Collective identity is described as "a set of individuals sense of belonging to a group or collective". The role of representation in the construction of a media text must be taken into consideration by the 'Collective identity' of a group. Throughout this essay I will be focusing on the representation of 'Youth' within the media and how media influences a certain view on the public.
Mediation is a term that defines media as being made up and distorted to suit the viewers, for example in 2013 the Daily Mail Newspaper's front cover showed a seventeen year old girl with the headline "Youth crime Tsar's sex and drugs rant" this headline conveys the youth as being un-responsible, drug taking criminals. What is viewed in the media is mediated to alter real life and therefore the producers show us what they want too, which is evident within the representation of youth.
The image of youth is being changed in the media, the current representation of youth is shown as violent, carefree and disrespectful towards police, parents and anyone in a position of power. This can be noted within the 2011 television serious 'Top Boy' which is a show about two young men who start selling drugs in hopes of becoming the richest boys on the block. Throughout the show there is evidence of gun crime, drugs and revenge, which all, in ways, contradict rules set out by a body of power. This representation leads the viewers to believe that all teenagers and youth behave in this manner, which can create a sense of moral panic among the public. However this was not always the way in which youth was represented in the media. In the 1999 film '10 things I hate about you' it shows teenagers doing mild drinking and misbehaving however it does not create the idea that the youth is dangerous or violent as they attend school and talk about college making the importance of education a main theme throughout the film, it shows youth as being fun while misbehaving however in a way that is safe and un-alarming to the public. The transfer between how youth has previously been represented and how they are shown now has resulted in a dramatic change of how they are acting in real life. In August 2011 thousands of people part took in the London riots and on the 7th of august 2011 the Daily Mail printed their front cover as "Yob Rule" with a photo of a young man standing by a car that has been set on fire. This headline places a large quantity of the responsibility for the riots on youth as the word yob was used, which means "what a good boy should be- rude, obnoxious, violent and stupid." and also because of the choice of image. Gauntlett's theory that "identity is now consciously constructed, and the media provides some of the tools to help us contract our identities. The media contains a huge number of messages about identity and acceptable lifestyles. At the same time the public have their own diverse set of feelings. The media and media consumers are engaged in a dialogue in which neither overpowers the other. This supports that the change within the medias representation of youth can affect the way in which todays youth believes they should behave. Also Giddens theory of structuration states that changes in social structure such as an increase of crime connected to youth would mean that the behaviour of youth would have to be restructured in society.
In comparison, Giroux youth theory- "Youth becomes an empty category in representation- reflects adult concerns. Media representation of youth does not reflect reality or youth identity" states that youth is only shown through what the public fear the most instead of what the majority of that collective identity group is acting as. This theory is saying that the illustration of youth in modern media text for example Ill Manners (2012) and Shank (2010) is due to the fact that the older public are worried about the issues that are main themes within these examples. A theory that declares a different belief to that of Giroux's is Gerbner's cultivation theory, which inquires about the long-term effects of television. This theory says that the more time that is spent watching television the more likely they are to believe the social reality that is being portrayed. Gerbner's theory is saying that the more the media show youth as being criminal and violent the more they will act in criminal and violent demeanour. An example of Gerbners theory in real life is the Devin Moore case (2003) where a young boy who had been hugely influenced by video games, one of which was 'Grand Theft Auto', went on a killing spree shooting two police officers and a 911 dispatcher and then proceeded on to steal a car in an attempt to get away. When Moore was caught he reportedly said "life is like a video game. Everybody's got to die sometime."therefore the assumption that the spree was a result of the use of this specific game was made.
In conclusion, the media contributes an important role in the construction of the 'collective identity of youth'. The media reflect the concerns that society has but also imply's new fears upon them trough certain texts. It can also influence how certain collective identity groups act because of how replica groups are being shown through television, film and internet. Therefore, creating a large impact on anyone who is active within the media world.
Examples of media and historical and contemporary examples
Theories and theorists
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