Representation of Age in the media today

Learning objectives: 
To Identify how media text producers consider the construction of age representation in media texts.

Key words: Representation, stereotypes, positive, negative, 

AGE ON TV

The representation of people of different ages has changed massively over the years.  Up until the 1950’s, there were really only two age groups shown in films and television (adult and child).  This was because that most children left school at a young age and went straight to work and became adults.  

In the 1950’s more young people started staying in education and began leading very different lives from both children and adults and so developed the idea of the “teenager”.

Having said that, there are still some stereotypes associated with different ages:

·      Children – often shown as being young, innocent, naive, pure, sweet, helpless, powerless.

Childhood
British children are often depicted in the British media in positive ways. Content
analyses of media products suggest that eight stereotypes of children are
frequently used by the media.

• As victims of horrendous crimes – some critics of the media have suggested that White children who are victims of crime get more media attention than adults or children from ethnic minority backgrounds.
• As cute – this is a common stereotype found in television commercials for baby products or toilet rolls.
• As little devils – another common stereotype especially found in drama and comedy, e.g. Bart Simpson.
• As brilliant – perhaps as child prodigies or as heroes for saving the life of an adult.
• As brave little angels – suffering from a long-term terminal disease or disability.
• As accessories – stories about celebrities such as Madonna, Angelina Jolie or the Beckhams may focus on how their children humanise them.
• As modern – the media may focus on how children ‘these days’ know so much more ‘at their age’ than previous generations of children.
• As active consumers – television commercials portray children as having a consumer appetite for toys and games. Some family sociologists note that this has led to the emergence of a new family pressure, ‘pester power’, the power of children to train or manipulate their parents to spend money on consumer goods that will increase the children’s status in the eyes of their peers.

·      Teenagers – Often shown as being aggressive, moody, lazy, criminals, hate school.

      It is significant when discussing the films to emphasise that they are representing working class youth, rather than youth generally. Middle class youths are absent from these type of representations.

There is a whole media industry aimed at socially constructing youth in terms of lifestyle and identity. Magazines are produced specifically for young people. Record companies, Internet music download sites, mobile telephone companies and radio stations all specifically target and attempt to shape the musical tastes of young people. Networking sites on the Internet, such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, allow youth to project their identities around the world.

Youth are often portrayed by news media as a social problem, as immoral or anti-authority and consequently constructed as folk devils as part of a moral panic. The majority of moral panics since the 1950s have been manufactured around concerns about young people’s behaviour, such as their membership of specific ‘deviant’ sub-cultures (e.g., teddy boys, hoodies) or because their behaviour (e.g., drug taking or binge drinking) has attracted the disapproval of those in authority.

·      20’s-30’s – Often shown as the ideal age for love, parties, fun, making money, being glamorous and attractive.  In films the heroes are often this age group.

·      Middle Aged – often shown as being past it, unattractive, not aware of popular culture, uncool, boring lives, dominant over others, no real connection to their kids, grumpy.  In films the villains are often from this age group.

·      Elderly – often shown as being unattractive, slow, weak, ill, confused, pathetic, powerless, not important, dependent on others.

Sociological studies show that when the elderly do appear in the media, they tend to be portrayed in the following one-dimensional ways.

• As grumpy – conservative, stubborn and resistant to social change.
• As mentally challenged – suffering from declining mental functions.
• As dependent – helpless and dependent on other younger members of the family or society.
• As a burden – as an economic burden on society (in terms of the costs of pensions and health care to the younger generation) and/or as a physical and social burden on younger members of their families (who have to worry about or care for them).
• As enjoying a second childhood – as reliving their adolescence and engaging in activities that they have always longed to do before they die.

When considering age in a text, you should be thinking about the following things:

• ·       Can I identify what approximate age the characters are?
• ·      Are people from different age groups shown as having different interests, personalities,      attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?
• ·      Is their age represented as being important in their life?
• ·      Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
• ·      Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others? 
• ·      How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different age groups?
• ·      What is the message the clip is trying to portray about age?
• 
  

      Task 1: discuss - How are youth represented in this still from Waterloo Road?

The wearing of the uniforms could symbolise rebellious nature, not wearing it properly according to school rules and not looking smart quite the opposite. Mixed cultures are portrayed and the idea of male aggression is evident. 
      This could raise the issue anti-social behaviour within a plot line which has been covered in the program. Waterloo road does focus on teen-related issues such as under age sex, binge drinking and youth aggression. 

      Task 2: Watch the following clips and write a paragraph about how people of different ages are     represented 

      Clips with examples of age

      Monarch Of The Glen   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VyjH9HUCt4   

     Eastenders  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ohiEFW2e0

     Blackpool http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L85qL5ph0J0

     Skins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho69_sCkwyI

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     Representation of Age in the media today

Young people.

      The way in which young people are represented in the media today is often controversial and a topic for debate. This was never more so than during the riots in London in 2011. The main way in which the event was presented to the audience was through the news media and therefore we can say that it was mediated through the dominant ideology of the particular paper. The newspapers became opinion leaders offering a constructed view of young people and also of the events as they unfolded. As most of the audience could not have first hand experience of the riots, they relied upon the news and newspapers as their sources of information. Language is a very powerful communicator of ideology and is apparent in these front pages.

What points to make in your response about the representation of young people here?

Make general points in your introduction about what representation means and how representations are constructed by the media texts to elicit a response from an audience.

Demonstrate your understanding of how the ideology of the text may affect the representation of certain groups issues or events.

Comment on the use of hyperbole in the headlines and the specific, emotive vocabulary in the sub headings.

The main image used has been specifically chosen and appeared in both newspapers and others on the same day. Analyse the visual codes used including the clothing and the background. What are the connotations? 

Comment on how this image became iconic as a representation of young people during that event. How would audiences decode these images. (Use Stuart Hall's theory).

Comment on how the images, headlines, captions and copy are all constructed to create a negative representation of young people.

Consider the purpose and effect of the features of these fron covers.

Although in this case we have considered how young people are represented in the media. This example can easily be used to explore the representation of events in the media.

Task 1: Answer the following questions using the points above and the links to other pages we have studied.

a) What kind of world is being constructed by these media texts?

Consider: That the “reality” of the world presented by texts is constructed
      That audiences respond to texts according to their experience and knowledge of the world presented to them

b) What ideologies / messages might be contained within the representation/s?

Consider: 
       The view being presented through the text.
       Question whether the particular interests / views of the world are being challenged, reinforced or promoted.
       Consider whether the texts are promoting, challenging or judging the roles of young people..