A dominant representation is on which is repeated across the media over time and so are the values that it carries. Discuss.
Representations through the media are not always truthful and therefore this leads to biased and untrue representations and stereotypes being produced by the consumers about the minorities targeted. To represent implies to stand for and support, so incorrectly representing others is undemocratic in a society where all citizens have equal rights and are should be treated fairly. This is the case in certain examples e.g. the representations of black youths and their love affair with gun, knife and drug crime.
Firstly, the repeated representations within the media can be changed to favour those who were initially discriminated via the use of web 2.0 and websites such as www.youtube.com were users can upload what they want. This use of user generated content enables the consumers of the media to actually become producers of their own mendia and control what their audience view on their ‘channel’. For example, artists such as Chipmunk and Tinchy Stryder both hold degrees from London universities and their talent was spotted through the internet, now they represent the UK and have had many top ten hits in the charts. It is for this reason that representations can be remoulded by the actual people who feel discriminated. False representations or negative ones which cause offence to those can be remoulded using the media and the internet, which effectively means that dominant representations that were negative can be reformed.
On the other hand, dominant representations imply that the media industry is Marxist and so has enforced these representations onto the audiences by using the hypodermic needle theory and the cultivation theory. The hypodermic needle theory suggests that the audience is passive and is therefore drip fed ideologies by the media to shape its views and beliefs on society. For example, websites such as www.facebook.com, www.twitter.com and www.youtube.com allow you to post your own media. However, this posting is censored if the media believes it if offensive. The question to be asked is what power does the media industry have to regulate the content which represents the beliefs of the audience? Secondly, the cultivation theory suggests that as audiences consume more media, the themes expressed are consumed by them and as a result the audience develop misleading and false views about the minority targeted. And so, dominant representations in the media mean that once they are consumed by the intended audience then certain prejudices are produced. It can be concluded that this takes pace because the media industry ‘dumbs down’ the media produced for the easy consumption of the public. And it is for this reason that undemocratic, unfair and harmful stereotypes and representations are made.
In conclusion, dominant representations which are repeated across the media over time are used to stereotype those targeted. And so the technological advances such as the web 2.0 which allows user generated content has transformed the world in such a sense any citizen can produces their own media and represent themselves in anyway they wish. It is the same internet which allows future stars such as Chipmunk and Tinchy Styder to be discovered and act as the binary opposition of the negative portrayal of the black community, for example.
Friday 22 April 2011
task five
Dominant reading:
• Lisa uses her intellect to avoid disappointment and failure
• Bart uses his charm and gets away with naughty behaviour
• Marge acts as the devoted mother and wife figure and supports the family
Negotiated reading:
• Homers lack of intellect and high stupidity levels, he still gets out of bother
• Fact that homer acts as a waste of space and literally is
Oppositional reading:
• Homer serves no purpose, he provides nothing for his family but bother.
• Lisa uses her intellect to avoid disappointment and failure
• Bart uses his charm and gets away with naughty behaviour
• Marge acts as the devoted mother and wife figure and supports the family
Negotiated reading:
• Homers lack of intellect and high stupidity levels, he still gets out of bother
• Fact that homer acts as a waste of space and literally is
Oppositional reading:
• Homer serves no purpose, he provides nothing for his family but bother.
task four
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGRfO9HVO4U
What is the effect of the scene on the audience?
With regards to the cultivation theory, it states as the audiences consume more media their views and beliefs become moulded and so in turn false stereotypes and beliefs can be formed. This violent scene displays three men, two white and one black man. The black man violently beats the homeless ‘grass’ who gives information for a fee to the gangsters, the camera focuses on the homeless man and his filthiness, who behaves animalistic and eats uncultured. This connotes that white men who are homeless behave disgracefully and so are beaten by the violent black aggressor. This stereotypes the black man as the aggressor and the white man, who is helpless, as the victim.
In addition, desensitisation states that if the audience are exposed to violence then they become immune to it and therefore become less sensitive to viewing it. In this clip the fact that it is so violent and leads to the victim being inhumanly being burnt by boiling water offers the audience a sense of false security as the aggressor looks directly into the camera with rage exploding in his eyes.
Lastly, this is likely to cause moral panic, this theory states that society is threatened by what they see and this anti social behaviour is likely to trouble the mature citizens. This is likely to occur as the scene this is set in is an everyday café and seems to be tranquil until the violence starts and the calming soundtrack by Duran Duran is introduced, providing a binary opposition to the actions.
What is the effect of the scene on the audience?
With regards to the cultivation theory, it states as the audiences consume more media their views and beliefs become moulded and so in turn false stereotypes and beliefs can be formed. This violent scene displays three men, two white and one black man. The black man violently beats the homeless ‘grass’ who gives information for a fee to the gangsters, the camera focuses on the homeless man and his filthiness, who behaves animalistic and eats uncultured. This connotes that white men who are homeless behave disgracefully and so are beaten by the violent black aggressor. This stereotypes the black man as the aggressor and the white man, who is helpless, as the victim.
In addition, desensitisation states that if the audience are exposed to violence then they become immune to it and therefore become less sensitive to viewing it. In this clip the fact that it is so violent and leads to the victim being inhumanly being burnt by boiling water offers the audience a sense of false security as the aggressor looks directly into the camera with rage exploding in his eyes.
Lastly, this is likely to cause moral panic, this theory states that society is threatened by what they see and this anti social behaviour is likely to trouble the mature citizens. This is likely to occur as the scene this is set in is an everyday café and seems to be tranquil until the violence starts and the calming soundtrack by Duran Duran is introduced, providing a binary opposition to the actions.
task two
The development of new and digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.
Firstly, audiences have access to cheaper technology and so this enables more consumption and provides the consumers to become producers of their own media. For example, websites such as www.youtube.com allow the user to upload their own productions and view others as long as it does not infringe copyright laws. So this has made it much easier to consumer media worldwide over the internet using web 2.0. However, net neutrality is still not available to all and therefore this challenges democracy- the fairness and equality of all. And so, although the technology is available to the citizens the actual content, how and what they are supplied by the internet providers vary, meaning that audiences have become more powerful than the past, but they are not the most powerful in terms of consumption and production.
Similarly, user generated content has flourished in recent years and has lead to the vast increase of citizen journalism where citizens produce media. For example, the ‘rodney king’ video tape available on www.youtube.com, shows a black citizen in America being beaten by white police officer. If it was not for the recording by a fellow citizen then this illegal and unconstitutional act would have gone unnoticed. And it is for this reason that citizens and their media provided on the internet strengthens democracy, and therefore the development of new and digital media has bettered the world.
Additionally, the vast changes in technology and worldwide advances have allowed citizens of all backgrounds and classes to provide and consume media. This has been due to new devices that allow citizens to record, phone, email, watch television and search the ‘web’ at the same time anywhere. For example, the apple iphone, blackberry mobiles and htc mobile phones are internet enabled and produced with cameras over 5 megapixels. But, despite a larger variety of technology available it still does not acknowledge the fact that these mobile phones are still expensive, with their recommended retail price at around £495. Also, certain laptops produced by apple are purchased at £900+. On the whole this increases interactivity within a community formed by users and increases a sense of an internet family worldwide; making the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production of their own media.
On the other hand, regulations and ownership of certain music, images and videos used by the citizens in their own productions are removed by certain websites as it infringes copyright laws. It is for this reason that citizens are not yet powerful enough to publish media of their own if they sample other artists track without permission. Although this does mean plagiarism, the media industry should have certain regulations that lessen the consequences of imprisonment and heavy fines and are slightly more liberal with the use of certain samples in the use generated content. And so, this means that the audience is powerful in terms of consumption but not in terms of production.
In conclusion, the productions by citizens maybe of an amateur quality and therefore may only target a minority audience and so they are not powerful enough to disturb the worldwide media industry. But new technology means that user generated content is widely available on the internet and as a result this strengthens democracy and therefore also strengthens the media industry as a whole.
Firstly, audiences have access to cheaper technology and so this enables more consumption and provides the consumers to become producers of their own media. For example, websites such as www.youtube.com allow the user to upload their own productions and view others as long as it does not infringe copyright laws. So this has made it much easier to consumer media worldwide over the internet using web 2.0. However, net neutrality is still not available to all and therefore this challenges democracy- the fairness and equality of all. And so, although the technology is available to the citizens the actual content, how and what they are supplied by the internet providers vary, meaning that audiences have become more powerful than the past, but they are not the most powerful in terms of consumption and production.
Similarly, user generated content has flourished in recent years and has lead to the vast increase of citizen journalism where citizens produce media. For example, the ‘rodney king’ video tape available on www.youtube.com, shows a black citizen in America being beaten by white police officer. If it was not for the recording by a fellow citizen then this illegal and unconstitutional act would have gone unnoticed. And it is for this reason that citizens and their media provided on the internet strengthens democracy, and therefore the development of new and digital media has bettered the world.
Additionally, the vast changes in technology and worldwide advances have allowed citizens of all backgrounds and classes to provide and consume media. This has been due to new devices that allow citizens to record, phone, email, watch television and search the ‘web’ at the same time anywhere. For example, the apple iphone, blackberry mobiles and htc mobile phones are internet enabled and produced with cameras over 5 megapixels. But, despite a larger variety of technology available it still does not acknowledge the fact that these mobile phones are still expensive, with their recommended retail price at around £495. Also, certain laptops produced by apple are purchased at £900+. On the whole this increases interactivity within a community formed by users and increases a sense of an internet family worldwide; making the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production of their own media.
On the other hand, regulations and ownership of certain music, images and videos used by the citizens in their own productions are removed by certain websites as it infringes copyright laws. It is for this reason that citizens are not yet powerful enough to publish media of their own if they sample other artists track without permission. Although this does mean plagiarism, the media industry should have certain regulations that lessen the consequences of imprisonment and heavy fines and are slightly more liberal with the use of certain samples in the use generated content. And so, this means that the audience is powerful in terms of consumption but not in terms of production.
In conclusion, the productions by citizens maybe of an amateur quality and therefore may only target a minority audience and so they are not powerful enough to disturb the worldwide media industry. But new technology means that user generated content is widely available on the internet and as a result this strengthens democracy and therefore also strengthens the media industry as a whole.
task one
Compare and contrast the representation of teenagers in the two texts.
In skins the teenagers are represented to be happy whilst not being anti social, this causes a positive representation of teenagers. They are classed into sections with the two alpha males leading the pack, however opposite to the negative stereotype of black youths, the black character focused upon is portrayed to be the best behaved, and so this challenges the stereotyped previously produced. In addition, although shown to be taking drugs and being promiscuous the teenagers are shown to be having fun, but not at the expense of others in society and therefore once again this challenges that teenagers should be given a second chance as the minority of badly behaved youths in turn ensure all youths are given a bad representation within the media and society. On the whole, the characters in skins are represented to lead happy lives with their friends overcoming and difficulties together, not being violent, abusive or anti social.
On the other hand, the protagonist in Bully displays anti social behaviour and is shown to be a teenage tearaway. The game introduces a peaceful school and then introduces the ‘bully’, this creates a storyline with a peaceful equilibrium, and then when the protagonist is associated to it a disequilibrium is produced. The fact that this production emphasises that the main character uses weapons to ‘bully’ and intimidate weaker students such as slingshots and fire extinguishers connotes that the representation of male teenagers is negative. Similarly, the fact that the only female to be introduced in this production is also shown to be negative implies that the youth in American society are all disagreeable and that they should strive for constant fun and wish to not do any school work, as connoted when the protagonist is told of by the teacher and fellow students. This production clearly demonstrates that teenagers attempt to cause havoc where ever and when ever they can.
Consider the view that the current representation of teenagers is simply another ‘moral panic’.
Both texts represent teenagers negatively, however, in skins the teenagers are shown to be more mature and less anti social. In bully, the protagonist is portrayed negatively but in this instance he is out of control and through his actions it is connoted that he is a danger to society as he seems to harm other who he does not agree with.
A moral panic in terms of skins would lead the audience to think that teenagers will be stereotypically challenging and therefore may offer some attitude. In this instance the teens are shown to be a closed personal group who don’t seem to socialise with others despite binge drinking and taking drugs. With taking drugs this does explicitly show that they take part in illegal activity, but their age is on their side as stereotypically teens are shown to be experimental and so this does not pose as a moral panic. On the other hand, the fact that the teenagers are having sex may lead to a panic of under age sex and increase the panic of a higher teenage pregnancy rate within the UK. This connotes that the media industry condones this and feels that it should promote, but as the programme is targeted at 16-25 year olds it does glamorise sex and may lead to an actual moral panic for parents and carers.
Similarly, in the production of bully, the theme of bad behaviour and the glamorisation of violence are both likely to cause a moral panic for parents and carers as it emphasises the full extent of the bad behaviour of their child when left at school or in the care of others. As this behaviour is used to represent all youths in a negative manner it must cause a panic for elders and so in turn it is likely that the constant fun and adrenaline rush youths follow must be cut short. Although, this negative representation is likely to convince parents to keep their children on a tighter leash the fact that they are just youths under 18 must encourage the audience and enable them to identify when they were that age. Being just a child, bad behaviour and causing havoc is fun and therefore why should the youths not enjoys this privileged before starting adulthood?
In conclusion, both productions, whilst displaying irresponsible behaviour enforce the thought that it must be emphasised that the protagonist are just youths and therefore have plenty of time to grow up. This thought is likely to lessen the moral panic of bad behaviour and loosen the restrictions on children.
To what extent has new and digital media given younger audiences the opportunity to shape their own media representations?
New and digital media has enabled a wider consumption of media through web 2.0, television, radio and print e.g. newspapers. In turn, this means that more people have access to media and can therefore be informed of the world news. With the use of web 2.0 this has made accessing news and other easier as it means that interactivity between users can be done more.
With regards to user generated content (UGC), younger audiences have direct access to the internet and as a result can produce their own media. Although this is likely to cause moral panics for parents and others including pressure groups which promote the safety of children e.g. NSPCC. Websites such as www.youtube.com, www.facebook.com and www.bebo.com allow citizens to join at the tender age of 13. This age is questionable as it can be asked are children at this age really responsible and adult like to avoid abuse? All users can post, ‘tweet’, embed and ‘like’ whatever they produce and publish it is for the audience to judge their productions. Therefore, the user has the power to shape their stereotypes and representations, despite being naïve and uneducated about the harms of internet abusers. And so, UGC, although very helpful, is extremely dangerous for young users and can and should be blocked for the younger audience via devices parental control.
Similarly, with technology becoming cheaper and widely spread it is easier to produce your own media and therefore this leads to the remoulding of stereotypes and representations of particular groups. For example, teenagers are now producing their own videos and posting them on www.youtube.com and by doing so they are able to interact with other users. This means that the actions of the characters focused upon in the video, if bad cause moral panic and so lead to more negative stereotypes being produced. As a result, the success of UGC relies on the reaction of the audience, whether it is appreciated or heavily scrutinised. Either way internet or the use of UGC has enabled the citizens to interact and most importantly produce what they want.
On the other hand, digital media has not enabled younger audiences the opportunity to shape their own media representations as age restrictions, privacy settings and political problems have made it harder to post entirely what they wish to. For example, certain videos uploaded by users have been removed due to copyright infringement laws and the fact that certain themes mentioned, e.g. in America cannot be shown in the UK. It is for these many reasons that democracy cannot fully flourish in the world. And so, therefore this lack of support for citizens has made it difficult for citizens to produces their own media and shape representations and stereotypes.
In conclusion, new and digital media has given younger audiences the opportunity to shape their own media representations. This can be done via many websites, the main one being www.youtube.com, which can be accessed worldwide by all audiences, working as a search engine to find almost anything in the world.
In skins the teenagers are represented to be happy whilst not being anti social, this causes a positive representation of teenagers. They are classed into sections with the two alpha males leading the pack, however opposite to the negative stereotype of black youths, the black character focused upon is portrayed to be the best behaved, and so this challenges the stereotyped previously produced. In addition, although shown to be taking drugs and being promiscuous the teenagers are shown to be having fun, but not at the expense of others in society and therefore once again this challenges that teenagers should be given a second chance as the minority of badly behaved youths in turn ensure all youths are given a bad representation within the media and society. On the whole, the characters in skins are represented to lead happy lives with their friends overcoming and difficulties together, not being violent, abusive or anti social.
On the other hand, the protagonist in Bully displays anti social behaviour and is shown to be a teenage tearaway. The game introduces a peaceful school and then introduces the ‘bully’, this creates a storyline with a peaceful equilibrium, and then when the protagonist is associated to it a disequilibrium is produced. The fact that this production emphasises that the main character uses weapons to ‘bully’ and intimidate weaker students such as slingshots and fire extinguishers connotes that the representation of male teenagers is negative. Similarly, the fact that the only female to be introduced in this production is also shown to be negative implies that the youth in American society are all disagreeable and that they should strive for constant fun and wish to not do any school work, as connoted when the protagonist is told of by the teacher and fellow students. This production clearly demonstrates that teenagers attempt to cause havoc where ever and when ever they can.
Consider the view that the current representation of teenagers is simply another ‘moral panic’.
Both texts represent teenagers negatively, however, in skins the teenagers are shown to be more mature and less anti social. In bully, the protagonist is portrayed negatively but in this instance he is out of control and through his actions it is connoted that he is a danger to society as he seems to harm other who he does not agree with.
A moral panic in terms of skins would lead the audience to think that teenagers will be stereotypically challenging and therefore may offer some attitude. In this instance the teens are shown to be a closed personal group who don’t seem to socialise with others despite binge drinking and taking drugs. With taking drugs this does explicitly show that they take part in illegal activity, but their age is on their side as stereotypically teens are shown to be experimental and so this does not pose as a moral panic. On the other hand, the fact that the teenagers are having sex may lead to a panic of under age sex and increase the panic of a higher teenage pregnancy rate within the UK. This connotes that the media industry condones this and feels that it should promote, but as the programme is targeted at 16-25 year olds it does glamorise sex and may lead to an actual moral panic for parents and carers.
Similarly, in the production of bully, the theme of bad behaviour and the glamorisation of violence are both likely to cause a moral panic for parents and carers as it emphasises the full extent of the bad behaviour of their child when left at school or in the care of others. As this behaviour is used to represent all youths in a negative manner it must cause a panic for elders and so in turn it is likely that the constant fun and adrenaline rush youths follow must be cut short. Although, this negative representation is likely to convince parents to keep their children on a tighter leash the fact that they are just youths under 18 must encourage the audience and enable them to identify when they were that age. Being just a child, bad behaviour and causing havoc is fun and therefore why should the youths not enjoys this privileged before starting adulthood?
In conclusion, both productions, whilst displaying irresponsible behaviour enforce the thought that it must be emphasised that the protagonist are just youths and therefore have plenty of time to grow up. This thought is likely to lessen the moral panic of bad behaviour and loosen the restrictions on children.
To what extent has new and digital media given younger audiences the opportunity to shape their own media representations?
New and digital media has enabled a wider consumption of media through web 2.0, television, radio and print e.g. newspapers. In turn, this means that more people have access to media and can therefore be informed of the world news. With the use of web 2.0 this has made accessing news and other easier as it means that interactivity between users can be done more.
With regards to user generated content (UGC), younger audiences have direct access to the internet and as a result can produce their own media. Although this is likely to cause moral panics for parents and others including pressure groups which promote the safety of children e.g. NSPCC. Websites such as www.youtube.com, www.facebook.com and www.bebo.com allow citizens to join at the tender age of 13. This age is questionable as it can be asked are children at this age really responsible and adult like to avoid abuse? All users can post, ‘tweet’, embed and ‘like’ whatever they produce and publish it is for the audience to judge their productions. Therefore, the user has the power to shape their stereotypes and representations, despite being naïve and uneducated about the harms of internet abusers. And so, UGC, although very helpful, is extremely dangerous for young users and can and should be blocked for the younger audience via devices parental control.
Similarly, with technology becoming cheaper and widely spread it is easier to produce your own media and therefore this leads to the remoulding of stereotypes and representations of particular groups. For example, teenagers are now producing their own videos and posting them on www.youtube.com and by doing so they are able to interact with other users. This means that the actions of the characters focused upon in the video, if bad cause moral panic and so lead to more negative stereotypes being produced. As a result, the success of UGC relies on the reaction of the audience, whether it is appreciated or heavily scrutinised. Either way internet or the use of UGC has enabled the citizens to interact and most importantly produce what they want.
On the other hand, digital media has not enabled younger audiences the opportunity to shape their own media representations as age restrictions, privacy settings and political problems have made it harder to post entirely what they wish to. For example, certain videos uploaded by users have been removed due to copyright infringement laws and the fact that certain themes mentioned, e.g. in America cannot be shown in the UK. It is for these many reasons that democracy cannot fully flourish in the world. And so, therefore this lack of support for citizens has made it difficult for citizens to produces their own media and shape representations and stereotypes.
In conclusion, new and digital media has given younger audiences the opportunity to shape their own media representations. This can be done via many websites, the main one being www.youtube.com, which can be accessed worldwide by all audiences, working as a search engine to find almost anything in the world.
Tuesday 5 April 2011
Firstly, the increase in social networking means that there are topics such as gun crime, drug crime and gang culture being explicitly glamorised by the youth as a social status. This leads to negative stereotypes being produced which labels all youths to be criminals. In addition, this leads to moral panic within society as the younger generations are portrayed to be violent tearaways. This supports that the internet means youths invest more time on their internet enabled devices rather than taking part in academic studies. With unemployment at an all time high and university places unavailable only the well educated youths will be able to attend further education and this is likely to leave a large minority of those who remain uneducated, illiterate and rely on government subsidies and benefits, which in turn is likely to increase the UK’s large deficit. Therefore, these concerns are all regarding the internet and how the youth are consuming it.
Also, the increase in social networking encourages more criminals to converse and in turn this means that cyber bullying and crime is likely to increase. This is a huge problem at the moment where profiles of young teenagers, both black and white include pictures of themselves and friends with weapons and dangerous dogs. Additionally, those who use social networking in a negative manner encourage that democratic rights should be abused, for example, ‘the right to freedom of speech’. The UK is a democratic political system and therefore heavily relies on the citizens just as much as the members of parliament. Decisions made via referendums and the use of pressure groups influence the UK government and so in turn have a direct link to the quality of life and liberal civil liberties. If people are abusing these then legally they should have no right to use the internet and join social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Bebo.
Similarly, the web 2.0 and its social networking sites mean that there is likely to be more interrogations of privacy via hacking of law abiding citizens. With the internet providing the world with banking systems and confidential documents those that have the ability to hack passwords can do so and ruin the sense of privacy that users feel once they are behind a screen in the comfort of their own utopia.
Social networking sites allow people to keep in touch and share ideas and beliefs therefore this free communication benefits all involved. It has easy access, its free, available world wide and is only literally a button away. The internet as a whole, despite fulfilling many features still has not reached its pinnacle as it does not provide net neutrality and therefore should, in the near future, ensure this takes place. The fact that companies such as Sky (owned by Rupert Murdoch) and BT still are stating that they provide a service of a certain speed and then offer something a fraction of that, at full price, is truly diabolical and therefore should transform its ways to become more democratic to enable citizens to keep in touch and share ideas and beliefs.
In addition, Privacy settings can be edited on social networking websites and if you are a child under the age of 13, you cannot legally have accounts to networks such as Facebook. This is a good feature of certain websites as it ensures that crime such as paedophilia is kept to a minimal and more important innocent victims are unharmed. However, those with complacent parent or guardians are to blame if their child is subject to discrimination of any sort as it is their responsibility. In conclusion, editable websites with strict privacy settings are democratic and therefore serve a plausible function to the responsible world.
Also, the increase in social networking encourages more criminals to converse and in turn this means that cyber bullying and crime is likely to increase. This is a huge problem at the moment where profiles of young teenagers, both black and white include pictures of themselves and friends with weapons and dangerous dogs. Additionally, those who use social networking in a negative manner encourage that democratic rights should be abused, for example, ‘the right to freedom of speech’. The UK is a democratic political system and therefore heavily relies on the citizens just as much as the members of parliament. Decisions made via referendums and the use of pressure groups influence the UK government and so in turn have a direct link to the quality of life and liberal civil liberties. If people are abusing these then legally they should have no right to use the internet and join social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Bebo.
Similarly, the web 2.0 and its social networking sites mean that there is likely to be more interrogations of privacy via hacking of law abiding citizens. With the internet providing the world with banking systems and confidential documents those that have the ability to hack passwords can do so and ruin the sense of privacy that users feel once they are behind a screen in the comfort of their own utopia.
Social networking sites allow people to keep in touch and share ideas and beliefs therefore this free communication benefits all involved. It has easy access, its free, available world wide and is only literally a button away. The internet as a whole, despite fulfilling many features still has not reached its pinnacle as it does not provide net neutrality and therefore should, in the near future, ensure this takes place. The fact that companies such as Sky (owned by Rupert Murdoch) and BT still are stating that they provide a service of a certain speed and then offer something a fraction of that, at full price, is truly diabolical and therefore should transform its ways to become more democratic to enable citizens to keep in touch and share ideas and beliefs.
In addition, Privacy settings can be edited on social networking websites and if you are a child under the age of 13, you cannot legally have accounts to networks such as Facebook. This is a good feature of certain websites as it ensures that crime such as paedophilia is kept to a minimal and more important innocent victims are unharmed. However, those with complacent parent or guardians are to blame if their child is subject to discrimination of any sort as it is their responsibility. In conclusion, editable websites with strict privacy settings are democratic and therefore serve a plausible function to the responsible world.
There are always concerns about new technology. In your view, what are the possible benefits and problems attached to social networking, particularly on the Internet?
plan:
No problem with social networking:
Right to express views (democracy)
Allows access to all
Age limits are put in place
Privacy settings can be edited
Up to 18, you are a child; those 18+ are adults and therefore should be responsible
Keep in touch and share ideas and beliefs
Problems with social networking:
Means more criminals can converse
Allows a right to freedom to be abused
Threatens law abiding citizens
Interrogate privacy via hacking
Time consuming for youth who should be working
Stereotypes groups of people, by the actions of an individual
Topics such as guns, gang culture is glamorised within youth culture
plan:
No problem with social networking:
Right to express views (democracy)
Allows access to all
Age limits are put in place
Privacy settings can be edited
Up to 18, you are a child; those 18+ are adults and therefore should be responsible
Keep in touch and share ideas and beliefs
Problems with social networking:
Means more criminals can converse
Allows a right to freedom to be abused
Threatens law abiding citizens
Interrogate privacy via hacking
Time consuming for youth who should be working
Stereotypes groups of people, by the actions of an individual
Topics such as guns, gang culture is glamorised within youth culture
Consider the view that the current press treatment of teenagers is simply another ‘moral panic’
On one hand the recent negative portrayal of youths within the media has moulded many stereotypes and in turn branded all youth’s thugs, this causes a false sense of moral panic. The media has fixated their efforts on making youths seem negative despite the majority of youths acting as legal, law abiding citizens. For example, the
2010 tuition fees protest held across the UK, it was only a small minority of youths who acted illegally and chose to become criminals by breaking not buildings. And by doing so the media has moulded negative stereotypes of all youths.
Similarly, these stereotypes are false and as a result they encourage prejudice towards groups within the youths and so form incorrect stereotypes. In reality the fact is that all people whether young or old have the ability to be criminals and so it is unjust that only the youth are classed within society and are given negative stereotypes. With relation to the hypodermic needle theory the audience is passive and are drip fed ideologies regarding the targeted minority. Also, it can be debated that this occurs as the media industry is Marxist and therefore is money motivated. The industry selects those that already have negative representations and simply add to those increasing the false moral panic of the public, created by the media industry, and ultimately this degrades those targeted.
On the other hand, with proof that the youth in modern society have weapons such as guns, as shown in the Metro paper, moral panics are right to occur. In reality, all citizens within society have committed a crime, whether speeding in a vehicle or dropping litter. The question that is posed by the people is whether the youths have taken this a step too far and in turn directly increased crime. Although statistics prove this, crime has increased by 3% in London from 2007-2011, it is the youths with gang culture, knife crime, drug related crime etc. Therefore, it can be concluded that youths in modern day society follow gang culture and commit crime, adding to the moral panic of society.
Whilst it is suggested that the treatment of youths is simply a moral panic as the representation of youths is built on some stereotypes these have been pursued by the media and are now used to reflect society, causing a moral panic. Despite youths being young and having time to change their ways the constant pressure set upon them by the media and the education system provides a reason to either succeed or pursue the ‘gangster lifestyle’. It is this ‘lifestyle’ that youths are somehow stereotyped to want and so all are negatively portrayed within the media. It is this that causes moral panic, where other speculate and make fictitious beliefs that youths are forced into by being branded.
To conclude, moral panics are effectively produced by the media as they shape the beliefs of the citizens. By producing negative representations and enforcing them onto young adults it reduces their morale and hinders their chances of becoming successful as nobody is willing to give them an opportunity, as they are labelled thugs.
2010 tuition fees protest held across the UK, it was only a small minority of youths who acted illegally and chose to become criminals by breaking not buildings. And by doing so the media has moulded negative stereotypes of all youths.
Similarly, these stereotypes are false and as a result they encourage prejudice towards groups within the youths and so form incorrect stereotypes. In reality the fact is that all people whether young or old have the ability to be criminals and so it is unjust that only the youth are classed within society and are given negative stereotypes. With relation to the hypodermic needle theory the audience is passive and are drip fed ideologies regarding the targeted minority. Also, it can be debated that this occurs as the media industry is Marxist and therefore is money motivated. The industry selects those that already have negative representations and simply add to those increasing the false moral panic of the public, created by the media industry, and ultimately this degrades those targeted.
On the other hand, with proof that the youth in modern society have weapons such as guns, as shown in the Metro paper, moral panics are right to occur. In reality, all citizens within society have committed a crime, whether speeding in a vehicle or dropping litter. The question that is posed by the people is whether the youths have taken this a step too far and in turn directly increased crime. Although statistics prove this, crime has increased by 3% in London from 2007-2011, it is the youths with gang culture, knife crime, drug related crime etc. Therefore, it can be concluded that youths in modern day society follow gang culture and commit crime, adding to the moral panic of society.
Whilst it is suggested that the treatment of youths is simply a moral panic as the representation of youths is built on some stereotypes these have been pursued by the media and are now used to reflect society, causing a moral panic. Despite youths being young and having time to change their ways the constant pressure set upon them by the media and the education system provides a reason to either succeed or pursue the ‘gangster lifestyle’. It is this ‘lifestyle’ that youths are somehow stereotyped to want and so all are negatively portrayed within the media. It is this that causes moral panic, where other speculate and make fictitious beliefs that youths are forced into by being branded.
To conclude, moral panics are effectively produced by the media as they shape the beliefs of the citizens. By producing negative representations and enforcing them onto young adults it reduces their morale and hinders their chances of becoming successful as nobody is willing to give them an opportunity, as they are labelled thugs.
Compare and contrast the two texts, with particular reference to the representation of teenagers
Firstly, the Metro newspaper, a free tabloid paper, represents teenagers as criminals as the word ‘gangsters’ connotes. It is specifically the black youths who are targeted and so the image with the black youth with the revolver connotes that black youths are submerged with the ‘gangster’ lifestyle. In addition, the fact that the paper targets youths reiterates that new and digital media is used for crime by youths as strategies to recruit or target others. This is emphasised by the heading ‘YouTube gangsters’, it partials blames the website as it implies that the negative portrayal would not be available if the website was not there for the youths to use. That use of this image by the Metro stereotypes all black youths in particular to be criminals.
In addition, the emphasis on the gun and weapons as a whole exaggerates that youths dictate society, which in turn causes moral panic. The thought of the next generation being the future is somewhat tarnished by the newspaper report as the image and the headline connote that the future generation is violent and therefore do not contribute positively towards society. Ironically, in contrast to this focal point the ‘short break’ advertised presents an utopia for the readers to identify with and provide a sense of escapism. By doing so, the highlight on the criminal youths in the UK offer readers to literally take a ‘short break’ from the hectic lifestyle that the youths provide where the citizens reside.
The Daily Mail, a respected paper known for its reliability, also encourages the thought that children are now thugs and therefore also dictate society, adding to moral panic. However, as shown in the daily mail article the ‘yobs’ are shown to be white and therefore this provides an alternative group of youths to blame. The stereotype produced by the media branding youths generally targets ethnic minorities, but this article refers to white children who look about 13. The white children are now also branded criminals, shown to be binge drinkers and effectively portrayed as lower class citizens. In particular, the use of the word ‘must’ has forceful connotations by society, suggesting that if youths are represented in the media to be bad, then they must be ‘yobs’ or ‘criminals’.
In addition, the emphasis on the gun and weapons as a whole exaggerates that youths dictate society, which in turn causes moral panic. The thought of the next generation being the future is somewhat tarnished by the newspaper report as the image and the headline connote that the future generation is violent and therefore do not contribute positively towards society. Ironically, in contrast to this focal point the ‘short break’ advertised presents an utopia for the readers to identify with and provide a sense of escapism. By doing so, the highlight on the criminal youths in the UK offer readers to literally take a ‘short break’ from the hectic lifestyle that the youths provide where the citizens reside.
The Daily Mail, a respected paper known for its reliability, also encourages the thought that children are now thugs and therefore also dictate society, adding to moral panic. However, as shown in the daily mail article the ‘yobs’ are shown to be white and therefore this provides an alternative group of youths to blame. The stereotype produced by the media branding youths generally targets ethnic minorities, but this article refers to white children who look about 13. The white children are now also branded criminals, shown to be binge drinkers and effectively portrayed as lower class citizens. In particular, the use of the word ‘must’ has forceful connotations by society, suggesting that if youths are represented in the media to be bad, then they must be ‘yobs’ or ‘criminals’.
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