“I want you to carve a "c" from the corner of him eye to the corner of him mouth” [1]
An investigation into the representation of male teenagers in contemporary urban dramas.
Male teenagers are constantly being stereotyped from a negative view in the media. This representation of male teenagers has changed in a range of ways from a historical perspective. This essay will be an investigation on how male teenagers are being represented in urban dramas and if this representation is a good representation or not. In order to look at the representation of male teenagers, the examples that would be looked at are contemporary texts as well as historical to find out the ways that the representations have changed. The media texts that my essay would focus on are 'Rebel without a Cause' (1955), ‘Alpha Dog’ (2006) and 'Adulthood' (2009). "Stereotypes come and go; they also change in the light of the shifting political cultural context" [2] . This would mean that the representations of males are changing too which will be looked at. This essay would also include a conclusion on how male teenagers are being represented in urban dramas and what effect this would have on the audience and the public.
The media can also be seen as providing the audience with information that tells us what it feels like to “occupy a particular subject – position” [3] . This is shown as in the media male teenagers are being represented as aggressive, violent and irresponsible which is present in the media as the media is stereotyping teenagers in a particular way which is making the audience think like this too. As shown in the films, ‘Adulthood’, ‘Kidulthood’ (2006) and ‘Bullet Boy’ (2004), male teenagers are being represented negatively in all films. This has been shown to the audience because of male teenagers getting involved in crime, taking drugs, getting involved in knife and gun crime with a lack of interest in education. ‘Bullet Boy’ is also known as a film that has a “valid storyline which will resonate and reverberate with different communities throughout the UK” [4]. This shows that films such as ‘Bullet Boy’ may show teenagers through a negative view but it would be a form of help for teenagers to get out of their ‘ghetto life’. This demonstrates that in these media texts, the male characters have similar roles because of them being shown as 'gangsters'. By this we can see that male teenagers are being given roles that would represent them negatively in the media and they are being shown in contemporary films such as the ones mentioned.
Male teenagers have been stereotyped in a way in which teenagers are shown to be portrayed negatively to the public that is also mentioned by Stan Cohen who has argued that the media labels youth culture in a “stereotyped and negative way” [5]. This shows that the media is increasing the negative representation of male teenagers and it is being shown in urban dramas too. ‘Kidulthood’ is a contemporary urban drama that has represented male teenagers in a very negative view mainly. This was shown as Trife is murdered in the film because of a dispute between the male teenagers. By this we can see that male teenagers are being continuously represented in a threatening way that is leading to the audiences having the same opinion about male teenagers. As a result of this stereotype of male teenagers created in the media has meant that “youths have suffered from a rather negative representation in the media” [6]. By this we can tell that this negative view of male teenagers has turned in to a moral panic in the media that could result in the self fulfilling prophecy as male teenagers would believe that they are in reality in the way that the media is portraying them because there are “violent visions of the young teen rebel and delinquent” [7]. By this we can tell that there male teenagers are being influenced because of movies and this is also shown because David Buckingham believes that "young boys make sense of what it means to be masculine partly from the ways they talked about videos and this would mean that male teenagers mainly get influenced by videos" [8].
Over time there has been an increase in the change of the stereotypes of male teenagers in the media because in a historical view, male teenagers were not stereotyped as harshly as they are now. By looking at the film ‘Rebel without a Cause’ (1955), it shows male teenagers being represented negatively but the male teenagers are not taking part in dangerous activities for example, Jim who is new to town is trying to gain popularity from his friends by taking part in activities such as car racing towards a cliff. From this we can see that this would be a negative representation of teenagers but it is not as harsh as now. ‘Rebel without a Cause’ was a film in the 90’s that was “accused of encouraging delinquency and driving a wedge between the younger and older generations” [9]. This demonstrates that this film is known to be encouraging delinquency and this would mean that in a way the media is encouraging male teenagers to go on the wrong path. By this we can tell that this contemporary stereotype of male teenagers is widely different from the historical stereotypes of male teenagers. ‘Rebel without a Cause’ may also be a film which is known to create a stereotype on male teenagers that is “inaccurate, simplistic generalisations about a group of individuals that may lead to a particular perception of the group by others” [10]. This shows that the way that male teenagers were represented in ‘Rebel without a Cause’ may have been to create a moral panic in the media of teenagers and encourage ‘delinquency’. However, by comparing this to a contemporary media text, it is clear that the stereotypes of male teenagers in contemporary urban dramas have changed to a large extent that is labelling all male teenagers in a harsh way.
‘Fire with Fire’ (1986) is another historical text that looks at teenagers in a negative way, Tessa Perkins has pointed out that some stereotypes are based on “truth that can be observed” [11]. However, this is not the situation when looking at the representation of male teenagers that can be argued by looking at ‘Fire with Fire’ because this film stereotypes male teenagers as being immature and against their parents. This was shown because the young woman and young man from the film are trying to run away from their parents together and from the law. This shows that this is going with the typical stereotypes of teenagers which are that they are often described as “moody, argumentative, violent and causing trouble” [12]. By this we can tell that this film does stereotype male teenagers negatively but it is definitely not as negative as it is in a contemporary view but it is seen as negative against teenagers because of “dominant assumptions of our society” [13] that have been created because of dominant groups that have control over the subordinate groups such as young males. This is because this film is based on two teenagers in love running away from their parents and the law whereas there is not any murder taking place or dangerous activities. This film could be known to become a social factor in the media because the audience would watch this and be influenced to believe what is shown in the film which comes from the hypodermic needle theory. By this we can see that this would mean that the audience would then be influenced to think that male teenagers are really like this that would mean that there would be a negative representation created in the media of male teenagers.
In addition, another contemporary film that looks at the negative representation of male teenagers is ‘Alpha Dog’ because this film looks at a variety of different crimes that male teenagers take part in for example, there are scenes with the male teenagers using the guns, drugs and getting involved in street fights. By this we can tell that films such as ‘Bullet Boy’ are leading to an “increase in juvenile delinquency” [14] because male teenagers are repeatedly being represented in a very negative way in urban dramas. This demonstrates that this is making the audience think that male teenagers are like this because they are shown this side of teenagers repeatedly. Has this resulted to male behaviour being accepted in the media? This is because Glen Lewis believes that within certain limits, “aggressive male behaviour is accepted as a normal part of everyday life” [15] because of it being shown in literally every male teenage film. This demonstrates that if this male behaviour is being shown repeatedly then why is this representation of male teenagers being created in to a moral panic because in a way it is being accepted by the audience when it takes place with adult males. Furthermore, by looking at the film ‘Alpha Dog’ it demonstrates the effect of teenage gangs being created in this film because it is creating the impression that teenage gangs are a threat to the audience. Looking at films such as ‘Alpha Dog’ it is made clear to the audience that teenagers are a group to be afraid of and are referred to as ‘thugs’ that came around 800 years ago and means “a gang of criminals” [16]. By this we can tell that the media is repeatedly creating this negative view of male teenagers that has meant that the public is viewing teenagers negatively too.
The institution of the urban drama films could be held responsible on the representation of male teenagers. This would be because institutions are repeatedly making this representation of male teenagers and making them be seen as a negative group in the media. This has been investigated by Ryall who looks at the influence of the production of gangster films in the media. This could be because institutions have organised to produce films that can be seen as “determining factors of the individual film” [17]. By this we can tell that the institutions and the media have the power through “selection and reinforcement to give us very influential portrayals of a whole range of groups” [18] because the media is representing male teenagers in this way. This has been shown because institutions have the power to create this representation of male teenagers in films and influence the audience to think that male teenagers are in this way. This would demonstrate the effect that it would have on the audience because this would create a moral panic in the media and this would be a social factor because it would mean that a lot of people that have seen films of this representation would think that teenager males are like this and would become a well known topic.
I conclude that by looking at the representation of teenage males in contemporary urban dramas, the representation is making teenagers be viewed negatively and that is shown in urban dramas such as ‘Kidulthood’ that view teenagers as getting involved in murder and violence. The representation of male teenagers has changed from historical texts such as ‘Fire with Fire’ and that would mean that the representation of teenagers is “not fixed for ever and is possible to observe changes over a period of time” [19] and this has happened with teenagers as a group because now they are represented much more negatively. In addition, Dyer also believes that re-representation involves “media language and the conventions that are used to represent the world to the audience” [20]. By this we can tell that the media could be held responsible for the representation of male teenagers because they are being viewed negatively because of their actions and personality in the film. This shows that overall the representation that is being created of male teenagers is that they are being stereotyped negatively in urban dramas because of the level of crime used and this is then demonstrating that male teenagers are a negative group in the media.
Word Count – 2143
[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435680/quotes
[2] Hayward, Susan (2000): Cinema Studies - The Key Concepts, London; Routledge. Page 358
[3] Woodward, K (1997): Concepts of Identity and difference, London; Sage Books. Page 64
[4] http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/mar/20/features.review
[5] Sardar, Ziauddin, Loon, Boring (2000): Introducing Media Studies, UK; Totem Books. Page 77
[6] Rayner, Philip, Wall, Peter, Kruger, Stephen (2001): AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction, London; Routledge, Page 68
[7] http://www.screenonline.org.uk/education/id/1292217/index.html
[8] Nicholos, Joe (1998): Advanced Studies Media, United Kingdom; Nelson. Page 45
[9] Bennett, Peter, Slater, Jerry, Wall Peter (2006): A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction, Oxon; Routledge. Page 133
[10] Bernadette, Casey, Neil, Calvery, Ben, French, Liam, Lewis, Justin (2002): Television Studies – The Key Concepts, London; Routledge. Page 229.
[11] Rayner, Philip, Wall, Peter, Kruger, Stephen (2001): AS Media Studies – The Essential Introduction, London; Routledge. Page 69
[12] http://www.coursework.info/University/Mass_Communications_and_Documentation/Media_Studies/Film_Studies/kidadulthood_review___How_are_teenagers_L137186.html
[13] O'Sullivian, Tim, Putton, Brian, Rayner, Phillip (1994): Studying the media: 2nd edition, London; Arnold. Page 81
[14] Carter, Cynthia, Weaver, Kay (2003): Violence and the media, USA; Open university press. Page 52.
[15] Mackinnon, Kenneth (2003): Representation of Men, New York; Arnold. Page 11.
[16] Gifford, Clive (2006): Gangs, London; Evans. Page 9
[17] Strinati, Dominic (2006): An Introduction to Studying Popular Culture, London; Routledge. Page 57
[18] www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/repsyouth.html
[19] Phillip, Rayner, Wall Peter, Kruger Stephen. (2002): AS Media Studies - The Essential Introduction, London, Routledge. Page 68
[20] Lacey, Nick (1998): Image and representation - key concepts in media studies, New York; Macmillan Press Ltd. Page 131.
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Task 3
For my historical text, I will look at the film Bad Boys (1995).
A review of the film:
Source - http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/Bad-Boys-1995-407.html
After a pair of overproduced duds that include the back-to-back Tony Scott eye-burners Beverly Hills Cop II and Days of Thunder, the uber-producing team of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer make a welcome return to the kind of no-holds-barred, go-for-the-throat thrill ride that established them as action experts extraordinaire in the mid-1980s. Setting aside any pretensions, Bad Boys is what it is. Viewers can either understand that or direct themselves to a more ambitious action blockbuster. Like the standard action films of the early 90’s, Bad Boys has no problem with being a super-slick, super-fast cops-and-drug lords movie that viewers will probably forget by the time they exit the theater.
The plot resembles that of a cheesy episode of “Miami Vice,” complete with said drug lords, the fiery orange heat of the Miami setting, and enough running and jumping to exhaust even Bruce Willis. In keeping with true buddy-movie formula, Miami narcotics cops Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) both lead very different lives. Lowery is a womanizing rich-kid who also happens to be a dedicated police officer. His partner and best friend, Burnett, is an overworked, undersexed family man with a pretty wife (Theresa Randle) and three kids. Both have just made the biggest drug bust of their careers, confiscating $100 million in heroin. But when a criminal mastermind (Tchéky Karyo) steals the evidence from police storage and Internal Affairs threatens to shut them down, Lowrey and Burnett must find a witness (Téa Leoni) who can help them solve the case. The catch? Lowrey and Burnett must switch identities to gain the witness’ trust.
A more appropriate name for Bad Boys would actually be Beverly Hills Cop Lite. Both this and Cop are Bruckheimer/Simpson productions that feature a savvy African-American Police Officer (in this case, two) investigating the murder of a close friend who is somehow linked to an underground drug ring. While it retains some of the action and wise-guy humor of the Eddie Murphy classic, it also lacks the nuisances and intelligence that made that film so memorable.
Lawrence and Smith are, however, in fine (albeit not exactly star-making) form. The interaction between the wisecracking duo is so smooth and displays such a good chemistry, it’s as if they’ve done all this before. Since the film opens with the two of them jabbering away, you get the idea that they started during a previous adventure. The interesting note about the casting is that both of the leads play the “wise guy.” We see how different they are through how they use their sense of humor. The switch even takes a stab (no doubt, unintended) at making a social statement about people adapting to a completely new lifestyle.
The real star here is Director Michael Bay. Bay (who cut his teeth directing high-octane television commercials and music videos) treats every action sequence like a photographed stage production. He keeps the camera moving swiftly enough to generate excitement, but stops shy of inducing nausea. Working closely with the editor, Bay favors frequent cuts, but without falsifying the sense of excitement generated. This talent for staging good action is displayed mostly in a getaway chase around halfway through the film and the exciting climax that features a shootout in an airport hangar. A fantastic shot that I feel is worth singling out comes at the end of the getaway chase when Lowrey and Burnett rise from the aftermath in a shot that circles around the heroes as they look on to see the villains get away. This wonderful method tells the viewers what they must face in the best dramatic fashion possible.
This film shows a range of different ways that it is similar to contemporary texts and how it is different from contemporary texts.
The film is similar from urban drama texts now because there is still the use of cars that is a main item used by males in urban dramas. Teenage males are known to drive around in their cars and it is used in many texts today too for example, male teenagers hanging around in their cars is also shown in the film 'Adulthood' because it is a main thing that represents males. Another thing that is the same is that males are still shown to be obsessed with sex because in this film the male shown in the car with Will Smith says "please I am not getting my sex at home". This connotes that these are two main factors that characterise teenage males because this was common in the 1900's and is still a commin factor in 2010. By this we can tell that males are obsessed with cars and sex and that is still the same case.
The thing that is also similar is the use of language that is used by teenage males because in Bad Boys, Will Smith and his friend both use language that might be unappropriate. This language is still used today but there is a slight difference that is there is more aggresive and disrespectful language used today. By this we can tell that this is a similar factor but it has changed slightly as now male teenagers have less restrictions on what is said on screen. Another thing that is similar from historical texts and contemporary texts is the use of propps. This is because in Bad Boys, guns are used and they are used in contemporary texts too. There is also a slight change in contemporary texts because more violent propps are now used for example, knifes, bats and etc.
In addition, the things that are different now is the clothing. This is because in the historical texts, male teenagers do not dress as male teenagers do now. For example there is no hoodies, or tracksuits etc but there is normal clothing that would not really categorise male teenagers today. Another difference in contemporary and historical texts is that there are more violent scenes now. This is because the audience is actually shown the victim suffering now whereas in historical texts, the victim just dies and is not shown actually dying. This happens in the film when the man is shot and he falls off the car but is not shown actually dying. By this we can tell that contemporary films show more suffering of the victims and this did not happen in historical texts.
A review of the film:
Source - http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/Bad-Boys-1995-407.html
After a pair of overproduced duds that include the back-to-back Tony Scott eye-burners Beverly Hills Cop II and Days of Thunder, the uber-producing team of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer make a welcome return to the kind of no-holds-barred, go-for-the-throat thrill ride that established them as action experts extraordinaire in the mid-1980s. Setting aside any pretensions, Bad Boys is what it is. Viewers can either understand that or direct themselves to a more ambitious action blockbuster. Like the standard action films of the early 90’s, Bad Boys has no problem with being a super-slick, super-fast cops-and-drug lords movie that viewers will probably forget by the time they exit the theater.
The plot resembles that of a cheesy episode of “Miami Vice,” complete with said drug lords, the fiery orange heat of the Miami setting, and enough running and jumping to exhaust even Bruce Willis. In keeping with true buddy-movie formula, Miami narcotics cops Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) both lead very different lives. Lowery is a womanizing rich-kid who also happens to be a dedicated police officer. His partner and best friend, Burnett, is an overworked, undersexed family man with a pretty wife (Theresa Randle) and three kids. Both have just made the biggest drug bust of their careers, confiscating $100 million in heroin. But when a criminal mastermind (Tchéky Karyo) steals the evidence from police storage and Internal Affairs threatens to shut them down, Lowrey and Burnett must find a witness (Téa Leoni) who can help them solve the case. The catch? Lowrey and Burnett must switch identities to gain the witness’ trust.
A more appropriate name for Bad Boys would actually be Beverly Hills Cop Lite. Both this and Cop are Bruckheimer/Simpson productions that feature a savvy African-American Police Officer (in this case, two) investigating the murder of a close friend who is somehow linked to an underground drug ring. While it retains some of the action and wise-guy humor of the Eddie Murphy classic, it also lacks the nuisances and intelligence that made that film so memorable.
Lawrence and Smith are, however, in fine (albeit not exactly star-making) form. The interaction between the wisecracking duo is so smooth and displays such a good chemistry, it’s as if they’ve done all this before. Since the film opens with the two of them jabbering away, you get the idea that they started during a previous adventure. The interesting note about the casting is that both of the leads play the “wise guy.” We see how different they are through how they use their sense of humor. The switch even takes a stab (no doubt, unintended) at making a social statement about people adapting to a completely new lifestyle.
The real star here is Director Michael Bay. Bay (who cut his teeth directing high-octane television commercials and music videos) treats every action sequence like a photographed stage production. He keeps the camera moving swiftly enough to generate excitement, but stops shy of inducing nausea. Working closely with the editor, Bay favors frequent cuts, but without falsifying the sense of excitement generated. This talent for staging good action is displayed mostly in a getaway chase around halfway through the film and the exciting climax that features a shootout in an airport hangar. A fantastic shot that I feel is worth singling out comes at the end of the getaway chase when Lowrey and Burnett rise from the aftermath in a shot that circles around the heroes as they look on to see the villains get away. This wonderful method tells the viewers what they must face in the best dramatic fashion possible.
This film shows a range of different ways that it is similar to contemporary texts and how it is different from contemporary texts.
The film is similar from urban drama texts now because there is still the use of cars that is a main item used by males in urban dramas. Teenage males are known to drive around in their cars and it is used in many texts today too for example, male teenagers hanging around in their cars is also shown in the film 'Adulthood' because it is a main thing that represents males. Another thing that is the same is that males are still shown to be obsessed with sex because in this film the male shown in the car with Will Smith says "please I am not getting my sex at home". This connotes that these are two main factors that characterise teenage males because this was common in the 1900's and is still a commin factor in 2010. By this we can tell that males are obsessed with cars and sex and that is still the same case.
The thing that is also similar is the use of language that is used by teenage males because in Bad Boys, Will Smith and his friend both use language that might be unappropriate. This language is still used today but there is a slight difference that is there is more aggresive and disrespectful language used today. By this we can tell that this is a similar factor but it has changed slightly as now male teenagers have less restrictions on what is said on screen. Another thing that is similar from historical texts and contemporary texts is the use of propps. This is because in Bad Boys, guns are used and they are used in contemporary texts too. There is also a slight change in contemporary texts because more violent propps are now used for example, knifes, bats and etc.
In addition, the things that are different now is the clothing. This is because in the historical texts, male teenagers do not dress as male teenagers do now. For example there is no hoodies, or tracksuits etc but there is normal clothing that would not really categorise male teenagers today. Another difference in contemporary and historical texts is that there are more violent scenes now. This is because the audience is actually shown the victim suffering now whereas in historical texts, the victim just dies and is not shown actually dying. This happens in the film when the man is shot and he falls off the car but is not shown actually dying. By this we can tell that contemporary films show more suffering of the victims and this did not happen in historical texts.
Task 6
An investigation into the representation of male teenagers in contemporary urban dramas.
Male teenagers are constantly being stereotyped from a negative view in the media. This representation of male teenagers has changed in a range of ways from a historical perspective. This essay will be an investigation on how male teenagers are being represented in urban dramas and if this representation is a good representation or not. In order to look at the representation of male teenagers, the examples that would be looked at are contemporary texts as well as historical to find out the ways that the representations have changed. The media texts that my essay would focus on are 'Rebel without a Cause' (1955), Alpha Dog (2006) and 'Adulthood' (2009). "Stereotypes come and go; they also change in the light of the shifting political cultural context" [1]. This would mean that if stereotypes are coming and going, it must mean that the representations of males are changing too which will be looked at. This essay would also include a conclusion on how male teenagers are being represented in urban dramas and what effect this would have on the audience and the public.
"The media can be seen as providing us with the information which tells us what it feels like to occupy a particular subject - position" [2]. This is shown as in the media male teenagers are being represented as aggressive, violent and irresponsible which is present in the media as the media is stereotyping teenagers in a particular way which is making the audience think like this too. As shown in the films, Adulthood, Kidulthood and Bullet Boy, male teenagers are being represented negatively in all films. This has been shown to the audience because of male teenagers getting involved in crime, taking drugs, getting involved in knife and gun crime with a lack of interest in education. This connotes that in these media texts, the male characters have similar roles because of them being shown as 'gangsters'. By this we can see that male teenagers are being given roles that would represent them negatively in the media and they are being shown in contemporary films such as the ones mentioned.
[1] Hayward, Susan. (2000): Cinema Studies - The Key Concepts. London; Routledge. Page 358
[2] Woodward, K. (1997): Concepts of Identity and difference. London; Sage Books. Page 64
Task 5
Introduction
In this paragraph i will be writing and introducing my task which is my critical investigation. I would be writing about how the stereotype of male teens has changed in contempry urban drama and seeing how it was in the history and how it is now. I would do this by looking at historical texts such as Bad Boys. I would look at the similarities and differences between the historical text and a contemporary text such as Adulthood and other genre texts. I would then mention that I would be coming to a conclusion on how male teens are being represented in urban dramas and if it is positive or not. (G, H, R)
2nd Paragraph
In this paragraph i would be writing about male teenagers and how they are sterotyped in the media today. This would mean that I would start off with stating the obvious stereotypes of teenagers today. I would then be comparing contemporary texts to see how male teenagers are being stereotyped and put across to the audience. In this paragraph, I would have reference to the texts Adulthood, Kidulthood and Bullet Boy because by this I could see the different roles that male characters are having in urban dramas and if they are similar. This would fit in with the issue of violence and the media because the urban dramas that I would look at would have crime in them and I could see to what extent texts are going to show teenagers negatively. In this paragraph, I would put in the quote "The media can be seen as providing us with the information which tells us what it feels like to occupy a particular subject - position" because the media is showing teenagers negatively. (R, S,)
3rd Paragraph
In this paragraph I would be writing about how the way that male teens are shown has changed over a period of time. For this, I would be writing about the film Bad Boys (1995) and I would look at how males are being characterised in that film. This would mean that I would need to look the attitude of male teens used, the clothing, the propps and the language used. This would show if male teens representation has changed over time. For this I would have to look at the social and economical factor too because the representation of male teens could have changed over time because of these factors. In this paragraph I would add in the quote "Stereotypes tend to be resistant to change; Second, they generally carry a pejorativve and narrow range of meanings" because it shows that the stereotypes of male teens would not stay the same for a long period of time. (R, H, M, S, E)
4th Paragraph
In this paragraph I would look at what effect the representations of male teens is having on the audience and the public. I would need to look at certain contemporary texts such as Alpha Dog and Kidulthood to show how negatively male teens are being represented. I would then look at if this representation is causing a moral panic in the media because the public might then be afraid to talk to teenagers or be near them in public. I would also look in to if this on screen representation is having a effect on the way that male teens are starting to act for example, are they taking part in the self fulfilling prophecy and behaving how the narrative is constructed?. This would link to looking at the social and political factors because I would need to explore if the on screen representation of male teens is becoming a social factor and political factor which it is because of the big issue on hoodies. In this paragraph I could also add the quote "The two Godfather films were blockbusters, enormously popular and returning huge profits. So, too, was Steven Spielbergs 'Jaws' (1975), a horror film with a strong sense of viewer engagement" because it shows that even though the representation of male teens in urban drama films are negative, it is still attracting a large audience and that could mean that male teens are being influenced to behave like this too. (R, A, N, S, P)
5th Paragraph
In this paragraph I would look at the theory audience theory because I would look in more detail what this stereotypes of male teens is created. For example are there ideas being injected in to the audiences mind (hypodermic needle theory) because is the audience looking at a male teen and being influenced to behave like that too. Has this representation also meant that the public view male teens in a more negative way? Is this representation being created because of off screen representation where the producers might have something against male teens too and are influencing the public to think that too? This would mean that in this paragraph, I would look at the audience theory and look at what affects these films have on the audience and is that the reason for a moral panic of male teens in the media?. In this paragraph I could put in the quote "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". This would be a good quote for this paragraph because it shows that males are being influenced by movies and that means that more male teens would behave like this. (A, R)
In this paragraph i will be writing and introducing my task which is my critical investigation. I would be writing about how the stereotype of male teens has changed in contempry urban drama and seeing how it was in the history and how it is now. I would do this by looking at historical texts such as Bad Boys. I would look at the similarities and differences between the historical text and a contemporary text such as Adulthood and other genre texts. I would then mention that I would be coming to a conclusion on how male teens are being represented in urban dramas and if it is positive or not. (G, H, R)
2nd Paragraph
In this paragraph i would be writing about male teenagers and how they are sterotyped in the media today. This would mean that I would start off with stating the obvious stereotypes of teenagers today. I would then be comparing contemporary texts to see how male teenagers are being stereotyped and put across to the audience. In this paragraph, I would have reference to the texts Adulthood, Kidulthood and Bullet Boy because by this I could see the different roles that male characters are having in urban dramas and if they are similar. This would fit in with the issue of violence and the media because the urban dramas that I would look at would have crime in them and I could see to what extent texts are going to show teenagers negatively. In this paragraph, I would put in the quote "The media can be seen as providing us with the information which tells us what it feels like to occupy a particular subject - position" because the media is showing teenagers negatively. (R, S,)
3rd Paragraph
In this paragraph I would be writing about how the way that male teens are shown has changed over a period of time. For this, I would be writing about the film Bad Boys (1995) and I would look at how males are being characterised in that film. This would mean that I would need to look the attitude of male teens used, the clothing, the propps and the language used. This would show if male teens representation has changed over time. For this I would have to look at the social and economical factor too because the representation of male teens could have changed over time because of these factors. In this paragraph I would add in the quote "Stereotypes tend to be resistant to change; Second, they generally carry a pejorativve and narrow range of meanings" because it shows that the stereotypes of male teens would not stay the same for a long period of time. (R, H, M, S, E)
4th Paragraph
In this paragraph I would look at what effect the representations of male teens is having on the audience and the public. I would need to look at certain contemporary texts such as Alpha Dog and Kidulthood to show how negatively male teens are being represented. I would then look at if this representation is causing a moral panic in the media because the public might then be afraid to talk to teenagers or be near them in public. I would also look in to if this on screen representation is having a effect on the way that male teens are starting to act for example, are they taking part in the self fulfilling prophecy and behaving how the narrative is constructed?. This would link to looking at the social and political factors because I would need to explore if the on screen representation of male teens is becoming a social factor and political factor which it is because of the big issue on hoodies. In this paragraph I could also add the quote "The two Godfather films were blockbusters, enormously popular and returning huge profits. So, too, was Steven Spielbergs 'Jaws' (1975), a horror film with a strong sense of viewer engagement" because it shows that even though the representation of male teens in urban drama films are negative, it is still attracting a large audience and that could mean that male teens are being influenced to behave like this too. (R, A, N, S, P)
5th Paragraph
In this paragraph I would look at the theory audience theory because I would look in more detail what this stereotypes of male teens is created. For example are there ideas being injected in to the audiences mind (hypodermic needle theory) because is the audience looking at a male teen and being influenced to behave like that too. Has this representation also meant that the public view male teens in a more negative way? Is this representation being created because of off screen representation where the producers might have something against male teens too and are influencing the public to think that too? This would mean that in this paragraph, I would look at the audience theory and look at what affects these films have on the audience and is that the reason for a moral panic of male teens in the media?. In this paragraph I could put in the quote "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". This would be a good quote for this paragraph because it shows that males are being influenced by movies and that means that more male teens would behave like this. (A, R)
Conclusion
I would now come to a decision on how male teens are being represented in contemporary urban dramas. I would make this decision by looking at contemporary and historical texts. This would show if male teens are being represented negatively and are these representations being created because of factors such as social, political and economical. This would mean that I would understand more why this representation of male teens is created and what are the factors that influence it.
Task 2
1) Rayner, Philip, Wall, Peter, Kruger, Stepher (2001): AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction, London; Routledge
Page 68
"Youth has tended over the later half of the twentieth century to suffer from a rather negative representation in the media. Youth has always provided the media with ample opportunities for negative representation of young people."
This quote links to my ciritical investigation as youth are targetted negatively in the media and also ecpecially males in urban dramas.
2) Woodward, K. (1997): Concepts of Identity and difference. London; Sage Books. Page 64
Discourses and systems of representation construct places from which individuals can position themselves and from which they can speak. . . . The media can be seen as providing us with the information which tells us what it feels like to occupy a particular subject - position. The streetwise teenager, the upwardly mobile worker or the caring patient.
This would help me and would also link to my critical investigation as they are both linked as representation is common in them, i could also compare the representation to teenagers from this.
3) Bennett, Peter, Slater, Jerry and Wall Peter. (2006): A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction. Oxon; Routledge. Page 133
Youth - orientated films such as 'Rebel without a cause' (1955) and 'The Wild One' (1953) were accused of encouraging delinquency and driving a wedge between the younger and older generations.
This quote would link to my critical investigation as the two films, Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild One would link to my case study and i would be able to use ideas from these movies and also see the difference between younger and older generations.
4) O' Sullivan, T, Hantley, J, Saunders, D, Montgomery, M and Fiske, J. (1994): Key Concepts in communication and cultural studies. London; Routledge. Page 229
Stereotypes tend to be resistant to change; Second, they generally carry a pejorativve and narrow range of meanings.
I could link this to my critical investigation as this books quote and my investigation has stereotypes in common.
5) Casey, Bernadette, Casey, Neil, Calvery, Ben, French, Liam and Lewis, Justin. (2002): Television Studies - The Key Concepts. London; Routledge. Page 229
Today, it is widely recognised that stereotypes are inaccurate, simplistic generalisations about a group of individuals that may lead to particular perceptions of the group by others.
This quote would link to my investigation task as i would be able to investigate and research about peoples views of teenage male and what they are stereotyped as in the media's view. I could also gain information and views of what different groups think of male teens.
6) Sardar, Ziauddin, Loon, Borin (2000): Introducing Media Studies, UK; Totem Books.
Page 77
"Stan Cohen argued that the media labelled youth culture in a stereotyped and negative way, thus creating "folk devils" and were reported in a way to create a moral panic."
This would definately link to my investigation as Stan Cohen says that the youth are stereotyped negatively. this is true to a certain extent. It is also true that the youth of today create moral panic.
7) Hayward, Susan. (2000): Cinema Studies - The Key Concepts. London; Routledge. Page 358
Stereotypes come and go, they also change in the light of the shifting political cultural context. Take for example the representation of communists and communism in Hollywood Cinema from the 1950's to the 1990's.
This would help me and guide me to look out for how stereotypes have changed throughout the years and what they have come from and become into. i would also have communists views on this. It also links to my investigation as it involves film.
8) Lacey, Nick. (2000): Narative and Genre, Key concepts in Media Studies. London; Palgrave. Page 138
We associate guns and decrepit city streets with the crime genre; iconography in the western is very exact, possibly because of its very focused time period, the ren allon hat, the six-gun, horses, tumbleweed and so on.
This quote would help me as i would be able to link this genre to my investigation in different ways. Such as guns in street crime, many teenage males carry weapons with them now and this would increase the crime rate.
9) Strinati, Dominic. (2000). An Introduction to studying polular culture. London; Routledge. Page 57.
The determining influence exerted by Hollywood cinema and the studio system over the production of gangster films has usefully been highlighted by Ryall. Ryall suggests that the ways in which the studios were organised to produce films can be seen as determining factors of the individual film.
I would be able to link this as it would be referring to male teens by talking about gangster movies.
10) Rayner, Philip, Wall, Peter, Kruger, Stephen. (2001). AS Media Studies. The Essential Introduction. London; Routledge. Page 69
The unfortunate side effect to stereotypes is to dehumanise people by denying them the complex psychological make up that individual possesses by reducing them to a few generalised personality traits. As Tessa Perkins has pointed out, some stereotypes are based on truth that can be observed.
This quote would refer to peoples stereotypes to be genuine and unreal. It would link to my investigation as many stereotypes of male teens may be true but some stereotypes may only be assumptions for some male teenagers.
Page 68
"Youth has tended over the later half of the twentieth century to suffer from a rather negative representation in the media. Youth has always provided the media with ample opportunities for negative representation of young people."
This quote links to my ciritical investigation as youth are targetted negatively in the media and also ecpecially males in urban dramas.
2) Woodward, K. (1997): Concepts of Identity and difference. London; Sage Books. Page 64
Discourses and systems of representation construct places from which individuals can position themselves and from which they can speak. . . . The media can be seen as providing us with the information which tells us what it feels like to occupy a particular subject - position. The streetwise teenager, the upwardly mobile worker or the caring patient.
This would help me and would also link to my critical investigation as they are both linked as representation is common in them, i could also compare the representation to teenagers from this.
3) Bennett, Peter, Slater, Jerry and Wall Peter. (2006): A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction. Oxon; Routledge. Page 133
Youth - orientated films such as 'Rebel without a cause' (1955) and 'The Wild One' (1953) were accused of encouraging delinquency and driving a wedge between the younger and older generations.
This quote would link to my critical investigation as the two films, Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild One would link to my case study and i would be able to use ideas from these movies and also see the difference between younger and older generations.
4) O' Sullivan, T, Hantley, J, Saunders, D, Montgomery, M and Fiske, J. (1994): Key Concepts in communication and cultural studies. London; Routledge. Page 229
Stereotypes tend to be resistant to change; Second, they generally carry a pejorativve and narrow range of meanings.
I could link this to my critical investigation as this books quote and my investigation has stereotypes in common.
5) Casey, Bernadette, Casey, Neil, Calvery, Ben, French, Liam and Lewis, Justin. (2002): Television Studies - The Key Concepts. London; Routledge. Page 229
Today, it is widely recognised that stereotypes are inaccurate, simplistic generalisations about a group of individuals that may lead to particular perceptions of the group by others.
This quote would link to my investigation task as i would be able to investigate and research about peoples views of teenage male and what they are stereotyped as in the media's view. I could also gain information and views of what different groups think of male teens.
6) Sardar, Ziauddin, Loon, Borin (2000): Introducing Media Studies, UK; Totem Books.
Page 77
"Stan Cohen argued that the media labelled youth culture in a stereotyped and negative way, thus creating "folk devils" and were reported in a way to create a moral panic."
This would definately link to my investigation as Stan Cohen says that the youth are stereotyped negatively. this is true to a certain extent. It is also true that the youth of today create moral panic.
7) Hayward, Susan. (2000): Cinema Studies - The Key Concepts. London; Routledge. Page 358
Stereotypes come and go, they also change in the light of the shifting political cultural context. Take for example the representation of communists and communism in Hollywood Cinema from the 1950's to the 1990's.
This would help me and guide me to look out for how stereotypes have changed throughout the years and what they have come from and become into. i would also have communists views on this. It also links to my investigation as it involves film.
8) Lacey, Nick. (2000): Narative and Genre, Key concepts in Media Studies. London; Palgrave. Page 138
We associate guns and decrepit city streets with the crime genre; iconography in the western is very exact, possibly because of its very focused time period, the ren allon hat, the six-gun, horses, tumbleweed and so on.
This quote would help me as i would be able to link this genre to my investigation in different ways. Such as guns in street crime, many teenage males carry weapons with them now and this would increase the crime rate.
9) Strinati, Dominic. (2000). An Introduction to studying polular culture. London; Routledge. Page 57.
The determining influence exerted by Hollywood cinema and the studio system over the production of gangster films has usefully been highlighted by Ryall. Ryall suggests that the ways in which the studios were organised to produce films can be seen as determining factors of the individual film.
I would be able to link this as it would be referring to male teens by talking about gangster movies.
10) Rayner, Philip, Wall, Peter, Kruger, Stephen. (2001). AS Media Studies. The Essential Introduction. London; Routledge. Page 69
The unfortunate side effect to stereotypes is to dehumanise people by denying them the complex psychological make up that individual possesses by reducing them to a few generalised personality traits. As Tessa Perkins has pointed out, some stereotypes are based on truth that can be observed.
This quote would refer to peoples stereotypes to be genuine and unreal. It would link to my investigation as many stereotypes of male teens may be true but some stereotypes may only be assumptions for some male teenagers.
Task 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2lY7fvYbbU
In this task i will be writing about the clip above which is a part of the movie Adulthood (2008). I will be analysing and writing about the representations of male teens and how they are represented throughout this clip of urban drama.
At the beginning of the scene called 'Sam teaches Dabs a lesson', Dabs and his friends are riding around on bicycles in search for Sam. Whilst looking for him there is background music playing and also a suspense non diagetic sound which is added into the clip to make the audience think about what is going to happen next. When they see him they recognise him and give him a serious dirty look. Sam looks back possibly wondering why they are staring at him. By the eye contact shown in the clip it shows that teenagers are very serious and look at each other in a way which could cause conflict between individuals. This would represent them and stereotype them negatively as trouble makers.
Throughout the clip, All four teenage characters shown in the clip are wearing hoodies, this would give a typical representation to teenagers as teenagers are mainly wearing hoodies, by them wearing hoodies it would make people think they are trouble makers or from some part of gang. This has resulted teenagers to be represented as aggressive, criminals and a threat to the society in the media's view. This would also link to the audience theory and hypodermic needle, by the teenagers acting and being this way, it would inject ideas into the audiences mind and make them think that all teenagers wearing clothing like this are rpresented in this way.
When they find Sam they start beating him up right away, this would show and explain why teenagers could be represented as immature as no discussion is made before violence is used as a solution. When Sam drops to the ground, a close up shot is shown of his face, this would make the viewer feel like they are there and they will also get a detailed view of what is going on. Whilst this part of the clip is playing, we can hear diagetic and non diagetic sounds, we can hear Sam coughing while getting beaten up which is diagetic and we can hear an added sound which is non diagetic. Dabs and his two friends get to beating him up right away which is shown through a close up shot and a shot which is a birds eyes view, it makes the viewer feel that they are at the place of the scene. At this moment there is also conflict created between two of the friends as one wants to see his face before stabbing him.
This causes him to push the other friend away. By a knife used as a Prop in this clip it shows that teenagers nowadays could be dangerous and violent and the type to walk around with dangerous weapons.
After Sam's face if shown, his brother, which is one of the three friends, recognises him in shock and points the knife to his friend and they start talking aggressively to each other as Dabs did not tell Sam's brother that it was him they were looking for, whilst talking to each other they are using foul language and showing each other attitude and aggression. Throughout this particular part, close up shots are used to show what exactly is going on.
Whilst Dabs and Sam's brother are talking to each other, Sam gets up from the floor and stands beside his brother and asks Dabs about who send him, when Dabs tells him how much money he got for the job, Sam's brother puts the knife very close to dabs neck, this is shown through a close up shot. This particular part is a interesting moment as it makes the viewer want to know whats going to happen next. It also shows teenagers to have a lack of patience and represents them negatively.
Sam tells his brother not to stab Dabs as he says there is no point going into prison for a such thing, instead of this Sam punches Dab. This shows that he is aggressive and it shows and backs up the original negative representation of teenagers. The way Sam and Dabs were talking to one another it also involved a lot of attitude and conflict. It would also make the viewer think they would start fighting instantly, predicted from their tone of voice.
After Dabs is on the floor, Sam's brother and his friend check his pockets for any money and also take away his Oyster travel card, this would show teenagers as having less money and also represent them as lower class for taking away someone else's Oyster card. After Sam's brother and his friend and Sam walk away, they are seen through a long shot walking away with their hoods up.
Overall, this clip shows male teenagers to be represented negatively in the media's view, they are represented negatively throughout many points in this clip such as wearing hoodies, use of language, props such as knifes used and aggressive style of talking used. The public and audience viewing this scene would see male teenagers as a threat and as dangerous individuals who people should stay away from in order to avoid trouble. Due to the representations of teenagers in urban dramas it has resulted to a moral panic which is lead to teenagers represented negatively in all aspects of the media.
In this task i will be writing about the clip above which is a part of the movie Adulthood (2008). I will be analysing and writing about the representations of male teens and how they are represented throughout this clip of urban drama.
At the beginning of the scene called 'Sam teaches Dabs a lesson', Dabs and his friends are riding around on bicycles in search for Sam. Whilst looking for him there is background music playing and also a suspense non diagetic sound which is added into the clip to make the audience think about what is going to happen next. When they see him they recognise him and give him a serious dirty look. Sam looks back possibly wondering why they are staring at him. By the eye contact shown in the clip it shows that teenagers are very serious and look at each other in a way which could cause conflict between individuals. This would represent them and stereotype them negatively as trouble makers.
Throughout the clip, All four teenage characters shown in the clip are wearing hoodies, this would give a typical representation to teenagers as teenagers are mainly wearing hoodies, by them wearing hoodies it would make people think they are trouble makers or from some part of gang. This has resulted teenagers to be represented as aggressive, criminals and a threat to the society in the media's view. This would also link to the audience theory and hypodermic needle, by the teenagers acting and being this way, it would inject ideas into the audiences mind and make them think that all teenagers wearing clothing like this are rpresented in this way.
When they find Sam they start beating him up right away, this would show and explain why teenagers could be represented as immature as no discussion is made before violence is used as a solution. When Sam drops to the ground, a close up shot is shown of his face, this would make the viewer feel like they are there and they will also get a detailed view of what is going on. Whilst this part of the clip is playing, we can hear diagetic and non diagetic sounds, we can hear Sam coughing while getting beaten up which is diagetic and we can hear an added sound which is non diagetic. Dabs and his two friends get to beating him up right away which is shown through a close up shot and a shot which is a birds eyes view, it makes the viewer feel that they are at the place of the scene. At this moment there is also conflict created between two of the friends as one wants to see his face before stabbing him.
This causes him to push the other friend away. By a knife used as a Prop in this clip it shows that teenagers nowadays could be dangerous and violent and the type to walk around with dangerous weapons.
After Sam's face if shown, his brother, which is one of the three friends, recognises him in shock and points the knife to his friend and they start talking aggressively to each other as Dabs did not tell Sam's brother that it was him they were looking for, whilst talking to each other they are using foul language and showing each other attitude and aggression. Throughout this particular part, close up shots are used to show what exactly is going on.
Whilst Dabs and Sam's brother are talking to each other, Sam gets up from the floor and stands beside his brother and asks Dabs about who send him, when Dabs tells him how much money he got for the job, Sam's brother puts the knife very close to dabs neck, this is shown through a close up shot. This particular part is a interesting moment as it makes the viewer want to know whats going to happen next. It also shows teenagers to have a lack of patience and represents them negatively.
Sam tells his brother not to stab Dabs as he says there is no point going into prison for a such thing, instead of this Sam punches Dab. This shows that he is aggressive and it shows and backs up the original negative representation of teenagers. The way Sam and Dabs were talking to one another it also involved a lot of attitude and conflict. It would also make the viewer think they would start fighting instantly, predicted from their tone of voice.
After Dabs is on the floor, Sam's brother and his friend check his pockets for any money and also take away his Oyster travel card, this would show teenagers as having less money and also represent them as lower class for taking away someone else's Oyster card. After Sam's brother and his friend and Sam walk away, they are seen through a long shot walking away with their hoods up.
Overall, this clip shows male teenagers to be represented negatively in the media's view, they are represented negatively throughout many points in this clip such as wearing hoodies, use of language, props such as knifes used and aggressive style of talking used. The public and audience viewing this scene would see male teenagers as a threat and as dangerous individuals who people should stay away from in order to avoid trouble. Due to the representations of teenagers in urban dramas it has resulted to a moral panic which is lead to teenagers represented negatively in all aspects of the media.
Tuesday 5 January 2010
Task 4
1. http://www.allmovie.com/explore/type/urban-drama-979
"A type of drama that focuses on issues and problems caused by modern and contemporary urban life. Often in these films, the city itself becomes a character, something that affects, changes, or hinders a protagonist as much, or more so, than any other element of the film."
This website is related to my critical investigation as it has a basic background on urban drama and gives me some examples of films that I can look at for my critical investigation. This would help me because I could use this websites examples and talk about them in my critical investigation.
2. http://www.movierevie.ws/genres/146/1/Urban-Drama.html
Looks at different film reviews.
The website would be useful for my critical investigation as it mentions a number of films that are urban dramas that I could look at. This would help me because I could look at these films and it has reviews as well. This would mean that I could look at a few of these films and look at patterns of the representation of teenagers in urban dramas.
3. http://www.coursework.info/University/Mass_Communications_and_Documentation/Media_Studies/Film_Studies/kidadulthood_review___How_are_teenagers_L137186.html
"The film "Kidulthood" deals with a number of teenage issues and the traditional adult/teenage conflict. It looks at stereotypical teenagers, who are often described as moody, argumentative, violent, causing trouble (getting an 'ASBO', 'Hoodies with lots of attitude, all in an urban back round."
This website would help me for my critical investigation because it is a essay on how teenagers are represented in Kidulthood. This would help me for my critical investigation because I could look at this essay and get ideas on how teenagers have been represented. This would mean that I could get a lot of different ideas and explore Kidulthood at a wider depth.
4. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3852792
This website is a book that is on the Internet and has some information on urban dramas. This could help me because it has some information on urban dramas. This means that I could get more background information on urban dramas and find quotes in the book that could help me in my essay.
5. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/mar/20/features.review
"Bullet Boy is a valid story. It will resonate and reverberate with different communities throughout the UK,' says Boothe. 'In terms of what it deals with, this story could have been set in Oldham or Toxteth; the characters could have been any colour."
The website would help me in my critical investigation because it is a review of Bullet boy from the guardian and it looks at the film from a media view because of it being a controversial film. This would help me because I could mention the film Bullet Boy in my essay and could look at the way that it is has been put across in the media.
6. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/apr/20/hayfilmfestival2005.guardianhayfestival
"The film was sold to its backers at BBC Films as "Kes with guns", says its director and co-writer, 36-year-old documentary maker Saul Dibb. "I wanted to get across to them it's a film about a 12-year-old and innocence and it's a film with guns, but not a City of God-type film."
This article is another one from the Guardian and is about the film Bullet Boy and this would be good to use for my critical investigation because I could look at how the film is shown in the media and what issues have arised based on the film. I could then use this to assist me in my essay.
7. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/education/id/1292217/index.html
"Representations of adolescence on screen vary greatly - from nostalgic portraits of childhood innocence and comic depictions of teenage angst through to unsettling, sometimes violent visions of the young teen rebel and delinquent."
This article looks at the different films that are based on youths and looks at the different representations that are being created in films. By this we can tell that this would help me in my critical investigation because I could look at the different films and mention the different representations that are being shown.
8. www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/repsyouth.html
"The fact is that the media have the power through selection and reinforcement to give us very influential portrayals of a whole range of groups, situations and ideas. We make sense of these representations in different ways according to the values and assumptions we carry around in our own heads. So representation is not just about the way the world is presented to us but also about how we engage with media texts in order to interpret and assimilate such portrayals."
This quote links to my critical investigation as it looks at the way in which representations are created and on what basis they are created, this would be useful to me because when looking at my investigation, i could understand more about how these representations have been created of teenagers.
9. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=M-cbJXZpvJEC&pg=PT152&lpg=PT152&dq=representation+of+teenagers+in+urban+drama&source=bl&ots=NJtenzeE8q&sig=jAGqw8RUjEKpq1p7pT93yMS7xEQ&hl=en&ei=KMxDS-6XBcSr4Qb1gqWqCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=&f=false
This is a book online that would help me for my critical investigation because it looks at urban drama. This would mean that I could look at this book and get some ideas and quotes that I could talk about in my essay. By this we can tell that by this book I could gain more knowledge on urban dramas.
10. http://www.ericdsnider.com/movies/alpha-dog
"His depiction of all this squalor and depravity is vivid, but it doesn't offer much insight into WHY the kids do what they do, and he drags the resolution out way too long."
This website would be useful for me for my critical investigation because it looks at the film Alpha Dog. By this we can tell that I could look at this film and look at what has been said about it. This would mean that I could talk about this film and compare the representation of teenagers to other urban drama films.
"A type of drama that focuses on issues and problems caused by modern and contemporary urban life. Often in these films, the city itself becomes a character, something that affects, changes, or hinders a protagonist as much, or more so, than any other element of the film."
This website is related to my critical investigation as it has a basic background on urban drama and gives me some examples of films that I can look at for my critical investigation. This would help me because I could use this websites examples and talk about them in my critical investigation.
2. http://www.movierevie.ws/genres/146/1/Urban-Drama.html
Looks at different film reviews.
The website would be useful for my critical investigation as it mentions a number of films that are urban dramas that I could look at. This would help me because I could look at these films and it has reviews as well. This would mean that I could look at a few of these films and look at patterns of the representation of teenagers in urban dramas.
3. http://www.coursework.info/University/Mass_Communications_and_Documentation/Media_Studies/Film_Studies/kidadulthood_review___How_are_teenagers_L137186.html
"The film "Kidulthood" deals with a number of teenage issues and the traditional adult/teenage conflict. It looks at stereotypical teenagers, who are often described as moody, argumentative, violent, causing trouble (getting an 'ASBO', 'Hoodies with lots of attitude, all in an urban back round."
This website would help me for my critical investigation because it is a essay on how teenagers are represented in Kidulthood. This would help me for my critical investigation because I could look at this essay and get ideas on how teenagers have been represented. This would mean that I could get a lot of different ideas and explore Kidulthood at a wider depth.
4. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3852792
This website is a book that is on the Internet and has some information on urban dramas. This could help me because it has some information on urban dramas. This means that I could get more background information on urban dramas and find quotes in the book that could help me in my essay.
5. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/mar/20/features.review
"Bullet Boy is a valid story. It will resonate and reverberate with different communities throughout the UK,' says Boothe. 'In terms of what it deals with, this story could have been set in Oldham or Toxteth; the characters could have been any colour."
The website would help me in my critical investigation because it is a review of Bullet boy from the guardian and it looks at the film from a media view because of it being a controversial film. This would help me because I could mention the film Bullet Boy in my essay and could look at the way that it is has been put across in the media.
6. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/apr/20/hayfilmfestival2005.guardianhayfestival
"The film was sold to its backers at BBC Films as "Kes with guns", says its director and co-writer, 36-year-old documentary maker Saul Dibb. "I wanted to get across to them it's a film about a 12-year-old and innocence and it's a film with guns, but not a City of God-type film."
This article is another one from the Guardian and is about the film Bullet Boy and this would be good to use for my critical investigation because I could look at how the film is shown in the media and what issues have arised based on the film. I could then use this to assist me in my essay.
7. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/education/id/1292217/index.html
"Representations of adolescence on screen vary greatly - from nostalgic portraits of childhood innocence and comic depictions of teenage angst through to unsettling, sometimes violent visions of the young teen rebel and delinquent."
This article looks at the different films that are based on youths and looks at the different representations that are being created in films. By this we can tell that this would help me in my critical investigation because I could look at the different films and mention the different representations that are being shown.
8. www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/repsyouth.html
"The fact is that the media have the power through selection and reinforcement to give us very influential portrayals of a whole range of groups, situations and ideas. We make sense of these representations in different ways according to the values and assumptions we carry around in our own heads. So representation is not just about the way the world is presented to us but also about how we engage with media texts in order to interpret and assimilate such portrayals."
This quote links to my critical investigation as it looks at the way in which representations are created and on what basis they are created, this would be useful to me because when looking at my investigation, i could understand more about how these representations have been created of teenagers.
9. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=M-cbJXZpvJEC&pg=PT152&lpg=PT152&dq=representation+of+teenagers+in+urban+drama&source=bl&ots=NJtenzeE8q&sig=jAGqw8RUjEKpq1p7pT93yMS7xEQ&hl=en&ei=KMxDS-6XBcSr4Qb1gqWqCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=&f=false
This is a book online that would help me for my critical investigation because it looks at urban drama. This would mean that I could look at this book and get some ideas and quotes that I could talk about in my essay. By this we can tell that by this book I could gain more knowledge on urban dramas.
10. http://www.ericdsnider.com/movies/alpha-dog
"His depiction of all this squalor and depravity is vivid, but it doesn't offer much insight into WHY the kids do what they do, and he drags the resolution out way too long."
This website would be useful for me for my critical investigation because it looks at the film Alpha Dog. By this we can tell that I could look at this film and look at what has been said about it. This would mean that I could talk about this film and compare the representation of teenagers to other urban drama films.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)