Representations of Age

By Steph Jarram.

Young...

Young people are normally classed as teenagers

Anyone over 25 are no longer young

The ‘young’ group of people include children and young adults

Old...

We normally class people as old when they reach the age of 60-65 (when they are retired)

Middle aged

It depends on what job occupation you have

At 40 a footballer is classed as ‘old’ and will have retired or will be considering retirement. But a politician at 40 is classed as ‘young’ and may be seen to lack experience or seriousness.

Stereotypes of the young:

argumentative

moody/hormonal

gangs/crime

arrogant

parties

lazy

rude

ASBO’s

noisy

modern

druggies

outgoing

troublemakers

sex

immature

criminals

rely on others

teenage pregnancieschav

emo

goth

easy targets

Stereotypes of the old:grumpy

awkward

stubborn

lazy

smelly

moanynarrow minded ‘incontinent’

deaf

hunched over racist

anti-youth

prefer things how they use to be

illness

regular routines

set in their ways

smart

knitting

bowls

lonely

flat caps

wrinkly

communities

The Inbetweeners: Jay

Jay comes across as a typical teenage boy. He is very immature, lazy and likes a laugh with ‘the lads’. Him and the rest of the boys are very hormonal and are very competitive when it comes to sexual encounters. He is a troublemaker but enjoys spreading banter and annoying others when taking the mickey out of someone else other than himself. The group is not violent or criminals in any way although there can be the odd occasion when a situation will occur and they fight or argue. He is very outgoing which also shows his young age and likes to go out partying. His interest in girls also shows he is a typical teenage boy and all he talks about is something sexual. You could say that he is quite dirty-minded as he relates most things to this. He likes to have a joke although he can take it too far most of the time. He can also be quite arrogant and people find him hard to get on with as you can’t take him seriously.

LINKS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvTgvEzpSzQ&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPKTEImbiks&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZlxbfEdy7Y

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

Jay’s representation is very stereotypical but not all boys are like this. This is how most people would see teenage boys although some of the things what Jay does is not common. For example there's a scene in an episode where he goes to buy drugs off of someone. ‘Druggies’ were a stereotype that we came up with but not everyone is like this. He is very immature and honest which makes his personality stand out from the rest. I wouldn’t say this representation of a teenage boy is fair as he is only one of many that is like this. Most people see boys as immature, rude and careless but other people like Will are completely different. The things that he says makes this representation more accurate as it shows how immature and silly he really is.