Download File - Media and Film Studies

Studying Representation:
Age
LO: To understand and be able to
comment on how different age groups
are represented within the media
Representation of Age in TV
Drama
Opinions….
• ‘I don’t like kids because they run all over the
place screaming and breaking things and getting
lost and falling down and hurting themselves.
Plus they are massively expensive, emotionally
demanding, can not be reasoned with and
ungrateful to the extreme.’
Focus on typical ideologies about
British children are often depicted in
children
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.
As brave little angels –
suffering from a long-term
terminal disease or disability.
As brilliant – perhaps as child
prodigies or as heroes for
saving the life of an adult.
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.
Skins
How are teenagers represented in the
pilot episode of ‘Skins’?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm0on
seM1Mw
Thinking about teenagers…
• “Our youth now love luxury. They have bad
manners, contempt for authority; they show
disrespect for their elders and love chatter in
place of exercise; they no longer rise when
elders enter the room; they contradict their
parents, chatter before company; gobble up
their food and tyrannize their teachers.”
• Who said it? None other than Socrates, just
shows you that teens have had bad reputations
for centuries.
Focus on typical ideologies about
teenagers
There are generally two very broad ways in
which young people have been targeted and
portrayed by the media in Britain.
Dick Hebdige in his ‘Subcultures’ book (1979)
identified these two representations:
Teenagers as ‘trouble’
Teenagers as ‘fun’
Age
Youth:
•All youths believe that the police have it in for them
•negative stereotypes as hoodie wearing criminals
•Young people are portrayed by the media as alcoholics
and drug abusers, criminals, bludgers, lazy, complaining
and aggressive
•A common misconception for parents is that every
middle school kid of this generation is conceited,
gossip-ridden, hormone-raging and naive. This is a
stereotype. The irony of labelling children with
stereotypes is not just hypocritical, but a huge
overgeneralization.
Teenagers as ‘trouble’
Youth are often portrayed by news media
as a social problem, as immoral or
anti-authority and consequently
constructed 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.
Teenagers as ‘fun’
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, Twitter and
Instagram, allow youth to project their
identities around the world.
Why are teenagers represented
positively?
• Teenagers have their own money to
spend on their own interests. It makes
sense to sell them positive
representations to identify with, so
they’ll spend their money on these
aspirational items.
• These positive representations could
act as ‘role models’ to encourage
teenagers to act in a more positive way.
‘Fun’ teens are often popular, intelligent, fit conventional ideas of
beauty, and have some sort of talent, overcoming any ethnic or
economic disadvantage to celebrate diversity. How do Disney films
fit this ideology? Can you think of any other examples?
Middle Aged People
Hollyoaks
• How does this clip reinforce or oppose the
stereotypes
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBB3f0L_Sw
Opinions…
• ‘Sometimes old peeps have good stories and its funny
when old couples fight.
I often ask my grandpa to tell me about when he was
young and how he and my grandma got married etc. He
tells the cutest stories but she always yells at him to shut
up and not annoy the grandkids with old people stories
and tells him he's boring. They’re so old they can just say
anything and get away with it. Its hilarious.’
The Elderly
• What words/stereotypes come to mind
when you see this image?
Pensioners and the elderly:
•Pensioners stereotyped as being grumpy
•The elderly are stereotyped as being old, frail and lonely
•They are not wanted and a burden to their family
•The image of old people as childlike has been with us for a
long time. there was a high level of agreement that old
people are unproductive, have to go to bed early, need a
nap every day, are in the "happiest" period of their lives,
cannot manage their own affairs, and are in their second
childhood.
•Pensioners are fed up with being stereotyped on television
as grumpy Victor Meldrews or sweet little old ladies,
according to a study.
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.
As enjoying a second childhood – as reliving their
adolescence and engaging in activities that they have
always longed to do before they die.
Or just being a bit cheeky.
However, recent research suggests that media producers
may be gradually reinventing how they deal with the elderly,
especially as they realise that this group may have
disposable incomes, i.e. extra money to spend on
consumer goods.
Stereotypical Mise en Scene of
Age
• Old people- Viewed as cardigan wearing, not
very active, shuffling around in slippers. Tend to
live in bungalows, and have Zimmer frames.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWxEUPrkw
Mc
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_XyFGFr29
c
Dorli Rainey- Protester
• http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2012
/jan/13/occupy-seattle-protester-dorli-raineyvideo
• Does this alter your view of her?
Stereotypes Challenged?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn6lE
2gHiRs
• Off Their Rockers
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xmr2
NUwqpY
YOUTH
POSITIVES Active
OLD AGE
Wise
Sociable
Authoritative
Innocent
Well educated
Strong
Freedom
Long future ahead Wealth
Adventurous
Stability
Fun
NEGATIVES Lazy
Rebellious
Rude
Hormonal
Vulnerable
Naiive
Dependent
Weak
Vulnerable
Fragile
Mentally
incompetent
Not in control of
their own bodies
Lonely
Dependent
Boring
Unwilling to try
new things
Desperate
Studying Representation:
Age
LO: To identify and comment on use/effect of
editing, camera shots, mise-en-scene and
sound in the clips
To discuss whether age stereotypes are
reinforced or opposed
“Breaking Bad”
• Watch the pilot episode and consider how age is
represented in media.
• Consider the representations of Jesse and
Walter. Write down words that describe each
character.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkHTPHQK
FPo
Jesse
Skyler
Walter
Stereotypes Challenged?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7
301dUcrdE
“Breaking Bad”
• Discussion of how age is represented:
• Do any aspects of the characters
support/reinforce age stereotypes?
• Do any aspects of the characters challenge age
stereotypes?
• What negative representations are there relating
to age?
• What positive representations are their relating
to age?
“New Tricks”
Does this show reinforce stereotypes of old
age or oppose them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3pXW
mQOACE&list=PLCE549D17B170F6E1&inde
x=45&feature=plpp_video
Essay
How does the clip you have chosen
reinforce or oppose the stereotypes of
youth/old age?
Refer to the following:
• Camera shots, editing, sound and
mise-en-scene.