A Grade

1. “Media representations are complex, not straightforward.” How far do you agree with this
statement in relation to the collective group that you have studied?
I thinkthat mediarepresentationsare complex due toevolvingidentitiesandideasabout
subculturesinsociety,particularlyof the youth subculture,which iswhatIwill be lookingatinterms
of representationof thisgroupinTV and film.Buckinghamsaidthatmediaoffersamediatedversion
of the worldratherthan a transparentview,whichcangive rise tostereotypesornegative
representationasthose incharge of the media(mostlyadults)tryandrepresentagroup thatthey
are nota part of and can onlyobserve fromthe outside withtheirownbiasesandopinions.Thishas
beenanissue since the beginningsof youthrepresentationinfilm,suchasRebel WithoutA Cause
(1955) whichrepresentedyoungpeople asangsty,hatersof authorityandloversof rebellion.
However,the representationof youthhasdevelopedsince then,just asculture has,reflecting
changesinideas(e.g.politicsandtolerance),butstillmostlycentringonanti-establishmentvaluesas
it isstill arelevanttopictoday.
Goingagainstthe societal norms isoftenshownasa keyteentraitinmediarepresentationbecause
youngergenerationalnormsclashwiththe ‘standard’valuesandrulesestablishedbyadultsin
society- hegemony;atheorythatGramsci suggestedisenforcedbythe middle classmajorityin
orderto maintaintheirownvaluesbypresentingthose whodon’tagree withtheirvaluesaswrong.
Therefore,itisdifficulttosee whetherornotyouth wantto constantlyrebel orjustappearto do so
because theirideasdifferfromagroupwho ismore in control and are thenplacedintothe role of
an ‘enemy’whose mainaimistoupsetthe balance.Thislinkstothe moral panicthat emergeddue
to riotsand gang culture suchas the Mods and Rocker gangsin the 1960s, and how media
representationtookadvantage of the negativeopinionof thisupheaval toportrayyouthaspurely
deviantsanda stark difference tothe ‘proper’valuesof the middle class,suchasthe 1979 film
Quadropheniawhichwasaboutthatverygang topic.Althusser’stheoryof the ideological state
apparatusagreeswiththisas it suggeststhatthe mediaisconstructedbyadultsto fuel theirown
cause.Thismeansthat ‘youth’thenbecomesanemptycategory(asGiroux suggests) asyouth
representationisconstructedby-andfor- adultsinordertolegitimisetheirfearsratherthanto
actuallyportraythisgroup inany sort of diverse orcomplex way.
However,asmediaandsocietyhasdeveloped,sohasthe representationof youth,aswhile theyare
still shownto oftenandstronglydisplaydeviant behaviour,itismade more complex withthe
contextual issuesthatdrive thatbehaviour.Anexample of thiscanbe seeninThe SelfishGiant
(2013), a filmabouta workingclasscommunityinBradford,andthe strugglesof the youththere to
survive.The twomaincharacters- Arborand Swifty- are almostbinaryoppositesintheir
personalities;Arborisaggressive and doesnotfollow ruleswhereasSwiftyissoft-spokenand
characterisedbyhiscompassionate connectiontohorsesandhisyoungersiblings.Despite their
differences,bothcharacters(intheirownway) challenge the stereotypesof youngpeople thathave
beenestablishedoverdecadesof filmrepresentationbybeingdrivenbyadesire tokeeptheir
familiessupportedratherthantojustrebel needlessly,andwhile theydodisplaysome ‘typical’and
expecteddeviantbehavioursuchaswhentheysteal the constructionwire,getkickedoutof school
or swear,itis alwaysjustifiedwiththe underlyingmaturityof needing toprovide fortheirfamilies.
Thisis complex initselfasthe fact thatthe childrenneedtoprovide forthe adultsshowshow the
dynamicsandsocial rulesof certaincommunities(e.g.workingclass) canbe differenttowhatis
expectedinsociety.However,thesecharacters- despite beingdrivenbycomplex andmature goals-
are still onthe surface uneducatedthieves.Thismeansthatitcouldbe arguedthat representationof

2. youthisstill majorlysimpleascreatorsstill feel the needtocontinue toattach thisdeviant
behaviourtoall othermotivationsthatthe charactersmayhave.But the inclusionof characterssuch
as Swiftywhowe wouldnotexpecttoact like thiswithoutthe desperationof povertypushinghim
to behave thiswayshowsthatthe deviancyof youthis sometimesshowntobe foundedin
somethingotherthanmindlessrebellion.
Contemporaryrepresentationisstill seentoadhere tothe simple stereotypesestablishedin
historical mediathatyoungpeople have verystrongcollective identities withthosewhoshare
similarinterestsandlifestyles(TajfelandTurner),andthatthismanifestsinanextreme way- gangs.
Justas historical mediarepresentedthe ModsandRockersin Quadrophenia,orthe ganginRebel
WithoutA Cause,newmediaportraysthese gangsasembodimentsof fearsinsocietyatthattime.
In Top Boy(2011-2013) the ‘hoodie culture’andEastLondongangsare representedasthe main
interestof youthof the modernmedia.However, bybasingaTV programme aroundtellingthe
storiesof these youth,the issue of ganglife andviolence isgivenmore complexity,especiallyover
the long-formmediumof TV shows.Intercutwithscenesof drugdealsandcriminal conspiracyare
sceneswhere the charactersare shownto struggle withtheircurrentsituation;whetherthatbe
povertyor abandonment.Ganglife-forthem- isneededtosurvive andformbondsand,justlike the
deviancyinThe SelfishGiant,isnotjustforthe sake of deviancy;itservesavital purpose inthe lives
of these youth. AsTajfel andTurnerlayedout,social identityisestablishedthroughthe ethnicity,
the drugs,and the upbringingof these youths. Forthemtosurvive,theyneedtorebel-together.
Again,thisisa commentaryof the time,withthe gangsin Top Boydirectlyparallelingthe gangs
oftendemonisedinthe mediafollowingthe Londonriots.ButbyTV programmessuchas Top Boy
offeringanalternate readingforaudiencesof thisbehaviour,itasksusto considerthatyouths,and
theirrepresentation,are more complexthanispresentedonthe surface of othershowsnot
specificallydedicatedtoportrayingthislifestyle.
In conclusion,Ithinkthatthe representationof youthiscomplex inthe waythatstereotypesare
sometimes bothutilisedanddispelled- oftensimultaneously- bythe mediathathasbuiltupthe
identityof the ‘teenager’asthe enemyof society.Whileitistrue thatthere issimplicityinthe
standardcharacteristicsof youth represented inthe media,suchasbeingviolent,resistantto
authority,andfocussedondrugsand alcohol, there isalsocomplexityinthe waythatthere isoften
underlyingcausestothisbehaviour;notjustbecause theyare youngpeople.We have seenthe
representationof youthdevelopovertime andbecome more complex,andIbelievethatastime
continuestogo onand mediadevelopsevenmore,sowillthe complexityof the presentationof
youngpeople onscreen.