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.