The document discusses representations of youth in media. It begins by outlining how Stanley Cohen theorized that media can create "moral panics" by presenting groups in a stylized and stereotypical fashion as a threat. As an example, it discusses how 1960s mods and rockers were portrayed. It then notes how certain subcultures, like punks, were also demonized. The document goes on to analyze how moral panics are created through stylized images and words in media. It uses the TV show "Top Boy" as an example to discuss how technical elements like camerawork and editing, alongside symbolic codes, shape representations of urban youth.

1. Representation of youth in the
media

2. QUESTIONS WE WILL ANSWER IN
TODAY’S LESSON:
• How is youth represented in the
media?
• How does media language work to
create meaning?
• How are some representations
stereotyped and stylized?

3. MORAL PANIC

4. Moral Panic
A condition, episode, person or group of persons
emerges to become defined as a threat to
societal values and interests; its nature is
presented in a stylized and stereotypical
fashion by the mass media
Stanley Cohen (1972)

5. Cohen’s Moral Panic
Study of the representation of mods and rockers
from the 1960s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r61ks18B
d7I#t=45

6. Although Cohen points to the ways in which the media amplify
anxieties and events and create a moral panic, the demonization of
youth in this way can only come about if there is some kind of
collective identity to which to point.
In this case a ‘mod’ and a ‘rocker’. Two different identities formed
through a collective wearing certain clothes and listening to certain
types of music.
Rockers: rode motorcycles, wore black leather and listened to rock ‘n’
roll
Mods: rode scooters, wore suites
and listened to south, rhythm
and blues, and ska
Sdgs
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Sghshfhsdfhsd
sfhshsh

7. You can also see how certain
subcultures of youth were demonized
in the 1980s;
The punk era

8. The Mob’s Brief Rule

9. Representation
• Everything you see or hear in ALL types of
media has been carefully SELECTED and
CONSTRUCTED in order to create meaning
•Media representations often reflect the
dominant ideologies of the society in which
they are created

10. How is moral panic created in the
media?

11. Through stylized images

13. Through stylized words...

15. “HOODIES AND ALTAR BOYS”
The word most commonly used by newspapers to
describe teenage boys was "yobs" (591
times), followed by "thugs" (254 times), "sick" (119
times) and "feral" (96 times).
Other terms often used
included "hoodie", "louts",
"heartless", "evil"
"frightening", "scum",
"monsters", "inhuman“
and "threatening".
Research showed the best chance a teenager had of
receiving sympathetic coverage was if they died.

16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E1b_s9irU
w#t=53

17. What are the wider social implications?

18. Question:
Who makes these media representations of
youth?
Can this ever be a fair portrayal?

19. Let’s look specifically urban youth
culture
• What do these people wear?
• What music do they listen to?
• What do they do in their spare time?
• Where do they live?
• Any other character traits/ appearance?

20. What is meant by stylized and
stereotyped representations ?

21. Top Boy (2011)

22. Camera Angles/ Shots:
High Camera Angle
Low Camera Angle
Hand Held Camera
Point of View
Long Shot
Mid Shot
Close-Up
Extreme Close-Up
Tracking Shot
Pan
Tilt
Editing:
Shot/Reverse Shot
Cross Cutting
Cut Away
Eye Line Match
Sound:
Diegetic Sound (in the world of the
film)- dialogue, ambient sounds,
etc.
Non-Diegetic Sound (not in the
world of the film)- Soundtrack,
voice over, etc.
Mise-en-Scene:
Everything that is on the screen-
Location
Props
Clothing
Media Language
TECHNICAL CODES AUDIO CODES
SYMBOLIC CODES

23. Questions to consider
• How is youth represented in this
sequence?
• How do technical codes, audio codes and
symbolic codes work to create meaning?
• Can you apply Cohen’s theory that
representations are stylized and
stereotyped (through media language)?

24. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/top-
boy

25. Going from the Macro to the Micro
How to structure your answer
Historical context- how has youth been represented in the
past? In this case through newspapers and news
broadcasts. Apply Cohen’s theory of moral panic
Contemporary examples- how is youth represented now? In
this case through newspapers (the student riots) and TV
(Top Boy). Can you apply Cohen’s theory? What about
other theorists you have looked at? Barthes, Gauntlett, etc?
What are the wider social implications (the macro)
How are representations stylized and stereotyped? Engage in
a detailed examination of Top Boy (the micro)
How is identity formed? How might different groups of people
interpret these representations?
The future?- what is the future for representation of youth in
the media? Do dominant representations inform identity?

26. Analyse the way in which the media represent
one group of people that you have studied.
[50 marks]