Youth Sub-Culture

What is a youth sub-culture?

A group of individuals who are united through a common value system and tastes (clothes, music, politics etc.)

A group of people who are positioned outside of the mainstream and, who unify as a response to the mainstream.

What are the values of a sub-culture?

Emo, chavs, thugs, goths, scene kids, geeks, hipsters, jocks, hippies, skaters, punks, mods, rockers, new-romantics,

Chavs
Want to rebel against any authority type figure, stereotypically come from a deprieved lower class background with a broken family and will show signs of aggressive behaviour and not complying to rules and regulation.

Many chavs will wear lots of sports brands including mainly tracksuits worn Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Umbro, Donnay etc.
Short hair with an aggressive dog.
Grime/hip-hop/r&b
Modified car - tinted windows, big speakers, souped up car.

What are the values of a sub-culture?

Conformity and rebellion
Attitude to capitalism and consumerism
Tribal rivalry
Traditional or 'neophile' (a person who loves novelty, one who likes trends; person who accept the future enthusiastically and enjoys changes and evolution)
Ideology in 1950's and 1960's - peace, rebellion against parents, radicalism - reactions against the post war.

Many groups are involved in protest and resistance against the mainstream...
Teens will often move between subcultures, and older youths mix and match styles/values from a mix of subcultures
Or that adults can appear to conform for most of the working week, but re-enter the subculture at specific time (weekend, festivals etc.)

Subculture

In the 21st century the 'dominant meaning systems' (that define the mainstream) are crumbling.
"There is no mainstream. There are many streams." Mainstream is in perpetual flux, rapaciously absorbing alternative culture at such a fast rate that the notion of a mainstream becomes obsolete.
So if there is no mainstream then there is nothing for the teens to react against - instead they are driven by other motives; and these must be understood on their own terms, individual terms.

1950's Teddies (Teds/Teddy Boys)
Anti-establishment, some of the original juvenile delinquents
Their uniform - drainpipe trousers, drape Edwardian jackets with velvet collars, string ties or slim-jims and DA (duck arse) haircuts and sideburns
They may have been a minority in Britain but he effect they had was huge (especially the clothing
Their music - Elvis Presley

1960's Mods
Mod (originally modernist to describe modern jazz musicians and fans) is a subculture that originated in London in the late 1950's and peaked in the early to mid 1960's.
Uniform hard to describe as they were prone to continuous revitalisation
The Who and Small Faces would change their musical style.

1960's Skinheads
Originated among working class youths in the 1960's
Close cropped or shaven heads, influenced greatly by West Indian rude boys and British Mods in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle
Originally not based on politics or race
Fashion wise, Skinheads range from a clean-cut 1960's mod-influenced style to less-strict punk and hardcore - influenced styles

Early 1970's Punks
Emerged from USA, UK and Australia
Based around punk rock
Listening to recordings or live concerts of a loud, aggressive genre of rock music called punk rock
Punk-related ideologies are mostly concerned with with idividual freedom and anti-establishment views.

The Cultural Revolution
1950's - 1970's

War - time of survival just before the 1950's - rationing, tight society
Anti establishment - breaking free from the shackles of the war and gaining more wealth
Many old social cultural structures were broken
The American way of life had started to become key to the aspirations of the British public (both cultural and material goods)
Increased availability of cheap colour magazines brough a proliferation of advertising for luxury commodities
A world wide ecnomic boom (postwar regeneration schemes)
Labour was defeated by the Conservatives at the 1951 General Election, This change in the government marked a shift from state control to increased individual freedom the Conservative election slogan promised to 'Set the People Free'
Youth given more freedom through the deregulation and commercialism of society.
Massive increases in the production and availability of consumer goods stimulated mass consumption.
People were expected to have goods such as tvs, fridges, music systems and cars as a basic requirement (more disposable income)
Car ownership rose 250% between 1951 and 1961. Weekly earnings rose by 34% between 1955 and 1960.
1960's consumption had become less connected with utilitarian needs, and more to do with status and comfort (Maslows Hierarchy of Needs)
The era of the'lifestyle' had began, specialist retailers providing outlets where people could buy into a new indentity based around design or fashion.
Teenagers became a recognised social group as they had become more affluent.
Manufacturers met the demands reflecting interest in fashion and pop music began to be sold.

America's influence

To be young in the 1950's usually meant that you would consume anything that had 'Made in America'
Americal culture was viewed by some, as a symptom of cultural degenertaion
However Hollywood movies, commercial tv, glossy mags and consumer good proves an instant hit with British Consumers.
To the average Briton it offered a rich and desirable future.
Cultural Imperialism - The practice of promoting, distinguishing, seperating or artificially injecting the culture of one society in another (America influence on Britain post war)

Social Mobility

Affluence, social mobility and the advent of the mass media, combined with a government that placed individual freedom at the heart of its agenda, had transformed British society.
There was a feeling of optimism but also a sense of uncertainty. New freedoms and liberties had been gained, but as a result society had become more fragmented and less predictable.

Theory

Key -

Explantion, Analysis, Argument
Example,
Terminology

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.

Research

Homework...
Choose one of the three films to research. Try to find reviews which reflect different perspectives, e.g. from conservative newspapers like the Daily Mail, or the Telegraph, and liberal newspapers like The Guardian, and The Independent.

Summarise the reviews/interviews in your own words (recording the text it comes from, the title, the date)

How do contemporary media represent British youths and youth culture in different ways?

'Harry Brown'
Director: Daniel Barber
Released in 2009
How does 'Harry Brown' represent young people?

Iconography helps to construct the representation of young people including hoodies, pitbulls, knives, guns, drugs, subway, council houses (location), sexual confrontation, sexism, fighting territory, revenge, friendship, dialogue (real colloquial language), age (Harry - old, police - middle aged, gangs - younger)

Binary opposition (social class) - Harry Brown (working class) - Gangs (lower class) - Police (higher class)

Impact that the environment has on the way the gangs grow up...near drug dealers
Dark lighting - negativity, suspense, shadows, dark side, threatening, evil.
Genre - Thriller/horror use of signals
Female challenges media stereotypes as she comes out with a better status and more knowledge

Hoodies strike fear in British cinema
'Guardian 2009'

Un-emotional, inept of feelings, thugs, challenging societies norms, no hope (survival is a challenge)

Links to horror -
Monsters (vampires/zombies/supernatural/aliens/murderers) - Harry Brown brings non-fiction real life characters and applies them as monsters. (teenagers)

Social class -
Teenagers with blazers from grammer schools would not scare an audience where-as a hoody in the environment will.
Middle class/upper class vs lower class/working class
Capitalism
Hegemony - Power of the ruling class want us to believe something about the other class' - influences the way we think
Governed by rulings of media making us believe.
Moral panic - creating fear about a class - only way to control them being an ASBO
Self-fulfilling prophecy - told so many times you are something that you become exactly that.


'Eden Lake'
Director: James Watkins
Released in 2008

How are Jenny and Steve (the main couple) represented?
Normal clean-cut people that have gone for a romantic trip as a couple yet are challenged to show they have no hope yet from what the trailor leads us to believe they will do anything to survive (strong willed). Jenny is shown as the damzel in distress and Steve is her saviour and they are out of their comfort zone (isolated and vulnerable).

How is this contrasted with the representation of the other characters?
The other characters are the complete opposite to the couple. Drinking, smoking, wearing hoodies, aggresive dogs, stealing objects that do not belong to them etc. They show no remorse/respect in what they are doing to Jenny and Steve. Keeping hold of the territory that the couple are invading onto. Mainly male dominated with sexual violence towards women.

How important is the issue of social class?
The couple are of middle/upper class whereas the other characters are lower class as they do not look to have jobs so the audience will immediately prejudge the stereotype. The article we read pointed out that young people from blazers would not have the scare factor that someone of lower class does.

How are young people represented?
Young people are represented very poorly as the same 'Harry Brown'. As with the article they are shown to be a type of new age monster. The use of weapons and hanging around in gangs (hunting in packs) all the different stereotypical youth culture is shown mainly at night time.

The British youth in the films are represented by not conforming to dominant ideology/disruption to the equilibrium.
Dominant ideology - shouldn't break the law, be respectful etc.
Conformity to the dominant social norms.

'Attack the Block'
Director: Joe Cornish
Released in 2011

How are the main characters introduced in 'Attack the Block'?
Violent, hunting in packs, madness at nightime, bandanas/hoodys/baseball caps, knives, vulnerability of women, opportunistic crime, more middle class but crossing over into the territory of the youths, quiloquial dialogue, the monster.

Harry Brown

Released in 2009
Directed by Daniel Barber

How are youths being represented? (specific examples)

In the bar the youths are represented as drugged up low lifes who 'sell drugs, guns and underage girls', the fact that the two youths did not try to hide the drug deal underlines this.
After that young people are shown to be a media stereotype by wearing hoodys and getting into fights out in public.
Youths spit in the elderly Mr Attwell's face, name calling and throwing faeces through his letterbox
The young people show no respect for anyone, especially autority figures. They have complete free will and choose to be destructive and disrepectful.
They gather around in big threatening groups with pitbulls at dark underneath roadways - stereotype of the lower class.


How are the audience being positioned? (to identify with the characters)

The audience are supposed to look down upon youths because of their actions and behaviours through elder eyes who could be seen as very wise.
We are led to sympathise with the policewoman as she the boss dismisses her requests of helping the enquiry of the elderly man who was murdered instead to persue a newer case.

What is the significance of social class?

Social class pays a very big part of this film as each class will treat each other differently as with age as well
The difference between the police and characters from the council estates show a big difference in temper losing their calm whilst the police stay very respectful
Harry Brown plays on the use of media stereotypes to create the characters in the film, especially those of younger age. Many articles have been found to represent them in a bad way.

Britishness

What is Britishness?

What does it mean to be British?

What do you associate with being British?

Exam Outline

Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production (50 Marks)

1a) Theoretical evalutation of skill development over the course of the two years (both AS and A2 c/w productions including preliminary and ancillary tasks)
Candidates answer two compulsory questions. The first requires the, tp describe and evaluate their skills development over the course of their production work, from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio. The second asks them to identify one production and evaluate it in relation to one theoretical concept.

Question 1(a) requires candidates to describe and evaluate their skills development over the course of their production work, from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio. The focus of this evaluation must be on skills development, and the question will require them to adapt this to one or two specific production practices. The list of practices to which questions will relate is as follows:
Digital technology
Research and planning
Creativity
Post Production
Using conventions from real media texts

1b) Theoretical evaluation of one production and evaluate it in relation to a media concept.Question 1(b) requires candidates to select one production and evaluate it in relation a media concept. Thelist of concepts to which questions will relate is as follows:
Genre
Narrative
Representation
Audience
Media language


Section B: Contemporary Media Issues (50 Marks)
2) Contemporary Media Issues - Media and Collective Identity - The Representation of British youth and youth culture

How do the contemporary media represent British youth and youth culture in different ways?
How does the contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?
What are the social implications of different media representations of British you and youth culture?
To what extent is human identity increasingly 'mediated'?

In order to be fully prepared for the specific requirements of the question, the material studies by candidates must cover these three elements:

Historical - Dependent on the the requirements of the topic, candidates must summarise the development of the media forms in question in theoretical contexts.
Contemporary - Examples from five years before the examination
Future - Candidates must demonstrate personal engagement with debates about the future of the media forms/issues that the topic relates to.

Identity

What is identity?

My definition -
Everything that makes you. E.g Culture, background, schooling, where you were be brought up, what your parents are like and interests etc.

Dictionary definition -
Who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group which make them different from others

How is identity formed?/Who influences your identity?
Environment
Friends
Gender
Family
Morals of parents
Media/Media consumption
Characteristics
Events
Social origin
Education
Age
Height
Weight
Diet
Lifestyle
Social class
Religion
Beliefs and ideoligies
Geography
Experiences
Stereotypes

Nature vs Nurture