In the trailer for Bully, teenagers are represented negatively. The protagonist is immediately shown to not be a nice person as he creates conflict with people. He is seen fighting people and intimidating them, which is a common representation of teenage boys. His appearance also signifies that he will be represented negatively as he has a rough appearance because of the way that he wears his clothes, as well as his lack of hair which gives him a thug-like appearance.
The opening for Skins also shows a negative representation of teenagers, however, it is a different representation. The characters of Skins are represented as being hedonistic and not caring about responsibilities. This is shown through the frequent amount of smoking and sex that is seen through the opening, which mirrors the current view of teenagers just caring about drugs, sex and rebellion.
Although both texts represent teenagers negatively, these representations are different. While Bully represents teenagers as disruptive and threatening, Skins represents them as hedonistic and irresponsible, but harmless. However, both of these different representations are dominant as these are the most common representations of teenagers.
Consider the view that the current representation of teenagers is simply another 'moral panic'
To what extent has new and digital media given younger audience the opportunities to shape their own media representations?
New and digital media has given people the chance to represent themselves as user generated content means that they can create their own media. Teenagers are frequent users of new and digital media so they have a lot of opportunity to shape their own representations. Texts such as YouTube, where users can post their own videos, give teenagers the chance to show people what they are like and be seen by a lot of people. Also, social networking websites such as Facebook give people the opportunity of social interaction with younger people, meaning that they can get to know younger people, so teenagers have the opportunity to shape their own representations.
No comments:
Post a Comment