Media and collective identity exam exemplar

I have been researching teenagers and their identity. I’ve been looking into how the media shown teenagers.

I will relate this to Misfits and Fishtank, and explain their collective identity.

Misfits is a british tv series based on a group of teens who are all facing community service.

We learn all there individual identity’s and are made to believe they have no hope. We meet 5 teenagers who are all stereotypically shown with anti-social behavior. In the group there is a party girl, sports runner, cocky one etc.

Tajfel and turner quote that ‘people tend to categorise themselves into groups which they then build their identity’s’. I disagree with this as these have been emerged together as they have all been in crime. These include drugs, drink driving, fighting etc.

Historically this can relate to Skins and grange hill, these are all school based although skins covered more controversial issues. We see petty crimes which aren’t as serious as the ones in misfits. Tajfel and turner quite is related to skins as they are all a group of friends and they build there identity together.

Fishtank a 2009 film, teenagers are portrayed differently. We get to see Mia a 15 year old girl who has no hope. She has a dream of dancing but with young single mother who shouts and swears at children she has a poor family structure to help her. David Buckingham quotes that the media don’t just offer a transparent window of the world but a mediated one.

Mia smokes, binge drink and has underage sex. The audience are made to believe that all teenagers are like this. He young mother who gets a boyfriend, he wants to help Mia and find her identity. He often asks her to dance to his favourite song although when she does we see them having sex. David Buckingham quote can be related to misfits, we are made to believe that all teenagers have convicted crimes. In Bullett Boy we see a gang of boys who are all involved in drugs and crime. The media show teen culture in a very bad way. Misfits is released on TV past the water shed times as they all swear etc. It is shown on both E4 and channel 4, their website contains games, podcasts, blogs etc. On the blogs you can communicate with other fans. They have a facebook and twitter page with all individual accounts. David Gauntlett explains that identity’s are complicated however everyone thinks they have one.

In Fishtank her mothers boyfriends finds a dance event she can attend Mia then believes she made have found her identity when she gets there she is called up on stage for which she didn’t know it was pole/lap dancing.

The media then show how teenagers have no hope or luck.

Historically this could be related to Dawson’s creek as we are made to look down on the anti-social behaviour teens. It could also relate to Waterloo road which is a tv series on a school who the youngens follow the action of the olders.

We then get to see the mother having a party in her council estate flats with family and friends. Her two children aren’t invited and stay upstairs. This shows the lack of family structure at home. We meet Mia’s little sister tyler with a friend both who are swearing and smoking.

The audience are left to believe all young mums live in broken britain and teenagers have no hope at all.

Mia was kicked out of school and they receive In both misfits and fishtank the media have stereotypically shown teenagers and portrayed them very negatively. We are made to believe that all teenagers are into anti-social behaviour, drinking, drugs, smoking etc. The media will only shown the negative sides of teen culture so everyone will believe teens do this in everyday life not the positives that they do. 

Examples 12/20 - seven examples with each explained
Terminology 4/10- there are only a few examples of theories in this essay, vaguely explained. Little terminology
Analysis 8/20 - Little analysis throughout. Basic analysis when put it such as at the end
20/50 - 4 points deducted for SPAG.

Gender Essay

What is Collective identity?  Respond to the statement that “Media simply represent collective identity, they don’t create it.” How far do you agree with this statement?

Make reference to:

Gender

The concept of collective identity means a shared identity that is taken in by a group that share ideals, values and ideas. Collective identity is often represented within the media, and is often presenting the collective identity of a group as negative; for example, the Media represents the collective identity of youth as being that they all enjoy vandalism and are all anti social. However, I disagree with the statement that media simply represent collective identity instead of create it, as many media texts help to create and reinforce a select collective identity.

I think that in the media, the collective identity of both the male and female is heavily mediated. Publications such as The Sun have represented women as sexual objects for the male fantasy in the past, particularly through their now defunct "page 3" feature. In displaying women this way, they have suggested that the male collective identity is consisting of heterosexuality and viewing women as objects for male viewing. This suggests that the Mulvey's male gaze theory (1975) is part of the male collective identity. This also suggests Heterosexuality is the norm, as stated by the Queer theory. However, when talking about page 3, structuration is something that is worth noting; after numerous campaigns starting in 2012, The Sun abandoned the feature in January of 2015. This is evidence for structuration surrounding gender, as society has changed its conceptions therefore institutions have changed to fit this.

An example of collective identity based upon gender is the idea of the metrosexual male. The metrosexual male is a man who takes great care and interest into his appearance and often spends time and money shopping for products to look after this. They are heterosexual men, though they are often mistaken for homosexual due to the adoption of fashions and lifestyles typically associated with women and gay men. The term originated from an Independent article in 1994, which notes that during the '80s, the metrosexual male would have only appeared in a fashion magazine but they are now seen frequently within society. Since this publication, the identity of the metrosexual male has been on the rise particularly in the 21st century. This is partly due to the influence from the celebrity world, with examples such as David Beckham. The coverage of the rise of the metrosexual male through articles such as Mark Simpson's 2002 article for salon.com supports Buckingham's idea that the media re-presents reality, as it suggest a collective identity of shared interests within this group.

On the female gender, the media definitely represent a collective identity. Women are presented in the media as either sexual objects or domestic labourers.

Patriarchy is defined as a society run by men, for men. It could be argued that the society that we live in today is Patriarchal. An example of patriarchy in the media would be reporters; over 70% of reporters in the media are male. Also, almost all of the media is owned by men, with Rupert Murdoch owning three of the national newspapers in the UK, as well as The Wall Street Journal and the New York times in the US. The male ownership of the media means that representation of females is often  
limited and can lean towards presenting women as either sexual objects or domestic labourers. Gauntlett argues that while identity is now consciously constructed, the media provides a lot of the tools which are part of how you create your identity. One example would be advertising; there were adverts on the tube in London, which asked "are you beach body ready?" and had a skinny woman on it in a bikini. Using the hypodermic needle theory, you could argue that female audiences of this advert would take in this as their personal identity. If this is the case, it supports Giddens idea that there is a social structure that is shaping our lives, and that it only works if people follow it.

Gender Representation

Misogyny - Dislike, contempt or general prejudice against women

Sex - Refers to the biological physiological characteristics that define men and women

Gender - The socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

This is a magazine that is marketed at boys. The cover is talking about dream cars, which suggests that mechanical and adventurous things are typically for boys.

This is a magazine that is marketed at girls. The cover features mainly shades of pink, purple and light shades of blue, which are colours that are associated with the female gender. The contents of the front page focus on creative activities such as baking, as well as focusing on friendship, which are typically female activities.

Masculinity

• Strength
• Power
• Sexual Attractiveness
• Physique
• Independence (of thought, action, finances)
• Example of masculinity - James Bond
• Male characters often represented as isolated - not relying on others
• If they submit to being part of a family or group, it is often a part of the narrative

Masculinity and violence 

Earp and Katz (1999) Study male representations in the media and found "a widespread and disturbing equation of masculinity and pathological control and violence"

Claim the media is responsible for a steady stream of images that define manhood as connected with violence.

Metrosexual male - high disposable income, living in the city, near to the best shops

Not gay but often confused with being homosexual 

Objectified in the media and sexualised.

The fool/buffoon

• Often middle aged
• Confused 
• Bungling Father in TV ads and sitcoms
• Usually come out on top

Representation of Women

• Beauty (within narrow conventions
• Size/Physique (within conventions
• Sexuality
• Emotional
• Relationships as opposed to independence - Dependent on men

In dramas, they often take the role of the helper(Propp), passive rather than active and an object (Mulvey)

Passivity often extends to victimhood

Narrow set of representations

-Either represented as Housewives/domestic goddesses OR sex objects

In advertising and magazines, they are shown as young, slim, pale/white

In non fictional media

• Women's roles tend to be smaller and fewer than males

People who don't conform to gender norms are treated as outsiders by society. Society considers gender to be binary; there are two gender identities and you must conform fully to one of them. Those that choose a gender expression different to their sex or outside of the gender binary are considered to be abnormal by society. 

An example of Gender Bending would be the comedian Eddie Izzard.

His sex is male, yet he does not conform to male gender norms; a key part of his image is the use of makeup, as well as wearing clothes that are typically associated with the female gender such as dresses.

Judith Butler - Gender is socially constructed. There are a number of "exaggerated, disruptive, tongue in cheek representations of masculinity and femininity", which draw attention to this, and cause what she refers to as 'gender trouble'.

Queer theory - The media portray heterosexuality as normal and the media has limited the representation of gay men and women. The queer theory suggests that there is not a binary between straight and gay, and that sexuality is fluid.

Steve Neale (1992) - The gay gaze - Images in the media that show men in passive, submissive and sexualised poses.

1960s - Fairy Liquid adverts - The women would be washing the dishes, and there is always a daughter with her who asking how fairy liquid works.

This reinforces patriarchy as it shows that through the years it has always been the woman doing the washing of clothes; only the washing machines themselves has changed. (2011)

This is a Delmonte Ketchup advert from 1953 and represent women as weaker than men. It is saying that their bottles are so easy to open that while usually only men can open tight bottles, these are easy enough for women. 

This advert from lynx sexually objectifies women, as she is portrayed showing a lot of her skin and in a sexually provocative pose. Also, her head has been cropped out of the image, removing her identity and presenting her as just her body.

Women were usually shown as being subordinate, passive and submissive (Stratini 1994)

I think that Media representations of gender has changed to an extent, despite there still being reinforcement of gender roles and stereotypes in the media. An example of change would be Nike's 2016 adverts, showing a woman competing sports with commentary that talks about she isn't going to crack under pressure or give up because she is a woman. 

Wonder woman is an example of both a feminist icon and objectification of women. She would be an icon as she is a warrior who fights for herself. She was also one of the first female superheroes. However, her outfit is revealing, which in a way presents her as an object for the heterosexual male to  look at (male gaze). She was announced as a UN ambassador for gender equality, which has received some criticism. One reason why this has received criticism is due her image throughout the years being consistently very sexualised. Also, another criticism was that the UN couldn't appoint this role to a real woman despite many feminists such as Emma Watson making important influences within the UN. Additionally, the use of wonder woman has been criticised for enforcing norms in body image for women rather than challenging them.

Youth Representation - Essay

How do media representations of youth reflect society's perceptions and concerns?

Throughout the mass media, Youth is generally represented Negatively. Many media publications, particularly newspapers, portray young people as hooligans and vandals. However, Youth can sometimes be portrayed positively in the media, particularly in Film in Television.

Theorist Gould states that there are six stereotypes of youth that are portrayed in the media, one of which is that youth are portrayed as Violent. This stereotype can be applied to the film Bullet Boy; it is based around youth gangs and one of the characters kills another's dog, which they retaliate to by smashing up his car. This also links to Gould's youth stereotype of youth being dangerous, as the violence between gangs in the film escalates. Also, the presence of youth gangs, and the way they talk to each other refers to Gould's stereotype of youth being an artificial tribe. There are also many articles that support these stereotypes; for example, a Daily Telegraph article from 2011 referred to the London Riots as "Rule of the mob", which presents youth as an artificial tribe. Althusser would argue this media text shows an example of hegemony being enforced throughout ideological state apparatus; his family, being the ideological state apparatus, telling him not to get too involved in the gang lifestyle.

However, youth can be presented as positive in the media. The film "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" contains as many positive representations of youth as it does negative. Hebdige's theory of youth being presented as fun or as trouble can be applied to the film, as it often shows the fun side or youth, including friendships and music subcultures. This can also apply to Giroux's statement of youth being misrepresented in the media, as negative portrayals of youth are common and this offers a more positive one. However, there are still some of Gould's negative youth stereotypes in this media text. For example, youth is frequently portrayed as being self destructive, as the characters frequently partake in alcohol and drugs, and the main character mentions that his best friend killed himself.

The representations of youth in the media change how the public view youth. With media coverage being mostly negative, it can be argued that society's perceptions of youth have been shifted. One view on how we perceive media based on youth is the Hypodermic needle theory, which argues that the audience of a media text is passive and takes in the information without question, which would mean that most consumers of media accept that young people are hooligans and vandals. Cohen argues that youth are portrayed in a stereotypical manner within the media to create a folk devil of young people. This will mean that there will be a moral panic surrounding youth and people will view youth as a threat to the moral standards of society.

In conclusion, Media representations of youth, most of which are negative, clearly reflect societies perceptions and concerns. The hypodermic needle theory states that the audience of a media text is passive and accepts the views it gets presented, which can be argued to be true based upon the backlash to the London riots, mainly participated in by youths; there was a vigilante group that responded to the riots by combating rioters.