The Representation of Teenagers in the Media

The social group that I have chosen to research is teenagers.

Teenagers are often represented in the media as being rebellious, disrespectful, lazy, binge-drinking, drug taking scum at the bottom of social hierarchy. It seems that only occasionally are they portrayed to be intelligent, kind, helpful and valued members of society.

In this presentation I am going to explore how teenagers are represented in different types of media in contemporary times as well as throughout history.

SkinsThe E4 television show ‘Skins’ is a prime example of teenagers being represented in a negative way. Even the shows name is a reference to drug use, as ‘skins’ is the name given to rolling papers used for smoking cannabis.

In the trailer I have included a link to, the characters are shown partying, consuming large amounts of alcohol to the point of illness, smoking cannabis, taking ecstasy pills, having sex and being destructive. This depicts the negative stereotype of teenagers entirely.

The trailer is set at a house party and the characters are wearing typical teenage fashion – jeans, t-shirts, hats, skimpy party dresses and at points only their underwear. They do not look smart or formal in any way, and mostly look intoxicated/a bit worse for wear. They are not presentable and this gives the impression that they are not important or respected members of society, just live for the weekend and couldn’t care less about anyone else or anyones property.The characters also swear a lot, appear to have no respect towards adults or authorative figures and openly talk about sex in public.

Skins is mainly a negative portrayal of teenagers, however at times it does explore more serious issues and how the teenagers deal with these issues, often being very supportive of each other. Series 2, episode one is a good example of this, where Maxxie is trying to help Tony during his recovery from being hit by a bus, and later on in the episode some of the other characters help Tony to return home safely as he is still unfit to join them on their nights out. This reminds the audience that teenagers aren’t entirely bad, and that they can be responsible, and so at these points Skins gives a positive portrayal of teenagers.

Skins trailer

teenagers rescue man from icy water

This article is about two teenage boys narrowly saving a man from drowning in a freezing cold canal. It portrays the teenagers in a positive way, including quotes such as:

‘A spokeswoman said: "These two people showed great bravery and quick thinking in helping this man. Because of their actions, he was able to get out of the water and to hospital for treatment. Their help ultimately saved his life so they should be extremely proud of what they did.”’

This is a stark contrast between this portrayal of teenagers and the portrayal of teenagers in Skins, these teenage boys saved a mans life, therefore have done something very respectable and contributed positively towards society.

In the photograph attached to the article, the boys are standing by the canal where they rescued the man, looking happy and proud of themselves. They are wearing sensible clothing – jeans and a coat, and don’t look scruffyor exposed.

Although this portrayal of teenagers is positive, it isvery specific to the teenage boys involved, and notso much a general overview of the age group, unlike Skins.

Teenagers rescue man from icy canal

The word ‘teenager’ only came about in the 1950’s. Before this, there was no ‘teen age’ - just children and adults. There was less access to education, and children often went to work at a young age. Due to the ‘baby boom’ after WWII, there was a very large ‘teen age’ population in the 1950’s. Education was much more accessible, and children were no longer required to go out to work or join the army at a young age. The 50’s saw those of ‘teen age’ gain much more freedom and independence, and due to the improving economy there was more spending money for them to buy the clothes, food and music that they personally liked, rather than what their parents bought for them or listened to. Rock & Roll was born, aswell as television and AM radio, so teenagers had much easier access to popular culture. They also had more free time due to not working/being in the army, therefore much more time to socialise with other teenagers, rather than just their famililes. Teenage rebellion began in the 50’s due to the increased levels of freedom and independence. It is also around this time that the media began to show teenagers to be rebellious, destructive people. Before and during the war you were either a child or an adult, there was no stage in between. Anyone aged 12+ was regarded as an adult, performing the same level of work, earning a living for themselves/their families and so they were also portrayed/treated as being of the same level of social status of the adults.Films set in this era such as ‘Grease’ portray this idea of teen rebellion, as the characters are regularly out socialising and attending parties, something that used to primarily be an adult activity. At the beginning of the film, the character of Sandy starts off as a good, quiet girl, however by the end of the film she has rebelled against convention and seems like a completely different person. She starts off by wearing pretty, respectable clothing and by the end of the film she is much more sexualised, wearing tight black lycra and lots of daring make up, and is also smoking a cigarette, showing how she rebelled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aataTbxlWeM

I have also found a clip of a 15 year old girl being interviewed in the 1950’s about teenage life. In this interview her mother talks about how when she was growing up, she had very little freedom and felt like she had to go behind her own mothers back about things like wearing make up and having boyfriends, something which is the social norm nowadays. The mother also talks about her belief that teenagers should be given freedom to find their own way in life and make their own decisions. The 50’s really was a huge turning point for the lives of teenagers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/teenage-life-in-west-norwood-in-the-1950s/12584.html

Teenage life in WW2I found an article written by a lady about her personal teenage life during WW2. The articles opening line is “When the war started in 1939 I was 15 and a half – too old to be evacuated but not old enough to be ‘called up’.” This already shows how teenage life was different back then, as there was little freedom and everyone was worried about the war that was going on, and didn’t have much time for fun activites. Also, the economy was severely struggling so there wasn’t the money for luxury food and nice clothes that teenagers indulge themselves on nowadays. Girls also still often married at a young age, between 16-19, and were expected to behave like adults, possibly bringing up children. Since then, women are now typically much older when they marry and have children, because they have the freedom as ‘teenagers’ and are allowed to stay young for longer.

References

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm0onseM1Mw 2007/2008

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Teenagers-rescue-man-icy-waters-Leicester-canal/story-17086462-detail/story.html October 16th 2012

http://www.loti.com/fifties_history/Teenage_Life_in_the_1950s.htm blog post about teenage life in the 50’s, written by Erika Cox

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/11/a9900011.shtml WW2 Peoples War page on BBC website uploaded in 2008

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/teenage-life-in-west-norwood-in-the-1950s/12584.html clip of teenage girl being interviewed on bbc website