Theorist | Year | Concepts | Your explanation | Application to film |
Giroux | 1997 | Youth as empty category | This theory is where adults create their own impressions of youths which is why most impressions are not realistic. Youths are given an immediate impression and are widely stereotyped. | This theory applies to the film Harry Brown, as this film portrays all youths as violent, abusive, drug-taking thugs. This is a view of other people (the director/the media) and is an un-realistic portrayal of youths as a whole. This applies to the trailer we saw for Eden Lake in a similar way. The trailer groups all youths together as violent gang members being aggressive towards adults which show that this is how adults perceive all youths. This applies to Attack the Block differently, as this film shows the youths ending up to be the hero’s. This film puts the message across that not all youths are violent and if people didn’t stereotype them all the time then they could see how normal most youths are. |
Acland | 1995 | Ideology of protection; deviant youth and reproduction of social order | Order has a key function: to reproduce itself. Youth in crisis, youth gone wild, is a central site in which this activity of reproducing order takes place. It involves the constitution of the normal, adult, the normal youth, and the relation between the two. The deviant youth is thus a crucial trope of this relationship; it helps patrol the boundaries | |
Gramsci | 1971 (1929-1935) | Cultural hegemony | Cultural hegemony is that a culturally diverse society can be dominated (ruled) by one social class, by manipulating the societal culture (beliefs, explanations, perceptions, values) so that its ruling-class worldview is imposed as the societal norm, which then is perceived as a universally valid ideology and status quo beneficial to all of society, whilst benefiting only the ruling class. | This theory is shown in Harry Brown, as in this film the lower class dominates in the specific location. The lower, non-working class rules the area of the council estate and if you are not a part of this class then your life becomes very difficult, if not impossible to live. The higher class characters in the film (the police) are shown as threatened by the lower class and are beaten and murdered by them, showing the power the lower class possess here. |
Cohen | 1972 | Moral panic | Society is subjected to periods of moral panic every now and again. This is when an episode, person or group of people seems to become a ‘threat to normal society.’ (E.g. the London riots) This is then presented in a stereotypical and stylised fashion by the mass media. This groups whoever caused the disruption as a whole and gives a bad name to those people in general. (introduction of ASBOs) | This theory applies to Harry Brown, as the group of youths in this film are seen taking drugs, abusing women and others, using weapons, fighting and rioting in London. They are shown as a big threat to the rest of the ‘normal society’ as they are not acting how a ‘normal’ person would be expected to behave. This groups all youths together in these situations and is picked up by the media and stereotypes all youths as thinking this behaviour is acceptable which is not the case. |
McRobbie | 2004 | Symbolic Violence | Creating a symbolic link between the lower classes and violence. Violence against the working class is a form of social reproduction | |
Gerbner | 1986 | Cultivation Theory | Influencing society through mass media. Cultivating an attitude about youths and how they behave. If youths are shown as aggressive and violent enough in the media then this is how the majority of youths will believe this is how they should act in reality. |
Section B Exemplar Response 48/50
Section B Question 6 Media and Collective Identity
For A2 I have studies the representation of women in both contemporary and historical media. As David Buckingham noted in 2008, “identity is fluid and changeable” – and arguably the identity of women in recent times has changed, some may argue it has become more mediated.
Identity itself refers to who we actually are, the construction of ourselves – perhaps even the representation of ourselves and our social groups that we as media consumers wish to have. While many such as Buckingham and Gauntlett champion the fact the create and construct our own identities; others such aa Theordore Adorno see identity as something pushed upon us by the mass media, that we have no alternative but to take the dominant identities we are exposed to “something is offered for all so that none may escape,” he writes in explanation of this fact. Adorno therefore argues that our identities are becoming increasingly mediated – that is, that they influenced by the mass media, inherent identifies are weak and influenced by the media around us. ‘Nuts’ magazine is a stereotypical ‘lad’s mag’, aimed at 18-24 year old males. In ana analysis of the 19-25th March 2010 issue I performed the content proves interesting with regards to representation of women. Images of semi-naked females in suggestive poses represent women as victims of symbiotic annihilation. They are portrayed as merely objects of sexual pleasure for men – the images have been constructed, Laure Mulvey would argue with her theory of the Male Gaze, solely with the male consumers in mind, who using the Uses and Gratifications Model are consuming the text for sexual pleasure. Most significant here, however, is the so-called Mirror Effect of Mulvey’s Male Gaze. This states that women themselves consuming the images will apply the Male Gaze, and see the female in the image in a sense of what Baudrillard would call hyperreality, assuming the idea that this representation is ‘how women should be’ and in turn they should construct their identities similarly in order to appeal to males – aftr all women are the subdominant group in an apparent patriarchal society. Identity therefore has become mediated in this situation as Adorno says. The “culture industry” that is the mass media has imposed a dominant representation onto a collective group; who have felt pressured to adapt it as part of their collective identity. In the 2001 film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”, Lara Croft, the main female character is represented as fairly masculine (stereotypically masculine) in terms of her choice of clothing, body language and manner. All of these micro-elements construct her identity. However, throughout the film, we also see Croft use what can be considered the concept of femininity to her advantage, flirting with male characters and wearing stereotypically feminine clothes towards the final scenes.
In terms of her character’s identity this supports Buckingham’s aforementioned assumption that “identity is fluid and changeable” but also conforms to Queer Theory. Queer Theory is widely recognized in Judith Butler’s 1990 book ‘Gender Trouble’ and states that the genders male and female are just as much the product of representation as the concepts of masculinity and femininity. She calls for a blurring of boundaries between genders and their stereotypical identities and calls for the media to celebrate such diversity. As a character, Croft arguably has blurred the boundaries displaying traits of both male and female behaviour.
If Adorno’s assertions are applied here it can be argued that again the dominant identity of women as sly, untrustworthy and in need of patriarchal dominance is being applied through Croft’s deviant use of fronting identity to her advantage. However some could argue that the prominence of Queer Theory does not encourage the mediation of female identity instead it encourages dominant representations to be characterized and boundaries to be blurred – implying greater personal control over identity as advocated by John Fiske and David Buckingham rather than mediated identities. Cosmopolitan is a magazine aimed at females around 30+. In all ways it can be said that pragmatically the magazine pushes femininity as an identity for itself, with stereotypically female colours and text styles. In turn, the feminine identity of the magazine is applied as a representation of the readers, further suggesting a mediation of women’s identity. The magazine focuses heavily on beauty and fitness, reinforcing the dominant ideology of the “ideal” women that women should aspire to a fixed concept of beauty.
As an example in the April 2010 issue a large image of Holly Willoughby (celebrity) features on the cover. Although unlike Nuts magazine, she is wearing fairly covering clothing and lacks cosmetic make-up, it is interesting to note that her clothing is white in colour – Ferdinand de Saussure would note that this has semiotic significance using his semiotic theory and Roland Barthe’s levels of signification, we can identify that white has connotations of innocence and weakness. Therefore this represents her as innocent and weak – reinforcing dominant patriarchal representations of women. Due to her status as a celebrity, her level of influence is great. In herself she is a semiotic symbol of success and affluence, so those who take inspiration from her will take this constructed innocence and weakness and apply it to their own identities. This is a clear example of the mediation of identity. It suggests a passive audience, influenced by the mass media as Adorno and other quasi-Marxists would suggest.
It can be seen therefore, that as post modernists say, we live in a media saturated society. We are surrounded by signs which cannot be ignored. Women in the media are often represented as varying, whether it be as sexual objects for the pleasure of males; or as innocent, as ‘stay at home’ housewives as suggested in 2008’s film Hancock. Here, despite possessing stereotypically male strength and ‘superpowers’, the lead female aspires to be a housewife – reinforcing the sub-dominant representation of women. Either way however women are often the victims of mediation. The theories of consumption and construction of identity from theorists such as Adorno and Mulvey clearly show that despite the specific representations, one common identity is ‘forced’ upon women in the media – a subdominant social group living in a patriarchal society. Identity is constructed using this as a basis; and even media texts which challenge this representation and encourage Queer Theory diversity are still arguably mediating identity with their influence. Identity is fluid and changeable and can be individually constructed as Gauntlett and Buckingham state. But arguable, the mass media are, and have, mediated the identity of women in contemporary society.
EAA (explanation and analysis) 20/20
EG (example) 18/20
T (termanology) 10/10
(48)
‘How are British youths represented in Quadrophenia and Harry Brown?’
Main themes
In both films Quadrophenia (Franc Roddam, 1979) and Harry Brown, (Daniel Barber, 2009) the main themes are very similar. Both films are portraying British youths in a very negative way. Drugs, sex and violence are very common in both Quadrophenia and Harry Brown. Quadrophenia shows how British youths were viewed 30 years ago. They are shown as disruptive, rude teens that abuse the use of drugs and work in gangs. However the extent of the violence and drug taking is not as extreme as in Harry Brown. The youths in Quadrophenia are seen at times to get into fights and beat up members of their rival gang ‘rockers,’ whereas the youths Harry Brown are seen to murder numerous members of their society, sometimes unprovoked. The youths in Harry Brown don’t feel safe unless walking around their community with a knife or gun at hand. Territory and revenge are also key themes running through both films. The Mods and the Rockers in Quadrophenia both feel that they need to protect their territory from the opposition, and this feeling of protection is what leads to violence. However this territory feeling is much more extreme in Harry Brown. The youths see the underground walkway as their territory, and any intruders are usually murdered. Harry Brown himself sees revenge as the main theme of the whole plot, as he is constantly seeking revenge on the youths that murdered his friend.
Gang ideologies
The youths in both of these films are strongly led by gangs. The Mods and the Rockers in Quadrophenia stick together in trying to overcome the rival gang. Both gangs pride themselves on their dress code and their scooters. In Quadrophenia, the gangs are less of a threat than the gangs in Harry Brown. The gangs in Harry Brown are formed more for survival. This fits in to Gramsci’s theory of Cultural hegemony as the gangs are constantly fighting against the different social classes. The Mods and the Rockers are more like friendship groups that can get carried away at times; however the gangs in Harry Brown all become blurred towards the end as they all begin to fight between themselves. The Mods and Rockers are two clear cut different groups, whereas the youths in Harry Brown are much more out for themselves, but sometimes go around in groups to seem more intimidating. Throughout Harry Brown, the members of the gangs are all individually fighting for survival and will at any point turn on a member of their own gang if necessary. The gangs in Quadrophenia are also fighting against their parents as well as each other, whereas the parents are hardly ever featured in Harry Brown.
Identity
Identity is a key feature in both of these films. In both Harry Brown and Quadrophenia each character is fighting to be at the top, and the most indestructible. The identity of the Mods and the rockers in Quadrophenia are important as the clash between the two groups is what causes most of the conflict in the film. The Mods are all dressed in green parkers and ride scooters to show that they are a member of the Mods gang, and the Rockers dress in leather jackets with their hair combed backwards to show they are members of the Rockers. The characters in Harry Brown all dress very threateningly, in hooded jumpers and baggy, dark clothing. This hides their individual identities, causing them to come across as much more threatening. The youths in Harry Brown don’t seem to possess an identity as they are constantly hiding behind clothing, hoods or in the dark alley ways. The youths in Quadrophenia however, never hide away and are always out in the day light, which takes away that aspect of fear for them.
Roles of the parents
The parents of the youths in Quadrophenia are featured for a little part of the film. At first the parents of the ‘Mod’ Jimmy, seem that they have little control over him, as he is always out late at night and let him get away with things without harsh consequences. However towards the end of the film Jimmy’s parents punish him and throw him out the house. The parents of the youths in Harry Brown are hardly featured in the film and are insignificant to the film. The youths have little guidance from their parents, causing them to think that they can get away with anything they want to do as they will not be punished. However the youths in Harry Brown seem so out of control now that any guidance or punishment from parents or a family member would be ignored and irrelevant.
