Examining The Past

TeenageThis documentary, not yet released, takes an historical look at the whole concept of the teenager, including archive clips from before the Second World War.

“Rebels with a cause, they exploded in a riot of dancing, fashion, sex and revolt. All are evident in the film’s new trailer.”(Empire)

Let’s examine the trailer http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=39768

Plato“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.”(Plato 428-348 BC)

Why reference the past?When answering this question concentrate on the word

'representation'. This question isn't asking you to know about how youths have

changed over the ages, this isn't a sociological study - it's about how UK youth's behaviour is shown, presented,

REPRESENTED.

What sort of behaviour do the texts focus on? How are inter-generational conflicts resolved?

How is bad behaviour presented - demonised or immaturity? What aspirations or roles do they fulfil?

Considering the trailer for teenage and following clips could we argue that contemporary issues with the representation of youth culture have always existed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E4znu82XhE

Forgive the subtitles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAEpJX0Bwt0

So was Plato pre-empting the future?

Is this demonisation of youth nothing particularly new?

The role of the media

If the Media make a drama out of an event or social problem, this attracts more interest, perpetuating and amplifying the initial problem.

Here's a clip from Charlie Brooker's Newswipe which has Dan Gardner explaining why the 'media' has a tendency to create (perhaps mediate??) moral panics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWC1DrhL_8w#t=17

Development of the panic and demonistaion

We could argue then that this demonisation has developed so much so that it has become it’s own narrative arch and is evident in all forms of media output.

This ‘feral’ ‘unruly’ youth have developed into such a 'type', a well understood presence in the media that they've become a stereotype and in order to maintain a state of social panic and fear the stereotype much be exaggerated. The development of the flirty teenager – https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/video_part/asset/624576/wKgPN13UDX6fz3dAfS97DODzv0o/Flirting-YouTube.mov

http://prezi.com/iey6h1il3blw/moral-panics/

Next Lesson:Stanley Cohen ;Moral Panics