Task 1

Task 1-Compare and contrast the representation of teenagers in the two texts.
In the trailer for skins it illustrates a positive representation of young people in society as it shows young people making something of their life’s this is highlighted by the mis-en-scene as the costume they are shown to be wearing is school uniform which shows that they are still in school where as in the Bully trailer young people are shown to be wearing tracksuits hoody and hats which signifies crime and anti-social behaviour outlining that these groups of people are shown to have a negative representation. In addition in Bully the protagonist is shows to be violent when he’s walking around the streets of London and shown to be aggressive this shows a binary opposition when it comes to the protagonist in Skins which is shown to be polite and caring

Some may argue that both TV shows are a negative representation of young people because they are shown to be around drugs, sex and violence and they young people are being represented in both texts and young people both represent a minority group in society. Due to this fact it’s easier to misrepresent this group of people as they have no power in society and this allows institutions higher up in the hierarchy to attach a stigma to these groups of people as they are lower down in society there’s not a great chance that they will not question this representation this is linked to heygonmy.

To conclude young groups of people are negatively represented in these British films due to the current economic situation of these groups of people as the ONS recorded that “36% of young people are unemployed which is roughly 200,000 young people”  this alongside the recession has made it hard for young people and the working class. It could be argued young people are a burden on society as they are not in employment and not having a positive effect on the economy and society hence this could be the
reason they are negatively portrayed in British films and ultimately have to take responsibility for this negative portrayal of young people.

Task 1-Consider the view that the current representation of teenagers is simply another ‘moral panic’.

“..Young people from ethnic minorities are still 26 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people”.  The metropolitan police setup operation Trident in 2006 to tackle black on black violence. The government introduced ASBO’s in 2002 to tackle anti social behaviour from young people. Lastly Minister David Cameron’s “Hug a hoody” campaign in 2008 encouraged people to embrace young teenagers, This created a moral panic as young people were portrayed as violent and thugs by the politicians “Britain a nation of yobs”. The tabloid press focusing on “Our contemporary society has recently been overcome by the moral panic” this can be illustrated by social issues such as the killing of young Kiyan Prince aged just 15, who was stabbed outside London Academy in Edgware in May. He was a promising player of Queen's Park Rangers' youth team. The killing of actor Rob Knox, aged just 18 who was a promising young actor and had just finished recording Harry Potter, The Half Blood Prince 

“A moral panic can be put into focus by the continued use of stereotypes and the public’s overreaction at threat to society”  “29 young people were killed in London 2007, 20 young people murdered on the streets of London in 2008, between 2009-10 24 young people died violently on the streets of London.”  These social issues have also had an impact on the way young people are represented in British Tv shows such as Bully and Skinsn as they are seen as dangerous and killers leading to Moral panic (Stanley Cohen) which is “A surge of public concern about an issue or group socially defined as dangerous, the reaction of the media is blown out of proportion compared to the actual treat the group pose”  This has left many young people in society helpless as they feel they are being generalised and misrepresented “As it is, a young man in Britain today is unlikely to pick up a tabloid newspaper without seeing himself reflected as a ‘terrifying teen’ or’ heartless hoodies’ wielding a knife or binge- drinking” (The reflective view of representation) which suggests that society is conforming to the ideological messages that are being depicted in British TV shows such as ‘Bully’  and ‘Skins’  and allowing these stereotypes to shape society. “The absence of plausible alternative representations means that the values wrapped up in the stereotype come to appear a ‘common sense’ to ordinary people”.  Arguably the target audience will become desensitised to issues surrounding violence as these films routinely represent violence as normal. This may lead to an increase in violent crime as viewers of these British films may feel acts of violence are acceptable in society.

Task 1-To what extent has new and digital media given younger audiences the opportunity to shape their own media representations?

New and digital media has had a great impact on shaping the representation of young people. Due to web 2.0 young people are able to upload positive representation of them doing positive things in society such as volunteer work as well as youth club work helping young kids in their community better themselves. UGC is also a powerful tool young people use to shape the way that they are perceived in society by portraying positive representations of themselves. They have been able to do this by posting positive material on YouTube such as music and other creative work allowing them to show a positive representation of young people for example there is a YouTube channel called ‘Westmovers’ which also has a blog they post up videos weekly of them making a positive impact on the community by organising days out for the young people in their community and post the videos up YouTube and promote further events. New and digital media has allowed them to branch out and post and share videos with friends and family using sites such as www.myspace.com, www.facebook.com, www.bebo.com as well as many other social networking sites this allows to also reach out to a particular online community they have created and inform them of all the positive activities they are doing as well as keeping them constantly posted with updates.

A good example of the power of the internet surrounding young people would be the student protests against a rise in tuition fees in the mainstream news they were representing young people as being hooligans and aggressive as well as anti social. This was outlined with footage of them smashing windows of building and damaging other forms of properties. However there was a representation of peaceful protesters which was not highlighted in the news, this gave rise to students filming footage of peaceful protests around London on their phones and putting it up on the internet showing a much positive representation of young people which was not being portrayed in the news.

The advantages to new and digital media are that it’s very cheap to maintain and that it reaches out to a mass audience. This allows young people to get their message across and outline positive representations of themselves. Furthermore new and digital media promotes freedom of speech and freedom of expression and gives young people that platform to get there voice heard again encouraging Liberal Pluralism In addition the majority of young people consume new and digital media such as the internet, not many young people read newspapers or listen to the radio meaning this positive representation which is being put out there will get consumed by allot of young people in society. To conclude new and digital media is a powerful tool that groups in society not just young people can use to shape how they are seen by society.