SECTION B ESSAY

I have chosen to look into the representation of white British youth in the media. By looking at historical and contemporary media, I have noticed that white British teenagers are both positive and negatively mediated. Media texts researched into come from a range of platforms such as TV Programs, films, BBC news stories and a music video.

The negative representation of the typical British teen has become increasingly mediated more than any positive representations. The image of British youth has been exaggerated and used in British horror movies such as Eden Lake 2008. The plot of Eden Lake shows a couple on holiday that become tortured victims of a group of teenagers. The film has taken the typical rebellious stereotypes of teenagers to another level and portrayed them as psychopathic criminals. In relation to theory, Cohen's (1972) theory of moral panic can be used to provide reasons why white teenagers are mediated this way. Teenagers are seen as a moral panic as they are considered a threat to society. More specifically, the moral panic of teenagers is towards teenage pregnancy and knife crime. This moral panic has been reinforced by the continuous presentation of negative stereotypes in mass media.

The music video of 'Ill manors' by Plan B is another great example when researching into the mediation of white British youth. The video is specific to British teenagers as it is filmed in council estates in London as uses a cast of white and black teens. The representation of both races is equally negative however the white teenagers are shown to be more involved in violence and theft. In addition to the visual content of the video, the lyrics of the song are quite explicit in suggesting that teenagers have accepted this representation of themselves; "get away with murder in the schools. Use four letter swear words cos we cool". However the message the lyrics aim to get across is that the government is responsible for the all rebellion and problems; "We've had it with you politicians... "What needs fixing is the system". There are also scenes that show the rapper mocking David Cameron by showing him throwing money at a crowd wearing hoodies from a bin labeled 'free money'. There is also an aspect of humor within the lyrics and the video. An example of this is "Let's all go on an urban safari, we might see some illegal migrants" while the video shows Plan B and other animated figures sitting in the back of a safari jeep tours around what looks like a council estate tower, pointing at a 'chav', this being a white male teenager. This connotes the idea that the teenagers are animals in their own habitat being watched by those who have the upper hand, financially. It is also important to note the idea that the white male is labeled a ‘chav’ which the lyrics explain its meaning as “council housed and violent”. This is word is commonly in the streets of British but as a reference to how that individual is dressed and not where they live. 
Ill Manors music video connotes the idea that the working class are dominated by the higher class (government). This reinforced Gramsci's theory of hegemony. However the rapper tries to complain and inform the working class about this dominance rather than trying to reinforce it. 

It has almost become tradition for the media to show a British teenager wearing a hoodie and a bandana over their mouth to cover their identity. This can be associated with the de-individuation theory of aggression; the theory claims that individuals become more aggressive when they are stripped of their identity. Society has learnt to associate these types of clothing with violence and rebellion due to the reinforcement of them by the media. The characters from the British film Kidulthood can be used as an example. The film tells a story of a group of teenagers living their everyday lives revolved around drugs, sex and violence. The stereotype of hoodies is reinforced in Kidulthood as they are used throughout the entire film by the cast. The 2007 film shows that the stereotypes can be traced back at least 7 years.

This dominant negative representation has also been involved in other types of media such as the news. A real life example is the 2011 London riots; across the news channels the identical footage of teenagers looting the streets of London wearing dark hoodies and bandanas. The exposure of such representations to a wide audience causes a change in their perception of crime and criminals around the world, reinforcing the idea that teenagers are dangerous felons. This can be supported by Gerbner's (1986) study on the effects of television on people perception of crime. He found that those who watch a lot of TV overestimate levels of crime. In relation to white British teens, people’s perception on them has been influenced by how they are shown on TV and the news in particular.

On the other hand, TV programmes made by the BBC such as Pramface show the recklessly funny side to British teenagers and this goes against al-l the stereotypes about them being violent and evil. Pramface is about two white teenagers who accidentally enter the world of adulthood by getting pregnant from a one-night stand. Teenage pregnancy is no longer considered a moral panic (Cohen) in society, so this side to teenagers can be used to show what 'normal' teens should be and look like. Acland's theory argues that by creating a contrast between 'normal' and delinquent teenagers, hegemony is reinforced. The characters of Pramface are shown to have complete control over their actions and choices unlike stereotypical teenagers who appear to need some sort of control.

Also, using McRobbie's (2004) symbolic violence theory, we can explain that social class is another factor to consider when creating or analysing such representations of teenagers. As the theory claims that violence is a code for working/lower class, by creating a programme that shows no violence between high class teenagers, the stereotype is actually reinforced. However, other BBC programmes with teenagers but of a lower class don't portray a negative representation such as Some Girls. Some Girls uses 17-18 year old white and black actors but like Pramface, the series tries to portray them as wacky, weird teenagers. 

The British film Attack the block can be used to explain the alternative representation of youth.  The opening scene of the film shows the group of teenagers following and threatening a woman to give in her expensive belongings. However, throughout the film the group comes together with other people to protect the block from aliens. The Acland theory (2005) can be used to show that the youth are actually and now in control and are able to protect society from the real 'monsters'. This is done by showing the difference in the behaviour of the teenagers throughout the film so the the good can be emphasised.

Analysing several media texts such as films, music and the news, we can conclude that representations of white British teenagers in recent media are largely negative. The repeated image of the delinquent teenagers by mass media is able to reinforce the stereotypes. This is because the negative representations are mediated more than the positive. Even though in reality generally teenagers are hardly the monsters they are made out to be, so all the stereotypes can be explained by Giroux’s (1997) theory. The theory argues that such representations are constructed by adults and they reflected their concerns and worries.