Representation of young people - key theory and examples

There are several theorists who you can refer to if you get a question on the representation of age, specifically to the representation of youth. Here's a quick recap:

Hebdige (1979)

• Youth subcultures – Challenge hegemony through expression
• Limited to either trouble or fun, no in-between
• Representation is NOT REALITY
• Producers believe it would be boring to show teenagers or youth hard working, fade into the background
• But this makes the adult audience believe that all youths are either trouble or fun…

Gerbner – Cultivation Theory

• Youth involved in crimes and always being the victim. Negative representation, constantly involving crime.
• Consistent negative representation indoctrinates the public to place blame on teens.
• Closely linked to what we see on television.
• Television ‘sows the seeds’ of negative representation… and after a while, audiences begin to accept as fact.

Giroux (1997)

• Who makes the media? It’s almost exclusively older people!
• Shows how youths are shown as an ‘empty category’ 
• Producers don’t understand what its like to be a teenager, so they use own ideas in the ‘empty space’ to represent youth. 
• Adults use teenagers as a scapegoat.
• Young characters end up being a ‘dumping ground’ for negative stereotypes.
• This confirms stereotypes and beliefs held by older audiences.

Suggested texts

So that's some great theory you can refer to, but you also need specific case studies. 

There are several UK films and TV shows that deal with the representation of young people, and how they interact with older people. Here are some suggestions:

• Kidulthood (2006)
• Harry Brown (2009)
• Skins (TV, 2007-2013)
• Eden Lake (2008)
• NEDS (2010)

(Just a quick note; some of these texts are pretty controversial. Eden Lake is particularly challenging, and Kidulthood features some very upsetting scenes)

As you watch these films, keep a notebook in front of you, and make notes under the following headings:

1.     The group, place or issue on which a media text is focusing.
2.     The technical devices the media text uses in order to present these groups or issues.
3.     The message about the group or issue being created within the text.
4.     The impact of this message on the target audience.

Analysing representation

When it comes to offering a detailed analysis of the representation, you must include not only how a group are represented in a certain way, with reference to visual and technical codes, but also why. So why could producers benefit from representing younger people in a negative way? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Stereotypes are an invaluable short cut for producers, saving time and effort. Richard Dyer argues that stereotypes are an ordering process. They help us to make sense of the world, but in using them as a short cut, we can make things too simple and jump to assumptions. 
2. Stereotypes are an invaluable short cut for audiences, and help to make sense of the world. Once again, the above points apply. 
3. All of the texts listed above tie in to real world moral panics, particularly those involving young NEETs in hoodies. The time in which these films were made was important, and in 2006, David Cameron famously made a speech, referring to Kidulthood, the problems it bought up, and the 'political' implications of hoodies.
4. From a Marxist perspective, consistently representing young people in a negative way reinforces their lack of power in day to day life. Since it tends to be older, middle class people who make Media texts, it can be argued that negative representations are just reinforcing the status quo. 

Positive representations

There are some examples which poke holes in Hebdige's 'fun or trouble' hypothesis. While many representations of younger people stick to stereotypes involving violence or 'lad' culture, in both TV talent shows and TV sports coverage, we often see inspiring, non-stereotypical representations of teenagers. Watch the following clip from The Voice (Cody Frost’s blind audition (S05E01, 2016). Now ask the following questions:

1. In what ways is the representation of youth constructed?
2. What technical devices are used?
3. What message is disseminated?
4. Who are the target audience of The Voice and what impact does this representation of young people potentially have on them?

Thanks to Lewis and Tanya for contributing material to this post!