' (Hebdige, 1998) and Medhurst's 'magnification theory' (1998).

Conclusion: 

Over the last 100 years, young people have been typically presented in a negative manner, as they are stereotyped as being violent and ignorant. Overall, the media mediates all stereotypes negatively, as they typically have biased opinions on youth. For example, newspapers usually have older target audiences that will also have negative views towards teenagers, and will therefore criticise teenagers in order to appeal to their audience. This makes film representation of youth different to print representation because films can present youth in various different interpretations, whereas print usually has a one sided view on youth. Films such as 'A Clockwork Orange' portrayed youth in a negative manner and created copycat crimes, which was highlighted in the media and creates a negative impact on youth. Further films that also present youth negatively are; 'Scum', 'Human Traffic' and 'Trainspotting' as they present recurring themes of violence and assault. However, recently films featuring youth culture are starting to become more positive and relatable for teenagers, possibly because the films are wanting to appeal to youth in order to expand their audience demographic, therefore increasing their profits.