Interesting opinions here about how youth were vilified by the media during the 2011 riots.
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Contemporary Construction of Collective Identity: Reading the Riots
Use The Guardian's 'Reading the Riots' page a s primary source of information regarding the UK riots which took place in summer 2011.
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
How Media Demonises Teenagers
CLICK HERE to read an interesting article from The Independent concerning the media's portrayal of teenagers in the UK.
The use of the word 'demonise' is interesting in itself if we remember that Stan Cohen used the term 'folk devils' when reflecting on the portrayal of teenagers following the Clacton / Brighton fights in 1964. There seems a clear association between young people and language connoting evil.
The use of the word 'demonise' is interesting in itself if we remember that Stan Cohen used the term 'folk devils' when reflecting on the portrayal of teenagers following the Clacton / Brighton fights in 1964. There seems a clear association between young people and language connoting evil.
Dick Hebdige "Hiding in the Light"
I have previously introduced you to Dick Hebdige. We talked about his 1979 book titled 'Subculture - the Meaning of Style' and I gave you the quotation below as one you should learn:
"Members of a subculture often subject their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of style, which includes fashions, music and mannerisms" - Hebdige (1979)
Hebdige also wrote a book called 'Hiding in the Light' which was published in 1988. It is here that he discussed the concept of youth being represented as either a threat or a non-threat.
The first chapter of this book opens as below:
Hebdige's hypothesis here is that society in general (through the media) are only concerned in representing youth when there is something negative to say. He discusses the birth of the concept of the 'teenager' and goes on to assess the effect of consumerism and the move from a one-dimensional representation of youth, to a two-dimensional representation of "youth as trouble, youth as fun". He writes that teenagers are seen as either "troublesome youth" or "fun-loving youth."
Hebdige sees 'youth as trouble' as being a political representation whereas 'youth as fun is commercially driven.
So, when you look at representations of British Youth Culture in the past can you see evidence to support Hebdige's thoughts? You can read 'Hiding in the Light' in full by CLICKING HERE.
Thinking of contemporary media, that is to say the media from 2010 onwards, is there evidence to support Hebdige's assertion that British Youth are portrayed as either:
"Troublesome youth"
or,
"Fun-loving youth"
TASK
Copy and paste this post across to your own blog.
Create 2 more posts for your blog; 1 titled "Youth As Trouble" and the other titled "Youth As Fun"
In each of these posts, compile a selection of images from contemporary UK media (film, television, newspapers, magazines) which shows representations of British Youth in this particular light.
"Members of a subculture often subject their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of style, which includes fashions, music and mannerisms" - Hebdige (1979)
Hebdige also wrote a book called 'Hiding in the Light' which was published in 1988. It is here that he discussed the concept of youth being represented as either a threat or a non-threat.
The first chapter of this book opens as below:
Hebdige's hypothesis here is that society in general (through the media) are only concerned in representing youth when there is something negative to say. He discusses the birth of the concept of the 'teenager' and goes on to assess the effect of consumerism and the move from a one-dimensional representation of youth, to a two-dimensional representation of "youth as trouble, youth as fun". He writes that teenagers are seen as either "troublesome youth" or "fun-loving youth."
Hebdige sees 'youth as trouble' as being a political representation whereas 'youth as fun is commercially driven.
So, when you look at representations of British Youth Culture in the past can you see evidence to support Hebdige's thoughts? You can read 'Hiding in the Light' in full by CLICKING HERE.
Thinking of contemporary media, that is to say the media from 2010 onwards, is there evidence to support Hebdige's assertion that British Youth are portrayed as either:
"Troublesome youth"
or,
"Fun-loving youth"
TASK
Copy and paste this post across to your own blog.
Create 2 more posts for your blog; 1 titled "Youth As Trouble" and the other titled "Youth As Fun"
In each of these posts, compile a selection of images from contemporary UK media (film, television, newspapers, magazines) which shows representations of British Youth in this particular light.
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