lesson 5 - representation of age
TRANSCRIPT
Homework due: Monday 22nd FebGender Stereotypes/countertypes research
Select one text (any media platform) that clearly demonstrates female stereotypesThen comment on whether it shows clear
masculine roles
Finally find a contrasting text which offers counter-typical roles.
• Quickly discuss and list at least 5 things to describe how the following are represented in the media:– Youths– Old people
After gender, age is another obvious category under which we stereotype people, and there are a whole range of judgements which go along with our categorisation.
YOUTH OLD AGE
POSITIVES ActiveSociableInnocentStrongLong future aheadAdventurousFun
WiseAuthoritativeWell educatedFreedomWealthStability
However, as we know stereotypes are often negative…
Film stars who start to show signs of aging in their forties are swooped on with cries of horror by gossip columnists ("Movie star gets wrinkles... and her tits start to sag" shocker!!)
YOUTH OLD AGE
POSITIVES ActiveSociableInnocentStrongLong future aheadAdventurousFun
WiseAuthoritativeWell educatedFreedomWealthStability
NEGATIVES LazyRebelliousRudeHormonalVulnerableNaiiveDependent
WeakVulnerableFragileMentally incompetentNot in control of their own bodiesLonelyDependentBoringUnwilling to try new thingsDesperate
Dominant representation of young people
• Yobbish/anti-social behaviour• Chavvy• Gang culture• Disrespect• Drink and drugs• Teen pregnancies
• Which media texts perpetuate this image?
Eastenders: Martin Fowler
• First character to be born in the programme.• Stereotypical youth from many news stories.• Anti-social behaviour with gangs• Teenage, unmarried father• Prison sentence for manslaughter• Continued criminal behaviour upon release
AgeYouth:• 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.
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.
Theorist - Stanley Cohen (1972)
• Studied youth groups in 1960s.• A moral panic occurs when society sees itself
threatened by the values and activities of a group who are stigmatised as deviant and seen as threatening to mainstream society’s values, ideologies and /or way of life.
• Mods & Rockers (1960s), football hooligans, muggers, vandals, mobile-phone snatchers...
Working class males
• Represented as yobs.
• Stuart Hall (1978) argues that the negative representation of young people is deliberate as it justifies social control by authority figures such as the police and government. The media has a key role in this ‘social production’ of news.
Jamie Bulger(2000 – 2003)
No evidence was presented that either boy had watched ‘Child’s Play 3’. The judge made the connection and this was picked up by the tabloid press. It led to a change in the law so the BBFC now has to take into account ‘the influence’ of videos as well as their content.
From media text to legislation1. Occurrence of deviant act or social
phenomenon.2. Act or problem widely reported in media:
news outlets; internet chat rooms; fictional narratives; video games…
3. Call for government control either from legislation/policy initiatives or the more vigilant operation of already existing social controls. e.g.:
Harry Brown
• Watch the first 15 minutes. How does it link to Cohen’s idea of Moral Panics?
• How is represented?– Analyse the clip for visual, technical, audio and
cinematography codes
Stereotypes• Poor• Fussy• Senile• Infirm• Interfering• Victims• Dependent• Kind• Generous• Happy• Engaging in stereo-typical pastimes