Collective Identity

Prompt Question two

The Question

• How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?

Translation

• Compare how contemporary media construct (represent) British Youth as opposed to how historical media texts constructs British Youth.

Examples

• Compare how British Youth are represented through film texts and TV in contemporary media text and historical media texts.

• Why were young people represented in a particular way? Has it changed or stayed the same?

1930s-

• Teen as a collective group was not established• Example TV programme associated with

representing young people where limited-• one example is Good Manners- • Constructed a positive representation of young

people. • Well spoken, well mannered, very polite when

addressing each other and their tone is overall very calm.

1950s-

• Rock n Roll Culture- • Approach taken by young people: Not trying to ‘fit’

into adult mainstream- happy to rebel against it-• first indication of a ‘generation gap’- • change in values and lifestyles- • Example film 1954 The Belles of St Trinian’s –• Negative representation – • synopsis- A new term opens at St Trinian's School for

Young Ladies, striking terror into the local residents and police.

1960s-70s- • sub culture to counterculture- Mods and Rockers In Britain

• Example film Quadrophenia (1979)- representation of the sub cultures

• ‘Quadrophenia‘ the Mods and rockers are represented in traditional clothing so as to be instantly recognisable and shown engaged typically getting into fights in 1960s Brighton, often involving innocent bystanders.

• A mode of behavior roundly condemned by hegemonic opinion leaders (press reports) ‘perfectly capturing the teenage need to belong and identify with their peers.‘

1960s-70s

• In 1961 the war in Vietnam started, it lasted almost 10 years and ended in 1970.

• During that time the Hippie movement first appeared.

• This movement was very peaceful. • In general these people were against the war.• Associated aspects- drugs, peace, rock, Peace

and Love and Long hair.

1970s

• Between 1974-1976 Punk Culture within young people- aesthetic and political rebellion.

• TV Programme- Hippie and Punk Cultures represented in The Young Ones produced in the1980s.-

• The main characters were four undergraduate students sharing a house: violent punk Vyvyan, pompous would-be anarchist Rick, long-suffering hippie Neil, and the smooth and diminutive Mike.

• ‘Representation of the young generation as upbeat, exciting and refreshingly fun’

Bill Osgerby

Hebidge

• Hebidge studied British youth subcultures in the late 1970s.

• youth subcultures are a way for young people to express their opposition to society, and to challenge hegemony. This is primarily expressed through style.

• Representations of young people are quite limited showing them as either fun or trouble. Again this suggests media representations of young people do not really relate to reality.

Today-

• Gang Culture/• Gangster Culture/• Chav Culture/• Drinking Culture/ • Sexualisation of young females.

Overall

• It is evident that negative representations of young people in TV and Film is not a new construction.

• The change in representation could be argued to relate to the specific sub cultures of the time period. E.g. Mod and Rockers and the representation of Youth in Quadrophenia.