Collective identity refers to a shared sense of belonging, the idea that the surroundings that a person
is situated in will determine their thoughts and behaviour. Within media, a collective identity can be
misrepresented, within this essay I will talk about the misrepresentation of youth.
Newspapers are infamous for just showing one side of a story, and this side is usually based on the
opinions of the heads of said newspapers, thus, white conservative british males. In the 2012 London
riots the Daily Mirror took to the front page to call the youth 'yobs', this label then becomes a blanket
for every single youth within society. Is it fair that the actions of a small group of teens becomes the
Newspapers are infamous for just showing one side of a story, and this side is usually based on the
opinions of the heads of said newspapers, thus, white conservative british males. In the 2012 London
riots the Daily Mirror took to the front page to call the youth 'yobs', this label then becomes a blanket
for every single youth within society. Is it fair that the actions of a small group of teens becomes the
representative of a whole collective identity? Hebdige believed that the youth are portrayed as
criminals, in order to create moral panic throughout the older generations. The idea of the hyper
dermic needle theory shows just how much influence media has on its audience, its suggested that
audiences are simply empty shells that absorb all that media is telling them and take that as the truth,
without question or hesitation. If this is the case, should the newspapers be blasting sweeping
statements of a collective identity across its front page?
Its not just newspapers that portray youth in a negative way, films and TV programmes also depict the
youth in a troublesome light. In the 2012 film "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" the stereotypes
seen involve, bullying, relationships, rebelling against parents, partying and drinking, drug use and
references to mental illness'. This follows the view of Gould who believes that youths are portrayed
as being rebellious, sexual, violent and self-destructive. If audiences are to watch films such as this
and take everything as face value, a problem evolves in which the youth become something to be
feared. As more media platforms produce the same type of portrayal of youths, audiences take on the
opinions put across to them, this then leads to a shared concern in real society. Another example of a
film that negatively portrays youths is the 2004 film "Bullet Boy', in this film the main characters are
seen with guns, getting into fights, being in prison and the theme of sexuality runs throughout. The
act of portraying youths as criminals supports Hebdige's theory that young adults are portrayed as
criminals to create a moral panic.
Gerbner suggested that the primary proposition of cultivation theory states that the more time people
spend 'living' in the television world, the more likely they are to believe social reality portrayed on
television. This means that the repetitive nature of television will over time influence how people see
the world. This links to Aclands theory which is that the medias representation of youth maintains
social order, hegemony and the ideology of protection. As more and more media platforms use their
power to portray the youth as criminals and hooligans it encourages the idea that they need to be
controlled, this reinforces hegemony with in a two step flow process. The media feeds the ideology to
parents who then enforce it onto their children: this is the same with local sanctions such as the police
and education system.
As we can see, the media hugely influences the thoughts and ideologies of audiences, this can lead to
misrepresentation of a collective identity. As Giroux said "Youth becomes an empty category in
representation which reflects adult concerns. The medias' representation of youth does not reflect the
reality of youth identity." Giroux argues that in media representations youth becomes an ‘empty
category’. This is because media representations of young people are constructed by adults. Because
of this they reflect adults concerns, anxieties, and needs. As a result of this media representations of
young people do not necessarily reflect the reality of youth identity. According to Gibbens there is a
social structure which shapes our lives (traditions, institutions, moral codes, established ways of
doing things), but it relies on individuals following these structures. When they act differently the
social structure can change. Structuration is the process in which human agency and social structure
are in a constant relationship. In this case such structures would relate to the police and education
system which have cracked down on punishment due to the moral panic which has been created by
the misrepresentation of youth.
criminals, in order to create moral panic throughout the older generations. The idea of the hyper
dermic needle theory shows just how much influence media has on its audience, its suggested that
audiences are simply empty shells that absorb all that media is telling them and take that as the truth,
without question or hesitation. If this is the case, should the newspapers be blasting sweeping
statements of a collective identity across its front page?
Its not just newspapers that portray youth in a negative way, films and TV programmes also depict the
youth in a troublesome light. In the 2012 film "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" the stereotypes
seen involve, bullying, relationships, rebelling against parents, partying and drinking, drug use and
references to mental illness'. This follows the view of Gould who believes that youths are portrayed
as being rebellious, sexual, violent and self-destructive. If audiences are to watch films such as this
and take everything as face value, a problem evolves in which the youth become something to be
feared. As more media platforms produce the same type of portrayal of youths, audiences take on the
opinions put across to them, this then leads to a shared concern in real society. Another example of a
film that negatively portrays youths is the 2004 film "Bullet Boy', in this film the main characters are
seen with guns, getting into fights, being in prison and the theme of sexuality runs throughout. The
act of portraying youths as criminals supports Hebdige's theory that young adults are portrayed as
criminals to create a moral panic.
Gerbner suggested that the primary proposition of cultivation theory states that the more time people
spend 'living' in the television world, the more likely they are to believe social reality portrayed on
television. This means that the repetitive nature of television will over time influence how people see
the world. This links to Aclands theory which is that the medias representation of youth maintains
social order, hegemony and the ideology of protection. As more and more media platforms use their
power to portray the youth as criminals and hooligans it encourages the idea that they need to be
controlled, this reinforces hegemony with in a two step flow process. The media feeds the ideology to
parents who then enforce it onto their children: this is the same with local sanctions such as the police
and education system.
As we can see, the media hugely influences the thoughts and ideologies of audiences, this can lead to
misrepresentation of a collective identity. As Giroux said "Youth becomes an empty category in
representation which reflects adult concerns. The medias' representation of youth does not reflect the
reality of youth identity." Giroux argues that in media representations youth becomes an ‘empty
category’. This is because media representations of young people are constructed by adults. Because
of this they reflect adults concerns, anxieties, and needs. As a result of this media representations of
young people do not necessarily reflect the reality of youth identity. According to Gibbens there is a
social structure which shapes our lives (traditions, institutions, moral codes, established ways of
doing things), but it relies on individuals following these structures. When they act differently the
social structure can change. Structuration is the process in which human agency and social structure
are in a constant relationship. In this case such structures would relate to the police and education
system which have cracked down on punishment due to the moral panic which has been created by
the misrepresentation of youth.
No comments:
Post a Comment