Representation and Youth

The media cannot present the world to us, despite their assertions of truth,
reality and verisimilitude. In practice the media offer us perspectives or
selected views on our world. They re-present that world to us by constructing
images and behaviours for lots of different groups within, and indeed outside,
our own society. So we are aware of families represented in a range of
television soaps. We have a knowledge of sportspeople through sports
coverage in the press and on television programmes. We are dependent on
the media for our insights into what it was like to live in a time before we were
born. Our knowledge of other countries and lifestyles is usually based on
media constructs. And so on.

The fact is that the media have the power through selection and reinforcement
to give us very influential portrayals of a whole range of groups, situations and
ideas. We make sense of these representations in different ways according to
the values and assumptions we carry around in our own heads. So
representation is not just about the way the world is presented to us but also
about how we engage with media texts in order to interpret and assimilate
such portrayals. This concept of representation is, therefore, just as much
about audience interpretation as it is about the portrayals that are offered to
us by the media.

Another key media term tied in to representation is institution, because we

need to consider the reasons why someone or some institution is presenting
these images to us. How representations change over time and which points
of view are left out or privileged in these representations might also be worthy
of consideration. Interestingly the advertising media often give us a kind of
social barometer of changing representations of social groups and trends.
Think of the 'new man' or 'the independent woman' popularised by the car
advertisers in particular.

If we move on to look at this notion of representation in one particular area we

can see that many organisations and groups are keen to portray youth for
purposes of commerce or social comment. The problem with the youth market
is that it is a very difficult one to address because youth's level of engagement
with the mass media in general is less than the average with the exception of
film and music. The youth market is one that is also characterised by
continuous change. So we need to ask how accurately the issues and
concerns of youth are shown by these media producers and ask if they are
responsive and sensitive in reflecting the shifts in youth culture.

Let us look at the way we are presented with images of youth in some of the
popular media forms.

In print it is evident that magazines are often split along gender lines and it is
difficult to find any popular magazine that crosses the gender divide. Female
gender representations for youth as developed by girls' magazines have been
the subject of research by Gillian Murphy. She sees these representations as
stereotypical and she is critical of magazines such as Jackie for their negative
portrayals of young females. McRobbie, however, takes a different slant. Her
interpretation suggests that young females are able to see themselves in
privileged positions as opposed to the usual subservient roles developed in
other media. So magazines that show young females in lead or dominant
roles provide positive and enabling representations. Some moral watchdogs
have criticised modern magazines for their content which they describe as
unsuitable because the magazines are aimed at and purchased by a younger
audience than the designated one (consider Just 17). Are representations in
relation to young females changing or are we getting more of the same?

We should also note the rise in 'lads' magazines such as Loaded and FHM
which stress other male lifestyle interests such as cars, sport, holidays and
clothes - as well as females. These are a long way from the exploitation of
females in the soft porn men's mags such as Playboy. Do these
representations offer a changing perspective of the young male?

The press has little youth representation because it tends to sell to adults and
when they target youth they see them as students, jobseekers or other
consumerist categories. However many press stories do involve youth (yob
culture, club scene, drug stories etc.) and the accuracy or otherwise of these
portrayals needs to be addressed.

Film is not an easy area due to the high level of US material. We can note the
popularity of films such as American Pie, but like the earlier Porkies films they
depict teens as sex-obsessed, which is a rather limited portrayal. Some US
material is more sensitive and sympathetic in discussing teen angst. For
example John Hughes, director of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast
Club offers quite sensitive portrayals of youth coping with relationships,
authority and identity. More localised representations of youth in films such as
The Commitments and Trainspotting tend to provide a more earthy analysis of
youth issues. These do not pretend to be cinema verité but their 'authors'
would claim that they reflect the youth experience more authentically than
most U.S. film imports. Do you agree?

TV has a selection of youth representations but TV also has low viewing

figures for the teen market. There is interesting TV-based research by
Buckingham on definitions of masculinity among young males. This points to
the constant negotiation of the meaning of masculinity which emphasises the
struggle to refine this notion against what are perceived as feminine
characteristics. Acceptance of male stereotypes is rejected in this research.
For an older age group Hollyoaks and a teen-driven Neighbours are meant
focus on relationships and issues that have a youth appeal. Occasionally
youth programmes are deemed offensive by some adults: The Word was
often seen as controversial because of its style of address. Programmes such
as Top of the Pops reflect youth music but have a wider audience. Is TFI
Friday a youth programme, given the age of the presenter and many of the
guests? US imports such as Dawson's Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
offer interesting and very popular representations of youth. Both are glossy in
production values, script and casting. Buffy probably has a more developed
range of characters than Dawson's Creek. Neither of these are as dull and
formulaic as Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Can Friends be considered a teen
programme?

Radio has youth defined in terms of music - Radio 1 and many local wall-to-
wall music stations tend to be based on a formula that encompasses popular
music, presenter-led programmes, competitions and tabloid-style news and
weather as necessary add-ons. Whatever way the media show images of
youth it is important that young people themselves challenge stereotypes and
question the representations they encounter. As society places ever more
stress on a mediated culture the young must assert the importance of their
situated culture and the individuality that is part of what it means to be a
young person.

References

McRobbie, A, Feminism and Youth Culture, Macmillan, 1991

Murphy, G. Media Influence on the Socialisation ofTeenage Girls in Curran, J,

Smith, A, and Wingate,P \(eds), Impacts and Influences, Metheun, 1987

Buckingham, D (ed), Reading Audiences, Manchester University Press, 1993

© 2001 Gerry Connor

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