Essay Introduction

To what extent does the film 'Bad Neighbours' represent teenagers in a negative way and what is the impact of this? 

Throughout many years now, the youth have been constantly presented in a negative manner. Whether it be through books, documentaries or films, there has always been a negative perception of them. This can be evident and illustrated through Nicholas Stoller's American Comedy film, Bad Neighbours (2014). In Stoller's film, the youth are presented as out of control with no morals or ambitions. During most of the film there is a negative representation shown of the youth; they are seen partying, drinking, taking drugs, and having sex. Furthermore, not only are the audiences shown a negative representation of the younger generation, but one may argue that younger audiences who view films such as Bad Neighbours may be impacted/influenced in a certain manner.  Many teenagers have felt that they are only presented in one way, negatively. There have been various documentaries and interviews in which teenagers express their opinion about the way the youth are presented in the media. Additionally, there is a strong debate on whether or not the youth are presented negatively or not; "To be fair, the media are not misrepresenting teenagers, they are merely reporting the bad side of them. " This essay will go through whether or not films such as Bad Neighbours misrepresent or represent teenagers in a negative way, and whether or not these films have a negative impact on their audiences. 

Gone Too Far Review

Film Review

'Gone Too Far' (2013) by Bola Agbaje’s was set in London, Peckham. The film is about a British-Nigerian teenager, Yemi, who is almost ashamed of his culture. Yemi only cares about one thing, impressing Armani and would do anything to get her. However, when his brother,  Ikudayis arrives from Nigeria his views about accepting his culture and not being proud of it, begins to change.The film was mainly targeted at the youth, and some teenagers were able to see themselves reflected on screen throughout the movie. Through the character of Yemi, the audience were able to see the norms of London, Peckham. This was shown through the way Yemi spoke and dressed. Furthermore, the contrast of this was shown through  Ikudayis, as he wasn't fluent in speaking English and the way he dressed was completely different ('socks and sandals'). Also, the way Armani reacted once she saw Ikudayis showed the division, as well as adding the comedy into the film.
Yemi goes through a series of events throughout the day that shows him not to be ashamed of his culture, and with the help of his brother, he is able to not only stand up to the local bullies, but stand up for his culture as well.
The film goes through the dominant stereotypes that were around at the time, and also portrays London as a diverse place.
Bola Agbaje's main purpose for writing/making this movie was to show how Nigerians were perceived during the time, and spoke about actually experiencing some of the things in the film in her actual life, as she mentioned during the Q&A.
Furthermore, Bola stated that she wanted to keep the movie as a comedy and didn't want a lot of violence in it, as she was able to explore more of the stereotypes in a different way. 
In my opinion, I quite enjoyed the film. It was comical and at the same time showed the diversion of cultures during the time.




"This house believes that films featuring ethnic minorities should only be produced by those who have the ethnic identity being represented."

During the debate at the BFI, I heard some good/valid points regarding the point for films only being produced by those who have the ethnic identity being represented. One point being that people of the own ethnic identity can present the struggles and experiences in a better manner. Yes, I do agree with this, however, I also believe that people of different ethnicity's can also presents struggles and experiences in the same way. I also agreed with the point of producers connecting in an emotional way which therefore creates more of a meaning towards the film. However, I believe if someone explores and studies a specific culture or tradition the same effect could still be created, regardless of coming from a different ethnic background. 
In my opinion, I strongly disagree with the motion that 'films featuring ethnic minorities should only be produced by those who have the ethnic identity being represented'. I believe that people should have the opportunity to produce films regardless of their ethnicity and shouldn't be restricted just because of their background. In some cases, people of different ethnicity's may get a better grasp of what is intending to be produced.
Additionally, if people/ producers aren't allowed to produce certain films due their ethnicity, this puts a restriction on how much/deep  people can explore into other ethnicity's, which therefore gives people a lack of knowledge and understanding of different cultures.
Moreover, I believe if people have the opportunity of being able to look into and explore different cultures, this could result in a stop in racial discrimination. 
In addition I think audiences would find it more appealing and interesting if a film were to be created by someone who is of a different ethnic background, as it would break the traditional norms and almost intrigue audiences to watch it. 
Whilst disagreeing with the point that films should only be produced by those of the same ethnical background, I do believe that if a producer is of the same ethnicity there would be more of a deeper connection that would be conveyed to the audience. However, saying this, I believe those of a different ethnicity can also do the same and almost give a better perception of the ideology. 
Moreover, if people are allowed to produce films and aren't of the same ethnicity, it allows one to gain a better understanding of a different culture and understand the struggles one may face in a particular ethnic background.   
In my opinion, I believe it should be allowed for people to be able to have the opportunity in being able to explore and learn about different cultures, and if they find it interesting or have a passion by doing this through creating movies, they should be able to and should not have the restriction just because they are of a different ethnicity.
Therefore, to conclude, I am against the motion, as I don't believe people should be restricted or told they can't create something based purely on their ethnicity. I believe everyone should have the opportunity to explore whatever they want, whether it be learning about another culture/ethnicity that is not theirs. 

Task #4 - Essay plan

Criticial Investigation Plan

To what extent does the film 'Bad Neighbours' represent teenagers in a negative way and what is the impact of this? 

Introduction:

My critical investigation focuses on the representation of the youth in the media. I will be investigating whether these dominant representations have remained and if my hypothesis is correct or not. I will be also comparing my primary text, Bad Neighbours, with a historical text from the 70s to compare the difference in the youth's society.  

hypothesis:

I believe teenagers in this generation are portrayed negatively. Furthermore, I think films like Bad Neighbours influence teenagers to behave in a certain way. 

• "One of the most striking aspects of this analysis is that whilst overarching conceptions of 'youth' do remain, young people are also represented as racialized, gendered and sexualized beings set in specific class positions within these research texts" 
• "According to Madge’s research (2006) the strength of the influence the media has on children and young people increases as they get older"
• "Adults also said they thought children were depicted ‘very badly’ in the media, over 75% thought children were depicted as ‘troublemakers’. In addition, 47% of adults said that children were portrayed in a negative way."

1. - PRIMARY TEXT:Bad Neighbours

• The film Bad Neighbours present the youth in a negative manner, are teenagers influenced by this? 
• Institutional information. (MIGRAINE)
• Target Audience. (MIGRAINE)
• P1- Textual analysis - hot house scene 
• P2 - Textual analysis - party scene (adults)
• P3; Secondary text - 21 Jump Street (brief comparison)
• Are teenagers influenced by what they see?

Quotes:

• "This touches on the deranging effect, not only of parenthood, but also of inescapable, inconsiderate neighbours, all of it confused by the tyranny of the teenage dream." 
• "One of the film’s great successes turns out to be Efron, who invests his buff, tanned, hard-partying character with equal measures of charm, resilience and borderline psychopathy, all wrapped up in the superficially confident, explosive insecurity of youth."
• "The frat-house obsessions of sex, drugs and drunken excess while also openly reveling in them – it’s more perceptive than it might first appear."
• "Young people’ you hear about them a lot in the media. Either portrayed as anti-social yobs that all drink, smoke and have sexual intercourse on a daily basis. Or else they are portrayed as victimised and the future of the world we live in."
• "There are plenty of adults who go out and get drunk on a Friday night. I don’t see why teenagers should be blamed for all drunken conduct and vandalism."

Book references:

• 4.Easthope, G. (1994). Book Reviews : REPRESENTATIONS OF YOUTH: THE STUDY OF YOUTH AND ADOLESCENCE IN BRITAIN AND AMERICA Christine Griffin, Cambridge, Polity Press,
• Osgerby, B. (2004). Youth Media.

- Theories/ Key Words:

• Stuart Hall - Dominant ideologies 
• Moral Panics
• Audience theories - the groups or individuals targeted by the producers as intended. (David Lynch)
• Hypodermic Needle Model
• Uses and Gratifications:
  Diversion: escape from everyday problems
  Personal Relationships: using normal teenage scenarios on screen
  Personal Identity: teenagers seeing themselves reflected on screen
• Barthes 
• Dyer - stereotypes are a projection of the real world.
• Reinforcing stereotypes
• Jennifer Pozner 

2.Secondary Text: 21 Jump Street

•  Similarly, 21 Jump street presents a negative representation of youth.

Quotes:

• "Obvious affection for teen genres, and for teenagers."
• "21 Jump Street is extremely vulgar and obscene, but the movie is humorous enough that it could be popular enough with young people".
• "By forcing them to inhabit new character complexions, the movie avoids the stereotyping techniques that often hurt comedies by allowing Jenko and Schmidt to discover different sides of themselves."

- Theories/ Key Words:

• Stuart Hall - Dominant ideologies 
• Moral Panics
• Audience theories - the groups or individuals targeted by the producers as intended. (David Lynch)
• Hypodermic Needle Model
• Uses and Gratifications:
  Diversion: escape from everyday problems
  Personal Relationships: using normal teenage scenarios on screen
  Personal Identity: teenagers seeing themselves reflected on screen
• Barthes 
• Dyer - stereotypes are a projection of the real world.
• G. Stanley Hall - model of adolescent 

Issues and Debates:

• Representation and stereotyping 
• Moral Panics 
• Ownership and control 
• Regulation and censorship
• Uses and Gratifications
• Are the youth presented in a negative way?
• Are teenagers influenced by what they see?
• Reinforcing stereotypes

Quotes

"Young people’ you hear about them a lot in the media. Either portrayed as anti-social yobs that all drink, smoke and have sexual intercourse on a daily basis. Or else they are portrayed as victimised and the future of the world we live in.

"To be fair, the media are not misrepresenting teenagers, they are merely reporting the bad side of them. "

"It Can Be Safe To Say That The Portrayal Of Young People In The UK Is Mostly Negative.  Young People Have Been Described As Violent Yobs That Only Seem To Care About Their Street Status."

"Robert Benayoun's list of 'normal qualities' of youth: idealism, humour, hatred o of tradition, erotomania, and a sense of injustice"

3.HISTORICAL TEXT: Grease

• Intro to why I chose this historical text: 
  
  

  The purpose here is to be able to demonstrate the difference in society regarding the youth in the 70's in comparison to the youth in today's society.
  The film shows a completely different side to society in comparison to the one today. Yes, the youth are seen having fun, and there are characters who do smoke and drink. However, it's to a much less extent and they aren't presented as out of control. Furthermore, the film doesn't just show a change in the behaviour of the youth, but it shows the difference in the way teenagers dress, speak and act. However, the youth in the film are still despised by the older generation, just like today's youth. 
  This film therefore helps differentiate the change in the youths behaviour in the 70s to today's youth.
  I've decided to pick this film because it shows a clear representation of the youth and even though there are some similar behaviours that can be seen in the society of today's youth, there's still a large difference, and this film shows a clear example of that.

• What Media was like before
• Representation of youth in the 70s. (SHEP)
• Link to historical issues in the 70s.  (SHEP)
• Similar films such as Grease
• Scene analysis (MIGRAINE)
• Comparison with youth in today's society. (Bad Neighbours). (SHEP)
• Compare the changes, and why there was a shift (SHEP)
• Are teenagers influenced by what they see?
• ZEITGEIST

 Quotes:

• "beginning in the silent era, before the term 'teenager' was ever used. The genre was more clearly recognised and prolific by the 1950s" 
• "1968 would be significant for the movie market at large, since it was the first year of the new Motion Picture Association of America's ratings system"
• "A shrill illusion to the difficulty of the encroaching 1960s"
• "MTV helped to propel certain movies through playing videos from their soundtracks; it offered endorsement of films...and it became the court where youth culture was told what was cool"
• "Hollywood tried to keep up with changing teen interests and styles to ensure ongoing profits" 
• "Motion pictures were first shown in public schools in the 1930s, when teachers started to incorporate short, educational films into their daily lesson plans". 
• "They all admitted they were fans of The Breakfast Club, yet they were also quick to point out some of the problems they have with the teen genre in general: - kids always hate their parents, female characters are limited to supporting roles, male characters are only interested in sex"
• "Youth Justice in England and Wales has taken a wrong turn. The early to mid 1990s witnessed a seismic shift in the ways in which young people were dealt with by criminal process"
• "a wide variety of popular examples - men's magazines, fashion and style, books, film and music - to argue that the bachelor and the teenager were complementary and interrelated stereotypes that shaped America's youth. Magazines such as Esquire and Playboy, and bands like the Beach Boys, framed and shaped a new meaning of the young American male that contrasted sharply with previous values of sobriety and moderation" 
• "The sexual liberation that found it's way to college campuses in the 1960s found its way to teen films soon after"
• "One of the single most important teen films of the entire decade - for it's experimentation, character development, and lasting legacy - was Hughes' 1985 film The Breakfast Club. 
• "Here, the souls of these teens would be laid bare for the duration of the film, as they slowly opened up to each other about; parents, popularity, sex, sports, drugs, clubs, wealth, angst and suicide.
• "Curiously, the one topic that became the most sensitive, was juvenile delinquency. After being the dominant issue of teen films going back to the 1950s, delinquency became increasingly difficult to address from the mid-1990s, primarily due to the real-life violence of numerous school shootings by students"    

Theories/key words:

Perkins - Stereotypes are not always negative, establish elements of the truth.

Alternative representation

Subverting social boundaries

Moral Panics?

Dyer - stereotypes are a projection of the real world.

Dominate ideologies

Reinforcing stereotypes

Thomas Doherty

4.Conclusion 

• Is the youth portrayed in a negative manner?
• Are youth influenced by what they see on screen?

Quotes: 

• "Attention is given to the various ways the media have constructed 'ideologies of youth' through the deployment of specific representational codes"
• "As a group, ‘youth’ have become a ‘matter of concern’ – the target of various policies, schemes, interventions and strategic attention. A review of 198 countries across all continents found that only 43 did not have a national youth policy"
•  "For youth who are vulnerable (or ‘at risk’, disadvantaged, marginalised or disenfranchised – terminology varies) the interconnectedness of various indicators of vulnerability are a phenomenon of life. They experience all of these mutually reinforcing issues at once"
• "Yet Hollywood studios realised that they did need to appeal to the young audience, first through matinee shows that played well to children with or without their parents, and by promoting morally respectable young stars, which fulfilled the expectations of adult majority."
•  

Notes and Quotes - updated

   Media texts

Main text - 'Bad Neighbours'

 1) Bad Neighbours, film review: Slapstick scenes are juvenile but still have a comic kick. - http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/bad-neighbours-film-review-slapstick-scenes-are-juvenile-but-still-have-a-comic-kick-9313438.html 

•  "The film combines gross-out, Animal House-style frat humour". 
• "Teddy and his friends are young and muscular with perfectly toned bodies."
• "Efron's character is like a priapic Peter Pan. He clings to his youth."
• "His ambitions, though, don't stretch beyond throwing the "most epic party" in the history of the Delta Psi fraternity."

2) Bad Neighbours: 'surprisingly perceptive' - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10803384/Bad-Neighbours-surprisingly-perceptive.html

•  "The presence of the actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse in a film is a reliable indicator that you should not attempt to watch it with small children or relatives of refined sensibilities."
• "The frat-house obsessions of sex, drugs and drunken excess while also openly revelling in them – it’s more perceptive than it might first appear."
• "This touches on the deranging effect, not only of parenthood, but also of inescapable, inconsiderate neighbours, all of it confused by the tyranny of the teenage dream."
• "One of the film’s great successes turns out to be Efron, who invests his buff, tanned, hard-partying character with equal measures of charm, resilience and borderline psychopathy, all wrapped up in the superficially confident, explosive insecurity of youth."

Secondary Media Text -  '21 Jump Street' 

1) '21 Jump Street' is affectionate teen satire. - http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/21-jump-street-is-affectionate-teen-satire-1.3602128

• "Obvious affection for teen genres, and for teenagers."
•  "The movie works best as a commentary on the ever-changing and always baffling rules of youth culture." 
• "The best jokes are in the setup: Schmidt, a former outcast, is delighted to find that today's popular kids are sensitive, gay-tolerant types, while Jenko, once a bullying jock, is horrified." 
•  "His interest sparked when he saw it as a story of adults reverting to the immature behaviours and insecurities they thought they'd outgrown."
• Channing Tatum: "The whole digital thing: Facebook, Twitter. That stuff grows at such an exponential rate that it’s ridiculous to me. I didn’t have a computer until — I don’t know — four, five years ago. And everything’s changed since then. Technology just changes, like, every single day." 

2) "It's the kind of movie every young person should avoid, but won't". 
-https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/21-jump-street.html

• "21 Jump Street is funny. It could actually do well because it provides ample entertainment value to people with very low moral standards".
• "Parents should be extremely wary because this movie will be talked about in school. In fact, there will be peer pressure put on 'Christian' teenagers to see this movie"
• "This is a movie parents should take a stand against their children seeing, even though the humour may be popular."
• "21 Jump Street is extremely vulgar and obscene, but the movie is humorous enough that it could be popular enough with young people". 

3) “21 Jump Street” blurs comedic high school stereotypes"

-http://www.dailycal.org/2012/03/14/21-jump-street-blurs-comedic-high-school-stereotypes/

• "Even though the movie does succeed in crafting layered characters, it continues to refer back to stock characters that earlier comedies have housed."
• "The smart kids remain ordinary nerds hacking away in front of computers or making science experiments."
• "Nevertheless, “21 Jump Street” more often offers three-dimensional characters than not, elevating it to high volumes of laughter. If not original, then the movie proves to be at least a potent comedy with two bona fide performances."
• "By forcing them to inhabit new character complexions, the movie avoids the stereotyping techniques that often hurt comedies by allowing Jenko and Schmidt to discover different sides of themselves."

Teenagers in the media - Are teenagers represented fairly in the media? https://www.makewav.es/story/14341/title/teenagersinthemedia

• ‘Young people’ you hear about them a lot in the media. Either portrayed as anti-social yobs that all drink, smoke and have sexual intercourse on a daily basis. Or else they are portrayed as victimised and the future of the world we live in.
• "It is worth noting that the vast majority of overtly negative youth related stories focussed on individuals and isolated incidents of crime and violence such as muggings, stabbings etc." 
• "There are plenty of adults who go out and get drunk on a Friday night. I don’t see why teenagers should be blamed for all drunken conduct and vandalism."
• "There has also been a lot of complaining about the latter view of teenagers in the media. Many adults protest that ‘children are the future’ and that they are being misrepresented."
• "To be fair, the media are not misrepresenting teenagers, they are merely reporting the bad side of them. "

Negative Youth Portrayal In The Media-Http://Www.Shoutoutuk.Org/2014/08/14/Negative-Youth-Portrayal-Media/

• “Hoodie”, “Louts”, “Heartless”, “Evil”, “Frightening”, “Scum”, “Monsters”, “Inhuman” And “Threatening”. These Are Just Some Of The Words That Have Been Used In The Past To Describe Youth In The UK.  
• "Figures Show That Young People, Mainly Boys, Have Been Described In National And Regional Papers As “Yobs” (591 Times), Followed By “Thugs” (254 Times), “Sick” (119 Times) And “Feral” (96 Times)."
• "It Can Be Safe To Say That The Portrayal Of Young People In The UK Is Mostly Negative.  Young People Have Been Described As Violent Yobs That Only Seem To Care About Their Street Status."

Media Portrayal of Young People – impact and influences

• "According to Madge’s research (2006) the strength of the influence the media has on children and young people increases as they get older"
• "Children claimed that they were more influenced by their parents and families, adults claimed that children were more likely to believe the media and friends influenced them most."
• "Adults also said they thought children were depicted ‘very badly’ in the media, over 75% thought children were depicted as ‘troublemakers’. In addition, 47% of adults said that children were portrayed in a negative way."

BRIANAIR - 
https://brianair.wordpress.com/film-theory/teenage-representation/

•  "The traditional stereotype of the teenage boy was one of the rebel, the teenage thug and gangster which as highlighted in the film Cosh boy in 1953."  
• "Traditional  teenage gender roles are become more blurred as society changes and Ideology moves on."
•  "These representations are different the stereotype stays the same, there fore going against Tessa Perkins theory of stereotypes change as audiences become bored and ideology changes."
• "If the institution want the audience to take a preferred meaning from the text, they will be bias in there representation and therefore their mediation will be set up through selection, organising and focusing so they try to get there dominant meaning across."

 The Guardian - From hoodies to goodies: today's teenagers have the makings of model citizens.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/16/hoodies-goodies-teenagers-makings-good-citizens-young

• "Far from being antisocial hoody-clad riot-mongers, are actually highly concerned with social issues, keen to volunteer, and take fewer drugs and drink less alcohol than previous generations."

Behind the stereotypes: The shocking truth about teenagers

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/behind-the-stereotypes-the-shocking-truth-about-teenagers-421295.html

• "My generation never gets a positive thing said about them"
• "Since 1999, 2,000 Asbos have been issued against young people while new policies, many championed by Labour-friendly think tanks, are aimed at making it easier to prosecute children."
• "Sam, another young person upset by the report, told the BBC yesterday: "Respect seems to be demanded here, why should we as a youth just give respect, it should be earned." 
• "Bad behaviour by adults is almost celebrated in today's society but when youngsters misbehave people say they do not have any respect."
• "I've got friends who do charity work so it's not all about us drinking, and drugs and partying. I am busy every night except one with yoga, choir and piano and I've just taken a course to qualify as a swim instructor"

 Movie Teens: How Accurately Are They Portrayed? By Nicki Burnier

http://www.films42.com/feature/movie_teens.asp

• "For generations, screenwriters and producers have attempted to capture the reality of teenage life. In pursuit of a profit, films are often twisted to please viewers."
•  "It can be very hard to distinguish which movies tell the truth about the formative years and which do not."
• "most movies center around two things: sex and partying While there are teenagers who do participate in these two activities, there are many who do not."
• "Most teen movies promote sex as though unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases don’t exist, while underage drinking and talking back to your authorities is funny and acceptable. Hardly ever do
• they show the consequences of AIDS and genital herpes. Nor do they show how illegal use of alcohol and drugs can destroy a family."

 'Benefits Street producers don't give a damn as long as it brings in the viewers': Channel 4 condemned by residents as film crews move in to begin new series of controversial show. Daily Mail. - 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2734500/Benefits-Street-2-begins-filming-deprived-crime-hit-area-Stockton-Tees-sparking-anger-MPs-locals.html

• "There is no doubt this is about exploiting vulnerable people in order to make money"
• "don't give a damn as long as it brings in the viewers"
• “Stereotypes are highly charged with the feelings that are attached to them.
• 
  

 Similar Media texts

1) Project X (2012).

This film is quite similar to Bad Neighbours in the sense that it shows the representation of the youth. Not only does it show the representation of them, but once again it portrays the negative, but dominant presentation of the youth. The film is about three teenagers who aren't so popular, however, they decide to throw a party and attempt to make it the biggest/craziest party ever thrown. Throughout this film, there's scenes of teenagers drinking, having sex and taking drugs and no alternative viewpoint of teens. This therefore links to my critical investigation, as I believe that teenagers are only portrayed in a certain manner (dominant, but negative).  

2) American Pie(1999).    

This film isn't so similar to Bad Neighbours, however it does portray the lifestyle of teenagers in high school. The main protagonist isn't so good with girls, and the film shows the norms of what teenagers do in order to fit in and have fun. The film is about the main protagonist trying to find ways to 'lose his virginity' and get to 'third base' with a girl, and it shows then lengths he goes to in order to do this. This film links to my critical investigation as the film conveys the typical stereotypes of teenagers.

  17 Again (2009)

17 Again is about a husband who is going through a divorce with his wife, who have been together since high school. However, as he's driving home one day he falls into a river and finds himself back at 17 years old, and uses this opportunity to try and make things right with his wife again. Throughout the movie, we see the lifestyle of a teenage student.

21 and Over(2013)

This movie is about a straight A student, who listens and does whatever he's told to do. But when his two best friends, Miller and Casey, arrive on campus to surprise him for his 21st birthday, Jeff finally agrees to cut loose. Although he has a crucial med-school interview early the next morning, Jeff lets his pals take him out for one drink. Many drinks later, Jeff has blacked out and is in danger of blowing the most important day of his life. This also links to my critical investigation, as it portrays teenagers/young adults behaving in a reckless manner and jeoprodizing their futures. 

Anuvahood(2011)

  

Anuvahood is a 2011 British urban comedy, a parody of films in the vein of urban movies such as Kidulthood, Adulthood, and Shank. This film also conveys the ideal lifestyle of a teenager, and only portrays the dominant representation of the youth, by conveying them in a disruptive, reckless and loud bunch of society. This links to my critical investigation as it portrays the youth in only one manner and I believe this is the only manner the media portray the younger generation as. 

Documentaries/Youtube Videos.  

Documentaries/Youtube Videos.  

Professor Mike Wayne explains in this video, why young people are portrayed negatively in the media.

• "young people are the most vulnerable in society"
•  "when there's an inequality you tend to have higher crime"
• "you can see there's a social inequality"

This is a video of a group of what supposedly looks like teachers, explaining why teenagers are portrayed negatively, 

• "Teenagers, bad people, who do bad things"
• "Newspapers tend to latch onto things teenagers do"
• "I would agree that teenagers are portrayed in quite a negative way"
• "Often in the media, they can get misrepresented and I work quite closely with young people"

This is a CNN Documentary explaining what teenagers actually get up to, mainly on social media. However, it still shows the representation of the youth in this society. This links in with my case study, as it shows the way the youth actually behave, along with the consequences that come with behaving recklessly and going against the law.

This is a documentary, about kids that go to juvenille jail. It gives information on why kids do what they do, and why they behave in a specific manner.
This therefore, links into my case study as it shows the consequences of teenagers actions, and this is also shown in the movie I've been studying, when the main protagonist gets arrested for throwing an uncontrollable party, where teenagers were consuming drugs and alcohol. And in this documentary, we are shown that some teenagers are arrested for taking drugs or underage drinking. 

• "I was always mad, like always frustrated"
• "The programme only made me worse"
• "I only started using drugs once I was in jail, I used to be stuck"
• "Kids have to face extra barriers in order to graduate high school, go to college, get a job"
• "Putting barriers up against teenagers is a huge setback for them"
•  

• "We're like one person, if one of us screw up. We all pay for it".
• "I could say no, but then i'd be quitting on myself".

University articles/Media Magazines

The Representation of Youth in the Dutch News Media -  Department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

-http://you.sagepub.com/content/23/4/277.short

• "Research in social psychology shows that looking into the nuances in stereotyping is of vital importance due to unique emotional and behavioural reactions the different clusters of stereotypical representations may evoke."
• "In the current study, the Dutch news media representation of native and non-native youth is analyzed and compared."
• "Results show considerable differences in news media portrayal of the two groups not only in the amount of (negative) attention they attract but, especially, in the content of their descriptions."

Media Magazine, Issue 41, Page 7 - How working- class youths became chavs

• "The typical representation of contemporary young people in Britain is the iconic image of the ‘chav’."
• "Hooded, tattooed and often anonymous due to a covered face, ‘chavs’ wear tracksuits and trainers and often sport some dazzling golden jewellery, commonly referred to as ‘bling’."
• "supposedly the youth of British streets; uneducated, poor but covered in labels and logos, and above all aggressive, most likely waving gun and gang signs around, hands stuffed down the front of their trousers"

Manchester University - Elections, youth representation and citizenship

-http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/politics/research/impact/elections-youth-representation-citizenship/

• "A series of research projects have been undertaken, examining various aspects of the politics of young people as well as confirming the unprecedentedly low level of engagement and participation of young people in political institutions and elections."
• "Poor levels of youth engagement in politics."
• "Negative portrayals of youth disengagement, with politics essentialised as a problem in ‘youth-centred media’. The research has called for the application of different criteria for evaluating youth interests."
• "It was found that positive images of youth engagement with politics are atypical, alongside an apparent reluctance to accept evidence of an interest in politics from young people."

The Representation of Young People in the Media February 2011 Graeme Mason, Information Officer, Youth Justice Research Team  http://urbact.eu/sites/default/files/import/Projects/My_Generation/documents_media/Media_Portrayal_of_Young_People_glasgow.pdf

• "The media is often accused of propagating myths about young people and crime. Indeed the media and the tabloid press in particular, often appear endlessly preoccupied with the notion that all young people are a danger to their communities."
• "YOUNG OFFENDERS COSTING ECONOMY 11 BILLION POUNDS"
• "YOUTH JOBLESSNESS INCREASES FOURFOLD"
• “KNIFE DEATH YOUTH NAMED” 
• “TARGET OF 50% OF YOUNG PEOPLE OBTAINING UNIVERSITY DEGREES HAS BEEN PROVED UNREALISTIC” 
• "Moreover many articles portray young people both positively and negatively, ultimately creating an impression of young people which is neither wholly positive nor wholly negative." 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works cited:

Books - 

America. Oxford: Berg, 2001

B.Osgerby, Playboys in Paradise: Masculinity, Youth and Leisure-Style in Modern

Bernstein, J. (1997). Pretty in pink: The golden age of teenage movies. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.

Bondavalli, S. (2015). Fictions of youth: Pier Paolo Pasolini, adolescence, fascisms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Cohen, Stanley (1973). Folk devils and moral panics the creation of the Mods and Rockers. Paladin

Driscoll, C. (2011). Teen film: A critical introduction. Oxford: Berg.

Dyer, Richard. The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations. London: Routledge, 1993. 245. Print.

Easthope, G. (1994). Book Reviews : REPRESENTATIONS OF YOUTH: THE STUDY OF YOUTH AND ADOLESCENCE IN BRITAIN AND AMERICA Christine Griffin, Cambridge, Polity Press.

Johnson, S. A., & Ensslin, A. (2007). Language in the media: Representations, identities, ideologies. London: Continuum.

King, G. (2002). Film comedy. London: Wallflower Press.

Lewis, J. (1992). The road to romance & ruin: Teen films and youth culture. New York: Routledge.

Noguera, P., Ginwright, S. A., & Cammarota, J. (2006). Beyond Resistance!: Youth activism and community change: New democratic possibilities for practice and policy for America's youth. New York: Routledge.

Osgerby, B. (2004). Youth Media.

Riele, K. T., & Gorur, R. (2015). Interrogating conceptions of "vulnerable youth" in theory, policy and practice. Rotterdam: Sense.

Shary, T. (2002). Generation multiplex: The image of youth in contemporary American cinema. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Shary, T. (2005). Teen movies: American youth on screen. London: Wallflower.

Smith, R. (2010). Doing justice to young people: Youth crime and social justice. Cullompton: Willan.

Strasburger, V. C., & Wilson, B. J. (2002). Children, adolescents, and the media. Thousand 

Oaks Calif.: Sage Publications.

Tropiano, S. (2006). Rebels and chicks: A history of the Hollywood teen movie. New York: Back Stage Books.


Journals:

Lanskey, C. (2011). Promise or Compromise? Education for Young People in Secure Institutions in England. Youth Justice, 1

Lepianka, D. (2015). The Representation of Youth in the Dutch News Media. Young, 23(4)


Online:

B. (2010). Teenage Representation. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from https://brianair.wordpress.com/film-theory/teenage-representation/

B. R. (2012). "21 Jump Street" blurs comedic high school stereotypes | The Daily Californian. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.dailycal.org/2012/03/14/21-jump-street-blurs-comedic-high-school-stereotypes/

Comp School, H. P. (n.d.). Teenagers in the media. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from https://www.makewav.es/story/14341/title/teenagersinthemedia

Cosslett, R. L. (2014). From hoodies to goodies: Today's teenagers have the makings of model citizens | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/16/hoodies-goodies-teenagers-makings-good-citizens-young

G. M. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/bad-neighbours-film-review-slapstick-scenes-are-juvenile-but-still-have-a-comic-kick-9313438.html

M. L. (2012). 21 Jump Street | Movieguide | Movie Reviews for Christians. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/21-jump-street.html

McCartney, J. (n.d.). Bad Neighbours: 'surprisingly perceptive' Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10803384/Bad-Neighbours-surprisingly-perceptive.html

N. B. (n.d.). Movie Teens: How Accurately Are They Portrayed? Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.films42.com/feature/movie_teens.asp

P. T. (2014). Negative youth portrayal in the media | Shout Out UK. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.shoutoutuk.org/2014/08/14/negative-youth-portrayal-media/

R. G. (2012). Review: '21 Jump Street' is affectionate satire. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/21-jump-street-is-affectionate-teen-satire-1.3602128

R. V. (n.d.). Behind the stereotypes: The shocking truth about teenagers. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/behind-the-stereotypes-the-shocking-truth-about-teenagers-421295.html

Moving Texts 






Academic books and journals: Quotes 

1.Osgerby, B. (2004). Youth Media.
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Youth-Media-Routledge-Introductions-Communications/dp/0415238080

• "Primarily, the book explores the complex relationships that exist in the production, circulation and consumption of media and cultural texts geared towards markets and audiences of young people" - page 6. This quote relates to my study as it talks about the relationship between the youth and media.
•  "Recognition is given to young peoples identities through their practices of consumption" - page 6 
• "As well as exploring the symbiotic relationships that exist between young peoples cultural formations and commercial industries, this book also analyses media representations of young people and the way configurations of 'youth' have featured within wider media political discourse." - page 6 
• "Attention is given to the various ways the media have constructed 'ideologies of youth' through the deployment of specific representational codes". - page 6
• "The media are a pervasive presence in young people's social and cultural experiences." - page 6 

These quotes relate to my study as they talk about the relationships between both the youth and the media. It also goes into further detail about how the media analyses the youth and why they portray them in a particular way. 
Additionally, Osgerby speaks about the various ways, the media have constructed the 'ideologies of youth' and stereotypes of the youth and how they are presented in a negative manner. 

2. Fictions of Youth: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Adolescence, Fascisms (Toronto Italian Studies)

-https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fictions-Youth-Pasolini-Adolescence-Fascisms/dp/1442627077

• "Fictions of Youth examines Pier Paolo Pasolini redefinition of intellectual commitment through his life long contribution to the discourse of youth." - page 1
• "Lifestyles, clothing and pastimes of youth of young people of different classes and geographical origins come to life in his novels and films, providing us with snapshots of changing youth culture". 
• "Pasolini's celebration of youth was based on a Romantic notion of an ephemeral life phase, unstable and uncontrollable, but also steady from generation to generation."
• "Pasolini's reaction to youth shifted from trust in a pattern of repetition, based on the assumption that the experience of youth did not change from cohort to cohort, to the realization, later in life, that each generation shared experiences which were unique to that group and not recognizable by other cohorts."

This book written by Pier Paolo Pasolini relates to my case study as Paolo goes into detail about his views and opinions about the ways of youth as well as explaining why the media are only present  an negative representation of teenagers. 

3.Interrogating Conceptions of “Vulnerable Youth” in Theory, Policy and Practice. (2015)

https://www.sensepublishers.com/media/2382-interrogating-conceptions-of-vulnerable-youth-in-theory-policy-and-practice.pdf

• Young people who are considered ‘vulnerable’ or ‘at risk’ are a particular target of various policies, schemes and interventions. But what does vulnerability mean? Interrogating Conceptions of “Vulnerable Youth” explores this question in relation to various policy fields that are relevant to young people, as well for how this plays out in practice and how it is experienced by young people themselves. What makes this book unique is that most authors had the opportunity to jointly explore these issues during a two-day workshop, and their chapters are informed by their cross-agency and cross-discipline discussions, making for a nuanced and thoughtful set of contributions. 
• This collection is highly recommended for researchers and research students in the social sciences, as well as professional staff working in youth policy and youth services, in government departments and in NGOs. “Those who are most vulnerable should receive our greatest moral attention. 
• "As a group, ‘youth’ have become a ‘matter of concern’ – the target of various policies, schemes, interventions and strategic attention. A review of 198 countries across all continents found that only 43 did not have a national youth policy (youthpolicy.org, 2013)" - page 11
•  "For youth who are vulnerable (or ‘at risk’, disadvantaged, marginalized or disenfranchised – terminology varies) the interconnectedness of various indicators of vulnerability are a phenomenon of life. They experience all of these mutually reinforcing issues at once. But given the nature of administrative systems, a young person might be dealing with a variety of agencies and organisations, each with a different approach, a different philosophy, a different measure and a different preferred outcome." - page 11
•  "If there is little coherence between departments such as the health, education, justice and social services departments, there is also little communication across disciplines about the theories that could usefully inform policies and practices. In many cases, the requirements of numeric measures to monitor progress, allocate resources etc. lead to the development of thin and unsuitable measures which ignore the complexity of the situation, often reducing it to a single economic measure. Such policy practices not only fail to produce good solutions, they fail to harness the resources available to the youth themselves and to the community."
• "When developing policies for young people, there is now considerable agreement that it is important to listen to their voices – not only to elicit their perceptions and points of view, but also to develop interventions that are more likely to succeed in realising their objectives." - page 11 
• "we share concerns around three issues. First, while it is often emphasised that any effective policy that seeks to address the needs of vulnerable young people needs to be holistic, the various agencies and organisations and government departments that deal with young people have little opportunity to exchange notes, engage in interdisciplinary and cross agency deliberations to probe the underlying theories that inform their practices, or to explore the challenges and dilemmas they face." - page 12  
• "Political interests have invariably intervened, leading to complex debates about how vulnerability should be defined, classified, measured and represented. In recent years, these debates have become further complicated, as nation-states around the world have preached austerity. - page 12
• This timely book suggests that the responsibility for protecting the vulnerable cannot be left to individuals, but demands collective action, through institutions such as education, health and welfare. It examines some of the ways in which public policies and programs represent those who are vulnerable, involving a range of assumptions about the social, economic and political conditions that produce their vulnerabilities.” - page 13

This relates and almost backs up my study, as these quotes explain and go through the facts of why the youth behave in a particular way. This manages to link in with my case study, as we only see one dominant portrayal of the youth in the film Bad Neighbours.

4.Easthope, G. (1994). Book Reviews : REPRESENTATIONS OF YOUTH: THE STUDY OF YOUTH AND ADOLESCENCE IN BRITAIN AND AMERICA Christine Griffin, Cambridge, Polity Press,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Representations-Youth-Adolescence-Feminist-Perspectives/dp/0745602800

• "Representations of Youth examines the various constructions of `youth' and `adolescence' in recent British and North American research. Mainstream and radical approaches have presented a series of `crises' about young people in relation to, among other things, unemployment, `teenage pregnancy' and `delinquency'. This book considers research in psychology, sociology, education, criminology and cultural studies in order to assess these accounts." - page 1  
• "a wide range of findings about young people in areas as diverse as education and training, leisure, family life and sexuality. She shows that whilst youth research texts do not reflect young people's experiences in any straightforward manner, they do indicate the various complex and contradictory ways in which `youth', `adolescence' and specific groups of young people are represented in contemporary western societies. In so arguing, she presents new terms for thinking about the position of young people today." - page 1  
• "One of the most striking aspects of this analysis is that whilst overarching conceptions of 'youth' do remain, young people are also represented as racialized, gendered and sexualized beings set in specific class positions within these research texts". - page 1 
• "The relationship between young peoples experiences and academic 'common sense' and 'youth' is not straightforward. Youth research does not simply reflect aspects of young peoples lives" - page 2 

This academic book relates to my case study, as it explores the facts of how the youth are represented through different topics such as gender, race etc. And this links into my case study as I'm looking at the representation of youth. This is an important new text accessibly written for students of sociology, social psychology and contemporary culture in both Britain and the USA. It will also be of great interest to social science researchers in a range of other disciplines.

5. Ibrahim, A., & Steinberg, S. R. (2014). Critical Youth Studies Reader

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Critical-Youth-Studies-Reader-Ibrahim/dp/1433121190

• "Set against the massive social, cultural, and material dislocations of the new century, Critical Youth Studies interrogates the complex cultural dimensions of young people’s everyday lives today. Drawing together the work of both well known and emerging scholars, this series focuses on "youth studies" as a self-constituting, trans-disciplinary area of inquiry. Operating largely at the specific intersection of education, sociology, and media studies, Critical Youth Studies features authored and edited books, drawing on a range of methods and approaches, treating the span of issues most relevant to youth today." - page 2 

6.Staub, E. (n.d.). Preface. The Psychology of Good and Evil, Xi-Xiv.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychology-Good-Evil-Children-Adults/dp/0521528801

• "Why do children and adolescents bully, harass, and intimidate each other, and what can we do about it?" - page 11 
• "What influences lead people, especially young people, to become aggressive and violent?" - page 11 
• "It's a dangerous over-simplification to believe that some people are innately ‘good’ while others are innately ‘evil’ or ‘bad.’ This misleading concept underpins the justice system of many countries - ‘bad’ people commit crimes, and since they are intrinsically ‘bad’, they should be locked away so that they can’t harm us with their ‘evil’ behaviour. This concept has also fuelled many wars and conflicts in history, and even in the present day. It makes groups believe that they are fighting a just cause against an ‘evil’ enemy and that once the ‘evil’ people have been killed, peace and goodness will reign supreme." - page 12

These quotes and this book in particular links in with my study as it asks the right questions about why young people do what they do, and the book goes into detail about why people act either good or bad.

7.Gunter, B. (n.d.). Alcohol Advertising and Young People. Advertising to Children.

http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9780230237537 

• "There is a growing concern about problems of alcohol misuse and abuse among young people." - page 1 
• "Although many cultures encourage and condition the sensible and responsible consumption of alcoholic drinks, when appropriate role models and social parameters are missing, alcohol consumption may get out of control" - page 1 

This book and these quotes relate to my case study, as I was researching the film of Bad Neighbours which contains teenagers consuming alcohol and drugs, and this book talks about the consumption of alcohol. 

8. B.Osgerby, Playboys in Paradise: Masculinity, Youth and Leisure-Style in Modern

America. Oxford: Berg, 2001.

http://joc.sagepub.com/content/3/1/128.extract#

• "middle-class America's move towards an ethos of conspicuous consumption and sexual license during the fifties and sixties. Focusing on two of the period'smost visible icons - the swinging bachelor and the vibrant teenager - this book looks at the interconnected changes that took place for American youth culture and masculinity as consumption and leisure established themselves as the dominant features of middle-class life." - page 2
• "a wide variety of popular examples - men's magazines, fashion and style, books, film and music - to argue that the bachelor and the teenager were complementary and interrelated stereotypes that shaped America's youth. Magazines such as Esquire and Playboy, and bands like the Beach Boys, framed and shaped a new meaning of the young American male that contrasted sharply with previous values of sobriety and moderation" - page 2

9.Sally Johnson,Language in the Media: Representations, Identities, Ideologies, 2007.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Media-Representations-Identities-Sociolinguistics/dp/0826495494

• "This book examines the ways in which the media represents language-related issues, but also how the media's use of language is central to the construction of what people think language is, could or ought to be like. The chapters examine issues of identity, gender, youth, citizenship, politics and ideology across a range of media, including television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet."

10.Beyond Resistance! Youth Activism and Community Change. (2006).

• "This more expansive notion of 'youth' also asks us to look beyond the ways schools are organized today. In particular, schools often infantilize young people, treating them as 'empty vessels' 
• "The failure of current policy to address important quality of life issues for urban youth remains a substantial barrier to civic participation, educational equity, and healthy adulthood."

This book links in with my case study as it explores the ways of the youth in school and the way they are treated, which may have a connection to why teenagers behave the way they do. This therefore, relates to my film that I have been researching; Bad Neighbours as the main protagonist doesn't enjoy school or education, nor does he know what to do with his life in the future.

11. Doing Justice to Young People. (2010). 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doing-Justice-Young-People-Social/dp/1843928396

• "Youth Justice in England and Wales has taken a wrong turn. The early to mid 1990s witnessed a seismic shift in the ways in which young people were dealt with by criminal process" - page 1 
• "Indeed the essential problem with such approaches is that they do not engage with, or even admit as relevant, the realities of the lives of children and young people; as a result, they are unable to enter any kind of meaningful relationship with those they purport." - page 1 

This academic book links with my case study, as it explains the history and progress of the way the youth are dealt with in terms of justice. It supports my case study; Bad Neighbours as the film conveys the characters getting arrested towards the end of the film due to throwing loud parties and consuming drugs and alcohol. The purpose of this book is to assert the importance of locating the concept of 'youth justice' itself within a broader landscape, in order to demonstrate that we cannot isolate concerns with criminality and anti-social behavior from the 'bigger picture', either in seeking explanations for such behavior, or in proposing and implementing solutions to it. 

12. Shary, T. (2005). Teen movies: American youth on screen. London: Wallflower.

13. Dyer, Richard. The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations. London: Routledge, 1993. 245. Print.

HISTORICAL TEXT

Grease (1978)

The historical text I will be comparing with my primary text is Grease. Grease was set in the 50's but produced in the 70s. The film was directed by Randal Kleiser and produced by Paramount Pictures.It's a film about the experience of friendships, romances and adventures of a group of high school kids in the 1950s.
The purpose here is to be able to demonstrate the difference in society regarding the youth in the 70's in comparison to the youth in today's society.
The film shows a completely different side to society in comparison to the one today. Yes, the youth are seen having fun, and there are characters who do smoke and drink. However, it's to a much less extent and they aren't presented as out of control. Furthermore, the film doesn't just show a change in the behaviour of the youth, but it shows the difference in the way teenagers dress, speak and act. However, the youth in the film are still despised by the older generation, just like today's youth. 
This film therefore helps differentiate the change in the youths behaviour in the 70s to today's youth.
I've decided to pick this film because it shows a clear representation of the youth and even though there are some similar behaviours that can be seen in the society of today's youth, there's still a large difference, and this film shows a clear example of that.