Bibliography - Websites

1. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3661094

This shows the different urban dramas that have been produced. This website shows that urban drama is a common genre now in movies and this would be relevant to my critical investigation because it mentions different media texts that I could look in to so that I could find out more about the representations of teenagers in urban dramas.

2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A9795478

This article looks specifically at the film Kidulthood and shows how teenagers have been represented in that film which is a contemporary urban drama. The website shows that teenagers have been represented as getting involved in to drugs and teenage pregnancies and the article is saying that this representation of teenagers is true to some extent. This would be interesting for me to look at for my critical investigation as I would be able to investigate the different representations created of teenagers.

3. http://www.moviecitynews.com/columnists/dretzka/2006/060228.html

This shows again the different examples of urban drama movies that teeagers are in. This shows that teenagers are being represented in urban dramas in different ways because teenagers mostly are being stereotyped as always getting in to crime and being violent. This would be useful to me for my critical investigation because I would lookg at the different representations of teenagers.

4. http://panachereport.com/channels/hip%20hop%20gallery/UrbanDramas.htm

This website shows the way that the teenagers are being represented. "From a herp to criminal". This shows that teenagers that are being represented negatively either way even if they are being shown as the hero . This would link to my critical investigation because it is looking at teenagers and I could use this to investigate teenagers in more depth.

5. http://www.allmovie.com/explore/type/urban-drama-979

This shows the basics of urban drama and mentions the characteristics of urban dramas for example, chaos and corruption. This would relate to my critical investigation because it is also giving examples of films that shown these characteristics. This would mean that I could look at these films and analyse the stereotypes of teenagers and how they are similar.

6. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/17/television.tvandradioarts1

This article looks at if the stereotype of teenagers is true that is shown in media texts. This would be useful for my critical investigation beause I could look at this article and compare it to other institutions view of teenagers stereotypes in the media. This would help me to understand more how teenagers are being represented in media texts.

7. http://www.culturevulture.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=133:precious&catid=2:film&Itemid=7

This is a article that looks at how teenagers are being represented in the film Precious and it shows the different stereotypes of teenagers. This would be something that I could look at for my critical investigation because I could look at this film and see how the representations of teenagers are being consturcted in various media texts.

8. http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=158774&section=review&page=all

This is a media text that I could also look at becuase it is a text that involves teenagers in a negative prospect because it includes the "urban ghetto". This shows that I could use this website to look at this more closely to see what connotations are being created and what imapct this stereotype of teenagers which is why it would link to my critical investigation.

9. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xIBkX8edoewC&pg=PT155&lpg=PT155&dq=teenagers+representation+in+urban+drama&source=bl&ots=jYcNbbcBnw&sig=xdrOdkWIhHCZNUpFjx8tkFIZgg0&hl=en&ei=mWIpS-fyJo_S4QbCopGfDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=&f=false

This website looks at the representations of different groups and it includes teenagers. I could use this google book to look at how teenagers are being represented in media in urban dramas and how this would create a effect on the audience. This would be useful to me for my critical investigation because it could mean that I could understand more about the different representations of teenagers in urban dramas.

10. http://www.blackflix.com/scriptwriters/drama.html

This is based on a film and this would be something that I could look at for my critical investigation because I would need to look at the representations of teenagers in specific urban dramas and I could look at this and see how teenagers are being represented and if it is a typical representation or if its different.

Bibliography: Books

Critical investigation: An investigation into the representation of teenagers in contemporary urban drama.

1. Nicholos, Joe (1998): Advanced Studies Media, United Kingdom; Nelson. Page 45
"David Buckingham studied how young boys made sense of what it means to be male or masculine partly from the ways they talked about television programmes and videos. He analyses the way a group of 7-8 year old boys reacted to watching Thundercats and argued that ideas of masculinity are not fixed but are constantly being negotiated and re-defined."

This shows that David Buckingham studied that young boys start to become masculine mainly from what they see on television programmes and videos. This would mean that young males are being influenced by watching what they are being shown on television and videos. This would also mean that the media is responsible for the representation of teenage males in the media as by watching these kind of genres, they would be influenced to behave like this too.

2. Casey, Bernaette, Casey, Neil, Calvert, Ben, French, Liam, Lewis, Justin: Television Studies - The Key Concepts; Routledge.

"Nelson acknowledges the importance of a move away from familiar realist drama with its roots in naturalist theatre."

This shows that Nelson assumes that there should be a move away from familiar realist drama. This could mean that Nelson wants the familiar drama to be moved away from the public so that the audience does not begin to get to "familiar" with the drama and would make the audience believe what is shown in the drama.

3. Hayward, Susan: Cinema Studies - The key concepts, London; Routledge.
"Third cinema had been useful to help place British Black cinema, what was currently needed was a re-examination of location and subjectivity." (A.Komfrah 1989)

This shows that the different locations also impact the representations because if a group of people are being shown in a negative location, it would mean that the group would be represented negatively. This would mean that location would affect the representation a lot and would relate to my critical investigation because I would be looking at representation.

4. Lacey, Nick (1998): Image and representation - key concepts in media studies, New York; Macmillan Press Ltd. Page 131.
"Richard Dyer's typography of representation:
- Re-representation - this consists essentially of media language, the conventions which are used to represent the world to the audience.
- The extent to which types are used to represent social groups, this is dealt with here in a consideration of stereotypes."

This shows that this would be to do with my critical investigation because it explains Dyer's view of representation. This would help me when looking at the representation of teenagers because I could see if this view of representation fits in with the representation of teenagers. If this would be the case then I could see why this representation has been created and how it has impacted the audience and teenagers in specific.

5. Sardar, Ziauddin, Vanloon, Barin (2000): Introducing Media Studies, Australia; Totem Books. Page 77
"Stan Cohen argued that the media labelled youth culture in a stereotypical way, thus creating 'folk devils'. These activities were reported in a way to create moral panic."

This quote shows that Cohen says that the media is responsible for the way that teenagers are being represented because of the media labelling them so negatively. This would relate to my investigation because it means that I would need to see if this quote is true and if this representation has been created because of the media being so negatively towards teenagers. This would help me to understand more about the investigation of teenagers and to see if the representation of teenagers in urban drama is because of this too.

6. O'Sullivian, Tim, Putton, Brian, Rayner, Phillip (1994): Studying the media: 2nd edition, London; Arnold. Page 81
"For television, news is a cultural artifact, it is a sequence of socially manufactured messages which carry many of the culturally dominant assumptions of our society."

This shows that television is a dominant method as it creates assumptions of our society. This would relate to movies because movies would be shown on television and by that the audience would create assumptions of our society. This would be because what they see on television, the audience would start to think that and think society is like that really for example, if teenagers are represented as violent, the audience would think tat this reality is true.

7. Carter, Cynthia, Weaver, Kay (2003): Violence and the media, USA; Open university press. Page 52.
"The lack of public concern about monster movies with the fears that circulated around 1930's gangster films which many respectable citizens believed led to increase in juvenile delinquency.

This quote shows that there was not a large concern about monster movies but when gangster movies begun in the 1930s, citizens started to believe that it led to an increase of delinquency. By this we can tell that this quote shows that people believed that because of gangster films being introduced, more teenagers started to become delinquent. This would mean that I would need to look at if because of these gangster films, teenagers have become more delinquent and fulfilling the stereotype of them in the media.

8. Mackinnon, Kenneth (2003): Representation of Men, New York; Arnold. Page 11.
"A persistent cultural belief is that there is an almost unbreakable relationship between men and violence. As Glen Lewis says 'within certain limits, aggressive male behaviour is accepted as a normal part of everyday life'".

This shows that men are being represented completely different because they can get away with violence and that should not be expected in reality or in films.This shows that I would need to look at if this is happening in urban dramas and if teenage males are really getting away with the crime that they commit. This would mean that I could understand representation and see why this behaviour of males would be seen acceptable and that they could get away with it.

9. Gifford, Clive (2006): Gangs, London; Evans. Page 9
"Gangs have existed for many centuries. The word "thug" for example comes from India around 800 years ago "thugs" meant a gang of criminals. About 400 years ago, London was terrorised by gangs such as the thectors, the dend boys and the bugles, then later the mohawks."

This shows that gangs have been always shown as a group of criminals. This would mean that when I look at my critical investigation, I would need to see if in urban dramas if males are being represented as gangs, thugs and criminals. This would show how the media are representing the teenage males and if if is as negative as it used to be.

10. Phillip, Rayner, Wall Peter, Kruger Stephen. (2002): AS Media Studies - The Essential Introduction, London, Routledge. Page 68

"The representation of groups however is not fixed for ever and it is possible to observe changes over period of time. The emergence of specific groups and subcultures is often accompanied by a challenge to existing stereotypes and a challenge to the media to produce more positive representations".

This shows the representations of different groups of people and how they are stereotyped in the media. this could also link to the representations of males as a group and how they are stereotyped.

Article showing representation of teenagers.

Three teenagers arrested for firework death

Three teenagers have been arrested in connection with the death of a mother who died after a firework was pushed through her letterbox, setting her house ablaze.

Mary Fox, 59, who had nine children, was trapped in her bedroom after reportedly pushing her son Raum, 17, to safety through an upstairs window as flames engulfed the house.

The youths, two aged 17 and one of 18, are all from Bodmin in Cornwall.

The remnants of a firework were found behind the front door of Mrs Fox's house in Carpenter Court, Wallace Road, Bodmin.

The three were arrested on suspicion of murder and are in custody at Launceston police station.

After leaping from the three-storey house, Raum ran to alert neighbours that his mother was still trapped inside. Firefighters found Mrs Fox dead in the same room from which her son escaped.

Officers have investigated claims that Raum, who has learning difficulties, was being bullied at school and that the family was targeted by youths who had been throwing fireworks in the street.

It is thought Raum moved from Bodmin College to St Austell College because of bullying.

But Devon and Cornwall police said there is no obvious evidence that Mrs Fox or Raum had been victims of bullying after speaking to schools and social services.

They were held in custody after detectives said they found clues on Facebook to what is being treated as murder. Officers acted on reports suggesting people had posted the suspects' names on the internet.

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Teenagers could appeal against school exclusions

Teenagers could soon get the right to launch their own appeals against being excluded from school.

The proposed change to the rules worries teachers’ leaders, who believe that it could further undermine their authority when tackling indiscipline in the classroom.

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Cannabis risk message reaching teenagers

More than two-fifths of teenagers (42 per cent) know someone who has suffered mental health harm from using cannabis, according to a survey published today.

The study by drug information service FRANK found that 74 per cent of young people are aware that cannabis can harm mental health, while 56 per cent associate cannabis use with losing motivation and doing badly at school or college.

A spokesman for the service said that mental health harm refers to paranoia, panic attacks and memory loss.

The study found that despite being aware of the risks, some teenagers still admit to feeling under pressure to try cannabis (18 per cent), with 11 per cent saying it makes them look cool.

Others said they use it to help them to cope with life (14 per cent), while a quarter (26 per cent) see it as a "natural" drug, despite the risks.

Chris Hudson from FRANK said: "The majority of teenagers (55 per cent) don't want to risk their health by using cannabis. However, some people choose to take the risk, while others wrongly believe cannabis is harmless because it is a plant.

"Cannabis messes with your mind - and reactions can be more powerful with stronger strains such as skunk, which is around twice as potent.

Article on Ageism from The Guardian

Selina stokes a diversity debate that needs addressing

It will come as a surprise to few but a delight to many that Selina Scott is suing Five over ageism in its refusal to hire her for a maternity cover role and choice of younger presenters instead. It is a delight not because Five is worse than anyone else in this respect, but because it stokes a debate which urgently needs to be taken more seriously. Casual sexism, ageism and racism are the collective dirty secret of the vast majority of media institutions, and they represent as much of an industrial challenge as they do a moral one.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission's Report on Sex and Power, published last week, drew a depressing picture for women in the workplace. In general the progression of women at the highest level in the workplace is pitiful and the media are no exception: only 13.6% of national newspaper editors (including the Herald and Western Mail) are women; only 10% of media FTSE's 350 companies have women at the helm; and at the BBC, which has often been held as an exemplar of diversity, women make up less than 30% of most senior management positions. It puts into context Jeremy Paxman's deranged rant about the white male in television. Ethnic minority representation is even worse.

A couple of weeks ago Pat Younge, former BBC head of sports programmes and planning who left to work for Discovery in the US, caused a stir at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival by saying that diversity targets should be like financial targets - you don't hit them, you get fired. I have to say that as board champion for diversity at Guardian News and Media I would currently be firing myself and most of the board for some missed targets. But Younge is right - because diversity targets are not just a feelgood add-on, they are vital to the health of any media business. The temptation to hire in one's own image for most managers is as irresistible as it is subliminal - which is why there are a lot of opinionated women working in digital management at the Guardian, and why we all need targets to remind us to look beyond the mirror.

On screen, any number of unconventional-looking ageing blokes (Jeremy Clarkson, Jonathan Ross, Chris Moyles, Alan Sugar, Adrian Chiles, Jeremy Paxman, Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan) are paid at a top rate for the talent they possess beyond their appearance. For women it is an altogether different story - appearance and age are clearly factors in choosing female presenters in a way that they aren't for men.

The media should be deeply concerned about this un-diversity - not because it represents moral turpitude on our part, but because it represents bloody awful business sense. What is happening to the UK population at the moment? It is ethnically diversifying, and it is ageing. It is also the case that it is, as of the 2001 Census, marginally more female than it is male. And we live longer - so older women, and non-white potential audiences are on the rise. In London, the major urban conurbation and key market for so many media brands, the population is around 37% ethnically diverse, yet this is nowhere near reflected in the management structures of media companies. Or indeed in their on-screen or in-paper representation.

How though, can you hope to address audiences for which you have no instinctive feel, and towards which you show casual discrimination? We are all in danger of becoming irrelevant to the changing demographics of our target audience at a time when holding any kind of audience is key to survival. If white men are so good at solving business problems - and given that they represent well over 80% of FTSE 100 directors we can speculate that this is a skill they must possess in measure - then I'm surprised they haven't grasped this one already.