A2 MEDIA STUDIES G325 SECTION B CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES COLLECTIVE IDENTITY THE REPRESENTATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA

Historical Representations - Youth Sub-cultures, Moral panics and Folk Devils

As we have seen, at different points in history, teenagers will form separate collective groups, or sub-cultures that set them apart from a) Adults, and b) Other collective groups of young people The Media tends to focus on one collective group at any given time if they are seen as particularly different or oppositional to the mainstream dominant ideology. This is often in order to represent these sub-cultures as folk devils and subsequently create moral panic.

So, what is a sub-culture? What are folk devils and what is a moral panic?
These 3 terms are theories that help up to understand WHY different collective groups of teenagers are represented in a certain way, often negatively, by the Media.

Sub-Cultures
Dick Hebdige - Subculture: The Meaning of Style (1979) A 'subculture' is a group of people who seek to develop a minority style and often have subversive values in contrast the majority or mainstream. to

Subcultures bring together like-minded individuals who feel neglected by society and allow them to develop a sense of identity. Members of a subculture often signal their membership to the group through a distinctive and symbolic use of style, which includes fashions, musical taste, material possessions, mannerisms and use of language or slang. Sub-cultures are perceived to be negative and are represented unfavorably by the dominant class as they are seen to challenge dominant ideas in trying to be different. Youth Sub-cultures

A2 MEDIA STUDIES G325 SECTION B CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES COLLECTIVE IDENTITY THE REPRESENTATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA Young people can be seen as a subordinate group in relation to the dominant, adult society. Therefore, the groups that they form are likely to be seen as oppositional. Youth sub-cultures are often formed in response to musical movements or genres, corresponding fashions or styles and geographical influences. But, other theorists argue that labeling different collective groups enables Advertisers and the Media to market different products more easily and for adults to understand the stereotyped characteristics of these different groups. This takes away any opposition and reinforces that teenagers are the main consumers in our society. It has been argued that since the late 1980s, there are no longer youth sub-cultures but Urban Tribes.

Folk Devils & Moral Panics

Stanley Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972) This is quite an old theory but it can still be seen to apply to the representation of teenagers (and other collective groups) today. According to Cohen, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests. In other words: An event might be reported about in a negative, sensational way in the news with the idea that it is destroying established moral values within society. For e.g., the London Riots in Summer 2011. The group of people associated with this event (teenagers) will then become associated with the decline in moral values and a moral panic about the influence of that group occurs amongst the general public (all teenagers are angry, aggressive, violent and have no respect for the wider society). Those who start the panic are known as moral entrepreneurs these would include the press, politicians and those people who are part of (or accept) the dominant ideology. People who supposedly threaten the social order (such as teenagers or more specifically, hoodies or ASBO generation) have been described as folk devils. The folk devils become a scapegoat for social unrest or unease and take the focus away from government. (in other words, it is

A2 MEDIA STUDIES G325 SECTION B CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES COLLECTIVE IDENTITY THE REPRESENTATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA the fault of the teenagers that the riots happened because they are angry, aggressive and violent - not because of lack of opportunities for young people, high unemployment, limited political power etcwhich are all a direct result of government policy) Cohen says that these moral panics and folk devils are common throughout history and are a way in which the dominant group (adults) can maintain the social status quo of power.

Task: Summary of Theories:

In the box below, summarize each of the 3 theories you have just learnt about with an example of your own:

Youth subculture is

A moral panic is

Folk are

Devils

A2 MEDIA STUDIES G325 SECTION B CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES COLLECTIVE IDENTITY THE REPRESENTATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA