Practice Question

Analyse the ways in which the media represent groups of people.
[50 marks, 1 hour]

Marks are awarded for:
Explanation / analysis / argument = 20 marks
Use of examples = 20 marks
Use of terminology = 10 marks

Refer to 2 media areas - the film Kidulthood and the newspaper articles.

Refer to contemporary representations (the newspaper articles) - this should be the bulk of your answer.
Refer to past representations (Kidulthood will count - ultimately you may want to use something earlier - the old newspaper coverage of the mods and rockers would count).
Refer to what the future of such representations might be (see the quotation from Cohen at the end of the Moral Panics prezi: he predicts there will always be folk devils and moral panics because of the way our society is organised).

Include some textual analysis - details of how the representations are constructed in the texts.

Include some theory - David Gauntlett, Stuart Hall, Stanley Cohen, David Buckingham (the article from MediaMagazine) or others from the blog.

Build your argument. Look for changes over time, or notice the lack of change. Look for similarities and contrasts between the newspapers, or between newspaper representations of the looting and Kidulthood's representations of urban youth. Consider why these differences exist.

Judith Butler + Kidulthood & Bullet Boy

There's a strong sense that the characters 'perform' an identity in order to belong (incorporate Judith Butlers theory of identity as a performance) to a social group. Think aboutTrife and his unlces gang, Jay wanting to be a black urban youth, Alyssa performing and torn between two identities - being a mother and being part of the gang (drugs, drink and prostitution). Also, you could being to discuss Ricky in Bullet Boy and his little brother (the need and want to get away from it but the entrapment and circle ofdeprivation that they are in).

Examiner Feedback

Section B;
Media and Collective Identity
Strong responses evidenced a sound grasp on the ideas of David Gauntlett and Judith Butler. Discussion should be spohisticated and supported with detailed examples. Candidates are asked to avoid crude binary oppositions and crass generalisations about whole swathes of young people. Highly contemporary examples should be used and discussed in theoretical contexts such as hegenomy, democracy and representation. Candidates should move away from generalised discussion on how the media represent and engage in more micro discussion about how people give meaning to particular kinds of media in relation to their identity (how do they use music and film and why?)

What is representation

All media forms mediate real events and conditions. The attempt to provide us with a re-presentation of reality. However the constraints of the different media and the fact that there has been a selection of particular words and images means that it is impossible to reproduce exactly the world 'the way it is'.

Questions we need to consider are;

whose version of reality is being presented or re-presented?
who is doing the presenting?
who or what is being re-presented?
how is it being re-presented?
to whom is it addressed?
why is it being re-presented in this way?
what view of the world are we given?
how familiar does it look?

Representation is one of the key concepts in media. The media are often described as a 'window on the world' although in fact the media are highly selective in the way in which they construct and represent the world back to us.

At this stage we can relate Stuart Hall's theory. In essence all media texts are encoded with a preferred meaning by the producer of the text. This will be greatly influenced by their cultural, political and moral beliefs.

Lippmann (1922) argued that what we think and how we act is often based on what we perceive to be true, not on what is actually true. His theory discusses the way people act according to the 'pictures' in their head. These pictures come from the mass media. Crouteau andHoynes (1997) stated that media products go through "processes of selection that invariably mean that certain aspects of reality are highlighted and others neglected" (134). As media students we need to think carefully about not just what is represented on screen but what is not. We need to examine absent representations.

Think about the acts of 9/11. Not many people can claim to have lay witness to the experience and not many people can claim to be actively involved in the ongoing war against terrorism. However,because of images and 'ideas' disseminated by the media 'we all' feel that we have an informed opinion on it.

or

Think about what we understand about relationships and gender roles. Our want for the perfect relationship, marriage and partner is instilled in us by the media. Our expectations of relationships are based upon 'images' and 'ideas' that are perpetuated by the mass media.

This moves us into the realm of media bias and propaganda. Theorists argue that the media tend to perpetuate beliefs and ideas that contribute to sustaining dominant ideology maintaining a hegemonic state. The media, according to Stuart Hall (1977), perform the ' ideological work' of the ruling class. Hall is suggesting here that the media frame reality in a way that serves the interest of the dominant class. This is the darker side of capitalism where a stringint class system is needed so order and control can be maintained. A Marxist would argue that this form of structure is put in place so that the ideology of the ruling classes reins with a coherent and unified set of beliefs, ideas and practices dominating society.

Stereotypes

Stereotyping is used throughout the media in order to create instant recognition with the audience. These stereotypes can be both positive and negative but tend to influence the way we think about and view social groups of people. It can be argued then that the 'media reflect and support the existing patterns of social and economic inequality'(Croteau and Hoynes, 1997:161). The media can be criticised for the use of stereotyping as it fails to recognise individuals and views people as a collective group. This in turn can create misunderstanding and prejudice. Adorno (1957) stated that in using stereotypes in this way can ultimately dull a persons life experience.

Think about how the teenagers play up to a stereotype, reinforcing itbecause they feel as though no matter what they do they'll be seen in that way or more importantly represented in that way by the mass media. Applying theory to it, we could argue that because teenagers are so regularly subjected to a drug taking, binge drinking and underage sex having stereotype, which some would argue isglamorised by the media, they feel pressured to maintain the stereotype. This is known as a self fulfilling prophecy.

A good link to Stanley Cohen & Moral Panics

Young People in the Media – www.headsup.org.uk

There's plenty been written on how the media portrays politics. But what about the media representation of young people and their involvement in politics. Stovin Hayter is the editor of Children Now magazine. Here he talks about the damage the press is capable of when it comes public perceptions of young people... You could pick up a local newspaper in almost any part of Britain and see articles that use headlines and terms like:

"... unruly youths... gangs of children as young as 13... terrorising people... youths running wild..."- Edinburgh Evening News

"Like a plague, the city seems to be in the grip of lawlessness among the young."- Peterborough Evening Telegraph

From the tone of these reports you would think that the behaviour they hype up is some new threat to society. They paint a picture of mayhem, fear on the street, and a generation out of control. The word 'youth', in the press, seems to have become synonymous with street crime and antisocial behaviour. Most of those headlines are about real incidents where particular young people have behaved appallingly, and in many cases have made the lives of their neighbours a misery. But from the language and tone used, you would think that teenagers were responsible for the majority of crime and that young people were completely out of control. In fact only 1.8 per cent of 10- to 17-year-olds were convicted or cautioned in 2001. For 21- to 25-year-olds it was 2.4 percent, and for 26- to 30-year-olds it was 2.1 percent. The sense of moral panic that is fuelled by the Press, the shrill demands that "something must be done", influences politicians and people who vote. It fuels public fear. Many people are afraid of young people in hoodies. Teenagers hanging around a bus stop are "threatening" simply because they are there. Eventually, such hysteria feeds into public policy, such as the recently enacted antisocial behaviour law (which many of you discussed in an earlier HeadsUp Forum). That’s the one under which you can now be fined for missing school, or that allows councils to declare zones where curfews can be imposed, and where police will have powers to break up groups of young people if their presence is perceived as threatening. These measures will affect all young people, not just the troublemakers.

Demonising youth

When discussing demonisation it is important to point out that 'youths behaving badly' isn't a new phenomenon and moral outrage about it is nothing new. Here's a few of quotes from way back in the day:

Here's one from Plato (428-348 BC)
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
Swap the word 'dainties' for 'Rustlers microwavable burgers' and he could be talking about today's youth.

Here's a report on the hooligan riots from 1898

'They wore peaked caps, neck scarves, bell-bottom trousers and a hairstyle cropped close to the scalp. There were pitched battles between rival gangs, armed with iron bars, knives, powerful catapults and even guns. They patrolled their neighbourhoods shouting obscenities and pushing people down.'

Compare that with the 2010 film Shank's vision of London 2015

It's quite similar just with less parkour.

Here's Alexander Dervine's (an educator and journalist) take on the reasons for the 1898 riots.
‘Lack of parental control, lack of discipline in schools, base literature (such as the sensationalist 'penny dreadful' novels about pirates and highwaymen) and the monotony of life in Manchester's slums were to blame for the urban guerilla warfare.'

And finally a quote from a 1939 report titled Needs of Youth:
‘Relaxation of parental control, decline of religious influence and the movemnt of masses of young people to housing estates where there is little scope for recreation and plenty for trouble… the problem is a serious challenge, the difficulty of which is intensified by the extension of freedom which, for better or worse, has been given to youth in the last generation.’

And here's a few up to date ones - firstly an exert from an article in the Sun focusing on 'Broken Britain' from Oct 2009:

'Outside two track-suited youths with a pit bull terrier straining at the leash are smirking as they roll what looks like a cannabis joint. Others in hoodies swill cider under signs banning public drinking. My attempts to chat with the youngsters are met with twisted snarls and revolting four-letter abuse. The scourge of feral youths was put in sharp focus earlier this month after suicide mum Fiona Pilkington was hounded to death by bad kids'

And from Gordon Brown from 2008:
'Kids are out of control... They're roaming the streets. They're out late at night.'

So this demonisation of youth is nothing particularly new. Also neither are the supposed causes of the bad behaviour - poor education, poverty, violence in the media, lack of opportunities, absence of parental guidance

Things to think about and consider

1. Can you personally relate to the idea of creating identity using the media? Are there any characters or media personalities who you feel represent you? Do you share the same qualities? Which qualities do you reject and which do you aspire to have?

2. There are examples of Collective Identities being heavily influence by the media particularly youth sub-cultures that are often defined by the type of media they consume:
Mods: fashion (often tailor-made suits); pop music, including African American soul, Jamaican ska, and British beat music and R&B; and Italian motor scooters.
Rockers: 50s biker films, Marlon Brando, Elvis, rock’n’roll.

Even counter-cultural groups (groups that reject mainstream values) like Punk can be define by the type of music consumed and also what media they rejected and are oppositional to. So they were still influenced by the media to the point they took a confrontational stance toward it.

Today, even though there might not be clearly defined sub-cultures, they are still ‘scenes’, members of which are still defined by what music/films etc they consume. Can you think of any? Emo? Steampunk? Goth?

3. Identities are often constructed then perpetuated by the media.

a) The ‘Chav’.
Before the mid noughties most regions had their own term for the type of working youth the term refers to – they were Townies, or Meaders/Bedmies (Bristol). But through Media (websites, news, comedy) use of the word ‘Chav’ it became an all-encompassing term.
It then became a stereotype constructed and re-constructed by the media. For example – you had Vicky Pollard (Little Britain) - Lauren (Catherine Tate Show) – Goldie Look Chain etc,
The result of this is that we have Kelly from Misfits who is created as the stereotypical chav – dress, accent, hair, earrings, pet – even her reason for being on community service was ‘chav’ - head butting someone in Argos!
Misfits creates this stereotype intentional to then deconstruct it with Kelly’s character development.

b) Demonisation
Look here for the role that the Media plays in Demonisation. It can be argued that the Media as created the 'hoodie' - the scary youth - by giving them a high profile in the news, then using this representation in films such as F, Attack the Block, Harry Brown and even Misfits. This representation fits the 'narrative arc' so is continued and perpetuated. If a representation is repeated enough then it can be percieved to be a truth or at least an audience expectation.

4. Media creates identities and types of behaviour that are seen to directly influence behaviour or people’s reaction to that type of behaviour. For instance‘Skins Parties’.

5. The Media is designed to create narratives and therefore identities for people:
a) Watch Big Brother and the way they create characters for the housemates with intro vox-pops, selective editing and reaction shots. Here's Charlie Brooker talking about these types of techniques.

b) Susan Boyle – her whole identity was carefully created from the sandwich eating in the BGT queue, to the music used, to the crowd reaction shots to the image she has now. Can you think of any other examples?

c) (This is big area to explore but it can be argued that the existence of the teenage social group is a media construction. The thought is that due to the post-war prosperity and baby boom in the 1950-60s they was a huge amount of young people with money to spend and so products (films, music, books, magazines) were created to target that demographic)

6. Because of democratisation of the media, we can use media, explicitly to create our identities?
How do you use the internet to create a representation of yourself? Are you on Facebook – how does that create identity – what is the template? How about online worlds and games? Do you (or others) use Twitter or Youtube to express yourself?
How do Collective Identities use the internet to define themselves? Are online communities or Facebook groups important?
The creators of Misfits used Twitter, tumblr and Facebook to construct identities for their characters

7. Have a look at this article, it opens up an interesting idea about the role of Facebook when it comes to identity. The usual idea with Facebook and identity is that it allows you to construct an identity, perhaps one that is perhaps different to the one your friends, family or employers see - it's another side to you. However, this article suggest that because so much of people's life is being lived or recorded and uploaded to Facebook that you end up only being to have ONE identity.

A quote from the article:

"Facebook appears to be deliberately and systematically making it harder and harder for people to vary their self-presentations according to audience. I think that this broad tendency (if it continues and spreads) impoverishes public life. Certainly, the self that I present on this blog is very different from the self that I present in private life (I’m a lot more combative, for better or worse, in electronically mediated exchanges, than I am in person). It’s also very different from the self that I present on the political science blog that I contribute to. Both differ drastically from the self I present to my students. I don’t think I’m unique in this. And one of the things I like about the Internets is that I can present myself in different ways. This isn’t the result of a lack of integrity – you need to present different ‘selves’ if you want to engage in different kinds of dialogue."

So the author is suggesting that in general the internet is liberating in terms of identity and self presentation (so you can rowdy and rude on one forum, more kind and considered on another), but this in contrast with Facebook restricts this idea of fluidity in identity. Your identity isn't mediated - it isn't as selective and edited as you think.

Imagine Facebook being one room. In this one room are your parents, your siblings, your best friends, your teachers, your school friends, your girl/boyfriend, you pals from your football/hockey team - and they all want you to be the version of you they are used to. So you have to be rowdy with your football pals, be polite to your Mum and Dad, and be the romantic caring type to your loved one - everyone gets to see every side of you. You're exposed.

Also here's another discussion on how digital technology - specifically the internet - is affecting how we construct our identity.

Have a read here about a blogger who constructed an identity to bring like to political issues in Syria. It's a very interesting story and throws up question about how we use digital-media, specifically the internet, to explicitly construct identities and for what reasons

To what extent is identity mediated

This is one of the tougher of the prompt questions but does give you plenty of scope to discuss how the media shapes our identities and how we use the media to construct identities.

First thing to deal with is this idea of identity being ‘mediated’:

One definition of ‘mediation’ – ‘a negotiation to resolve differences’ is useful as it introduce the idea of us using negotiated readings of media to help us construct media. So not taking the messages at face value but understanding them in context and using our own experience.

Then there’s Thomas de Zengotita use of the word for his book Mediated: The Hidden Effects of the Media on You and Your World in which he asserts that almosteverything (info, values, news, role models) comes to us through some media (TV, print, web, magazines, films) so will undoubtedly colour/influence our view of life and therefore our own self-definition.

So firstly, there's the process the audiences make in terms of understanding media representations and relating them to themselves. Then there's looking at how the media construct representations (making a conscious selection of what to include and how to present it) in order to create identities for individuals or groups of people.

Using these ideas we can look at this question as asking to what extent is our identity constructed by media, to what extent do we use media and to what extent does media reflect identity.

Useful theory 1: Jacques Lacan - Mirror Stage
‘Lacan's concept of the mirror stage was strongly inspired by earlier work by psychologist Henri Wallon, who speculated based on observations of animals and humans responding to their reflections in mirrors. Wallon noted that by the age of about six months, human infants and chimpanzees could both recognize their reflection in a mirror. While chimpanzees rapidly lose interest in the discovery, human infants typically become very interested and devote much time and effort to exploring the connections between their bodies and their images. In a 1931 paper, Wallon argued that mirrors helped children develop a sense of self-identity.’

While it's not vital to remember all of the above the assertion is that we gain an idea of self-identity through reflection. Lacan suggested a "mirror stage" in which a child begins to develop an identity; it is a point in their life when they can essentially look into a mirror and recognise themselves. It can be argued that audiences are able to form and develop their identity and change the way in which they see or recognise themselves.

Useful theory 2: David Gauntlett's Construction of Identity is very useful as it discusses the power relationship between media and ourselves when it comes to constructing identity.

'The power relationship between the media and the audience involves a 'bit of both' or to be more precise, a lot of both. The media sends out a huge number of messages about identity and acceptable forms of self-expression, gender, sexuality, and lifestyle. At the same time the public have their own even more robust set of diverse feelings on the issues. The media's suggestions may be seductive but can never simply overpower contrary feelings in the audience.'

Useful Theory 3: Althusser's Interpellation
Here's one definition. And here's an attempt to explain it: Interpellation is the process where a human subject is constructed by pre-given structures. This has been taken up some media theorists to to explain how media texts impose their ideology (their set of ideas) on the audience. If you think about it, we're bombarded by messages from the media, messages that make certain assumptions about us (taste, place in society etc), and as soon as we engage with the message we are positioned as a 'subject' rather than an individual. The idea is that we are controlled by these messages and go some way to defining our identity.

This is an quite an extreme view and doesn't account for the fact that texts often have multiple meanings and audience approach texts with different uses in mind.

Useful Theory 4: Judith Butler's Performativity
Butler says: 'There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; ... identity is performatively constituted by the very "expressions" that are said to be its results.' In other words, gender is a performance; it's what you do at particular times, rather than a universal who you are. The idea behind this is our identity (specifically here gender identity) is not defined by biology but is actually a performance learned as we grow. As media students we can apply to our study of identity as many of these performances and notions of idenity will be learned from the media.

Theme of youth being let down by adults

A common representation of youth is one of being let down by the adult world - be the parents, schools or authority. It's a representation that shows up in some unlikely texts such as Eden Lake, that from the trailer and a glimpse at the more horrific scenes, is pure and simply demonisation of youth (young = evil).
A closer look however sees the film continually try and lay the blame at the hands of the parents. The opening credit sequence has the young couple driving up the motorway while listening to a radio phone in discussing the problem of 'youth crime'. The callers continually pass the buck about who was to blame - the parents, the schools, the media - and so creates a representation of society unwilling to take responsibility. This is then expressed again when the couple express their concerns about the youths at the local cafe.

The final brutal scene really emphasises where the film places the blame showing that the gang of youths are just a product of the society and families they come from. In fact the groups of parents are represented in the much the same way as the demonised youths - casual sex, binge drinking, controlled by a bullying leader, resolve situations with violence. Brett is just fulfilling the same role as he sees his father take, and end shot of Brett posing in the mirror could be viewed as evidence that Brett partly knows he is playing a role

This idea of 'youths' just be a product of the society they are raised in is also, briefly, explored in Harry Brown. The only time we get a glimpse inside the minds of the youths and therefore get some explanation for their criminal behaviour is in the police interview room.

Again, just like Brett in Eden Lake, the Noel Winters character explains that he is just following his father's foot steps. We also learn that Marky is particularly vulnerable due to the upbringing in care he received.

Past Versus Present

Compare the trailer for Shank with the 1970's comic Kids Rule OK.

What are the similarities?

Are there are any differences?

Moral Panics