B Grade

1. Is mediarepresentation complexforcollective groups?
Representation meansthe wayinwhichaspectsare mediated.‘re-presented’toagroup or
individual,asBuckinghamargues.Thisessaywill be focusingonthe ‘youth’collective group. Youth
has beenahuge focus of mediaeversince itwas represented asaway of rebellioninthe film‘Rebel
withouta Cause’in1955, kwonas the birth of a teenager.EventhoughIbelieve thisfilmwasa
simple representationof youth(bydisplayingthe ideaof perksof beingateenagerwithhormones
changingand thiscausingthe youthto go throughmoodswings/displaydeviantbehaviour). Ibelieve
that once we movedonfrom the preindustrial society, the representationgotcomplex asfilms
startedto include macro-narrative focusingonthe societal reasonsbehindthe youth’sbehaviour
and notjust individual reasonsfrominside(puberty,boredom) Forexample,The SelfishGiant
(2013). Aswell asfilm,TV representationof youthissimple too,mainly portrayingthemas
aggressive,drugaddictsandinvolvedinsexual activity,howeverthere are some aspectsof itthat
make the representationcomplexsuchasproblemsinvolvedinamodernsociety –racism, class
division,familybackgroundsetc.Inthis essay, Iwill alsohave alookat youth representationinTV
includingfilm.
The two of the examplesIwilllookatinthe filmcategoryare Rebel withoutaCause (1955) and
Quadrophenia(1979) where the simplicitycomesfromthe ideaof rebellioncausingbad
consequences.InRebel withoutaCause,Jimmymovestoanew townin whichhe engagesin
deviantandbad behaviourforexample,rebellingagainstparents,gettinginvolvedinagangand
fightingoveragirl.In this film, itisimportanttorememberthatJimmyis justa teenagergoing
throughpubertytherefore moving toa new place couldbe particularlychallengingforJimmy.Males
have a tendencytowantingto prove theirstrength(especiallywhentheyfancyagirl) whichmay
explainthe reasonbehindhimknifefightingwithBuzzoverJudywhoisBuzz’sgirlfriend.(Thisis
knownas sexual jealousy).Byhavingthisprovenstrength,malesbelievethattheycanfitin the new
area and use thispoweronanyone/anythingasa wayof protectingthemselves. Furtheronin the
film,we see Jimmybeingtakenoninti atherapistbyhisworriedparentsoverhisdeviant
behaviours,especiallyaftertryingtokill hisdad.Ibelievethatthisisan exaggeratedrepresentation
of youth,mainlyreflectingadultconcernsasGiroux suggests.Thismeansthatthe realityof youthis
not reflectedinmediabutinsteadisconstructedbyanadultperspective whichiswhyatthe end
Jimmy’sfrienddies,supportingthe ideaof if youdon’tlistentoyourparentsyouwill be punished.
Therefore,thisfilmisanexample of asimple representationof youthbecause itonlyfocusesonthe
ideaof bad behaviourcausingpunishmentandnotthe actual reasonsbehindbadbehavioursuchas
highadrenaline levels.
Quadrophenia,onthe otherhand,portraysanothersimple representationof youthasitfocuseson
differentsubcultures,whichare violenttowardseachother,andtoothersaround.A subculture isa
groupof people whoneglectedbythe societytodevelopasense of community(inthiscase
mods/rockers) asHebdige suggests.Itisthe ideathatthese negative portrayalsof these subcultures
throughmediacreate moral panic.Thiswas studiedbyCohenwhofocusedonmodsandrockersin
Clacton.He foundthattheywere identifiedas‘folkdevils’asthe mediawasconstantlyfocusingon
the deviantactstheywere engagingin.Astheirlabel wasbeingreinforcedbythe societythismade
theminternalisetheiridentitywhichcausedthemtoengage inviolentactsevenwhenthere wasno
reasonfor it,as lateron whenmembersinvolvedinaggressive fightsclaimedtheywere doingit
because theywere ‘bored’ –Coheninterviewed.This‘boredom’isalsointerpretedinQuadrophania
as whentheywere marching,theyseemedhappy tobe doingitinsteadof angry.However,asthis
happiness throughactingina hostile waywasnoapprovedbythe restof the society,distorting
social order,Jimmyfaceshisconsequencesof hisactions,communicatingthe ideaof beinga‘mod’

2. isnot glamouresbeause he loseshisjoband girlfriendandengagesindrugs.Ashe realisesthis,he
givesuphisidentityof amod (motorbike,whichwassymbolicof a modand part of theircollective
identity).Thisreinforcesthe ideaof hegemony,claimedbyGramsci,whichisthe restof the society
dominatingthe ideologiesof the minoritywhichmakesthe minorityseenasabnormal.Therefore
thisisa simple representationbecause itisreinforcingthe ideaof actingoutof the sterotype
structuredbythe powerful majoritygrouphasbadconsequences,thatmayevenincludelosingyour
identity.
One of the contemporaryexamples isThe SelfishGiant(2013) whichI believe displaysacomplex
representationbecause Arborisananti-herobutwe have sympathyforhimbecause of whathe is
goingthrough. Insteadof focusingjustonthe rebellionandthe consequences,thisfilmisalso
focusesonthe underlyingcausesof whatishavinganinfluence onhimtoact that way.For example,
the fact that he is lackinga fatherfigure meansthathissocialisation isincompletetherefore his
understandingof whatisgoodand badmay be diluted,whichwouldhave alsoinfluencedthe
behaviourinhisschool ina bad way.The biggestissue inthisfilmispovertywhichleadstoArbor’s
deathanywaybutshowswhat childreninpoverty(shownthroughuse of costume whichiswornout
and deprivedlocations)hadtogo throughin WestYorkshire,where itwasset.Anotherfeature in
thisfilmthatmakesit complex isthe ideathathe wasshownas the breadwinner(e.g.takingcare of
hismother,tryingto workto gainmoney) whichisa challengingimage of the stereotypical teenager,
therefore the representationinthisfilmiscomplex of youth.
In the recentyears, the mediarepresentation hasgottencomplex andthisisshown through the TV
representationof youth.Mostof the case studieswe lookedathada commonrepresentationof
youthbeingsimple however,some aspectsinvolved,make representationcomplex.Forexample,
Misfits(2009-13) wasdistributedthroughChannel4,whichisprivatelyowned,andtheirproduced
piecesusuallytargetyouthandtheirentertainment.We cantell thatinthisseries,thisfactwas
provenrightbecause the characterswhohave committedanoffence became specialisedthrough
theirsupernatural powerssuchasbeinginvisible orreadingminds.Thisshowsthateventhough
youthisrebellious,eachyoungpersonisspecialisedwaywhichmakesthemseenassuperheroes –
indicatingthe ideaof individualismandnotcollectiveidentity.Thisseriesalso suggeststhatyouth
can lookafterthemselves, donotneedadultprotection,which makesitappearmore relatable to
youthbecause itiswhat theywant.Anotherserieswe lookedatwas Top Boywhere we see a
representationof adifferentethnicityhowever;goingthroughthe same thingsasWesternyouth
suggeststhatthere shouldnotbe racism andpromotesequality.However,there isthisideaof role
modelssuggestedbyGauntlettispresent.Forexample,white youngboylooksuptothe blackgang
membersandbecomesapart of the gang,whereasblackgang membersgotoa white mafiatowork
for him– complex because hierarchyof people changesonce blacksare powerful overyoungbut
thenwhite ispowerful overblacks,whichisastereotype.However,stereotypesare notstable as
Perkinssuggestsbecausethenwe see blackteenbeingmore powerful. Thisisanotherelementthat
makesthe representationcomplex.Lastly,WaterlooRoad,communicatesthe ideaof how poverty,
ingeneral causesteenagerstogetinvolvedinadults’worstfearssuchasteenage pregnancy,going
intojail or gettingexcludedfromschool.However,withpoverty,there are manyotherreasons
behindteens’deviantactssuchas,beingincare, divorced/aggressive ormentallyill parents.This
seriesisparticularlycomplex becauseaswell asshowingthe reasonsbehindteens’acts,italso
showsadultproblemsandhowthese problemscanaffecttheirteachinginschool,thismakesadults
the target audience aswell asteenagerse.g.lovetriangle oraggressive partner.Thismakesthe
representationcomplex becauseitisof twoperspectivesbothadultsandteens.

3. In conclusion,mainlydue tothe reasonwhymajorityof the media representations are made
throughan adultperspective,thisreinforces hegemony;makingpeoplebelieve thatyouthisalways
deviantandwill onlylearnalessonfromtheiractionsif theygetpunished.Representationbecomes
complex whenstereotypeshave been challenged (blackinpower)orwhenitismacro-narrative,
whichislookingatthe biggerpicture suchas povertyinvolvement.Inmybelief,the representation
of youthwouldbe more infavourof the youthbecause the world’spopulationincreaseseveryyear
whichmeansthere are more youngpeople exposedtomediaproductstherefore the representation
couldfocuson positivityof youth,suchaslovingeachother,tosocialise thesepositive thoughtsinto
childrentherefore the worldinthe future couldbe abetterplace.