1. Collective Identity
Prompt Question 3

2. Question
• What are the social implications of different
media representations of groups of people?

3. Translation
• What is the significance on society when
different media construct British Youth in
different ways?

4. Examples
• This links in with the first question. Think
about who consumes the media texts we have
studied, what do they do with it?
• Do they use the texts to help form their own
identity and become part of a collective
group. Or if outside of the ‘collective group’ do
they use it to form their opinions of that
collective group.

5. Types of Representation
• Youth represented in accordance with popular
notions of adolescence.
• Youth are often ‘demonised’ by the mass
media.
• Youth are let down by adults
• Youth are represented as part of a subculture
• Alienation- youth are estranged from part of
society.

6. TASK
• Using the handout, give an example from
contemporary media to back up that quote.
• Choose a character from the text and then
explain how that example affirms or opposes
the quote.

7. Gerbner
Cultivation Theory (Audience effects theory)
• The effects of mass media communication on
society’s beliefs and attitudes.
• The more violence seen in films the more
likely we are to believe in its existence.

8. Cultivation Theory
• Attack the Block and E20 would then make us
believe that it is the lower class British youths
that behave in this way and therefore develop
negative and fearful attitudes about them.
• This ultimately creates moral panic, through
symbolic violence and follows cultural
hegemony.

9. Hypodermic Theory/Magic Bullet
(Audience effects theory)
• This theory suggests that audiences passively
receive the information transmitted via a
media text, without any attempt on their part
to process or challenge the data; so we can
ultimately be easily manipulated.
• It does not recognise that as consumers we
have more control over how the media
influences us.