The document discusses how youth can be seen as a collective identity. It explores how youth share experiences like adolescence, education, finding work, and experimentation. Youth also share attributes like innocence, frustration, and hope. The document then analyzes how media historically represented youth both positively and negatively. More recently, youth have been portrayed more negatively in stereotypical ways as rebellious or part of problematic subcultures. The document argues that these representations reflect societal fears and fill youth identities with adult interests and agendas.

1. Collective Identity
Prompt Question One: no.2

2. How can the youth seen as a collective
identity?
David Snow
Although there is no consensual definition of
collective identity, discussions of the concept
suggests that its essence resides in a shared
sense of ‘one-ness’ or ‘we-ness’.

3. Shared Experiences
• Adolescence- physically and emotionally
maturing
• School/Education
• Finding Work
• Experimentation-drugs, culture, crime
• Creating an identity that isn't created by
school/parents/authority

4. Shared attributes
• Innocence
• Frustration
• Enthusiasm
• Awkwardness
• Hope
• Anger
• Powerlessness
• Stress

5. Youth Representation
• Historically representations of teenagers have
been varied in the media but especially more
within recent years teenagers have been
represented more negatively.

6. Youth Representation
• In the past teenagers were
represented as obedient, conforming
young people who were un-sexualized
and unsusceptible to the negatives of
the world.

7. Youth Representation.
• Media texts such as ‘Good Manners’ 1930 and
‘The young Ones’ 1961 can be noted to have a
positive representation of youth.
• However, negative representations of youth is
not a new thing.

8. Youth representation
• 1945-60 Birth of the Teen
• 1960s-Mods and Rockers-two conflicting
British youth subcultures
• 1960s negative stereotypes of youth
• Example film ‘Quadrophenia‘ 1979-set in
1965- follows the story of a London Mod.

9. Giroux 1997 Youth as empty category
• Representations of youth vary through the
generations.
• The way in which representations are chosen
is through the current fears of society at that
time, what is perceived to be threatening to
them (society).
• Youth threaten the structures of dominant
ideologies. Youth representations are filled
through the interests of the adult world.

10. Today
• Youth can be argued to be a social problem which
is often represented in TV and Film today.
• Youth representations today can be argued to
continue the negative stereotype of the 60s.
• However, the change in youth social identity has
also had a impact in the change of media
representation.

11. Today
• Youth can be represented in accordance with
popular notions of adolescence- mood swings,
risky behaviour, rebellious, argumentative, etc.
• Youth are let down by adults- Parents not being
around, spending too much time with peers, etc.
• Youth represented as part of a subculture- Gangs

12. Class Activity
Referring to E20 and The Inbetweeners discuss:
• How teenagers are represented·
• How they talk to each other·
• Their costume & how they dress·
• What storylines/situations they are involved
in
• whether it was a positive or negative
representation

13. Essay Plan
• Answer Prompt Question One
• Introduction:
• Comment on the power of the media
• Quote on identity
• Explain your approach-which media you are
using e.g. film/TV

14. Essay Plan
• Main Body
• Compare how British Youth are represented through
film and TV texts.
• Briefly refer to historical changes to get the point
across.
• Explain in turn making links where necessary the
ideologies presented in the texts.
• Discuss representation via referring to the micro areas.
• Bring in terminology (e.g. stereotypes) and how
theory/theorists either support or do not support your
examples wherever possible)

15. Essay Plan
Conclusion
• Summaries findings:
• future
• own perspective