“We’re all sinners in here”[1]
How is deviant youth represented in the British media in texts such as
'Offender'?
‘Offender’
was released on 8th August 2012. This
film was distributed by Revolver Entertainment. They are known for distributing
films such as ‘ILL Manors’, ‘Spike Island’, ‘An Act of War’, ‘Dead Man Running’
and ‘Sherlock Holmes’. Revolver Entertainment has successfully made sure that
low budget films are recognised e.g. ‘ILL Manors’. The YouTube trailer has
revived 599,051 views. This is great as the film is a low budget film and it
has received a high level of recognition. Revolver Entertainment was founded in
London, England 1997. This institution has distributed over 181 films ever
since it opened. The last film they distributed was ‘The Cloth’ in 2013 since
then revolver entertainment stopped distributing films, as the film’s ratings
from IMDb were 6.1/10. Moving on, the main section is going to be looking at
the way the deviant youth in Britain are being represented by the media and in
the British film industry.
This allows us to look at various debates such as a politician’s side of the debate and
the youth’s side. The representation of the youth that has been created since
1960 is moral panic ‘Cohen’. This illustrates that this concern has been
occurring for over 50 years. Moral panic can be created through e-media. For
example, the 1981 riots, 2011 riots, police brutality etc. Moral panic sends
society into a mass frenzy over a particular issue or event that occurs. Furthermore,
new and digital media has allowed the audiences an easier access to the news as
they are able to access news content anywhere and anytime. If an incident
occurs, social media users can turn that to an outbreak by exaggerating the
story and have other users fearing to go out or by causing a debate which
becomes sensitive. “On 13 November 1995, 18 year old Leah Betts collapsed soon
after taking an ecstasy tablet in a London nightclub, was taken to a hospital
and went into a coma. By the next day –for reasons not altogether clear- the
story made instant panic headlines: the anguiients; the evil pusher of poison;
the insistent message ‘it could be your child’”[2] This demonstrates that the news institutions are able to create panic
just by having an image and an effective headline. The story behind this was
illegal substances put a man in hospital. Moral panic was created to send a message. The
message was if people take drugs this shows them that that could be them.
The film ‘Offender’ is a prison based film, generally prison based film
contain violent scenes such as people fighting. The youth in the film are
represented as uneducated and have no use in making the world a better place.
This links to the modern day society, where by the film shows us how
youths are actually being treated in prison. Also this makes the audiences
question the system and makes them think of alternative routes to better the
youth. This film allows us to have an insight of prison life. For instance, “In
this case, a London teenager infiltrates a young offenders' institution to
track down the gang who violently assaulted his pregnant girlfriend to prevent
her giving evidence in a murder trial.”[3] This quote illustrates
that the youth in the film attacked a probation
officer to prevent her giving evidence. This gives us an insight of what they
would do to cover their tracks. The main character had lost his unborn child
and he committed a crime to serve justice. His actions placed him in the same
prison as the other offenders which assaulted the probation officer. He wasn’t
going to let them walk away without justice being served.
The following is going to discuss how the main character was introduced
to the audiences at the very start of the film. The use of cinematography and
mise en scène helped the audiences to understand what to expect as the opening
scene started out unusually. The main character is walking through an alleyway.
The camera shots used to show this are a long shot, medium shot and a close-up.
This was effective due to the editing as we couldn’t recognise the characters
face as he walked towards the camera. This created an enigma code ‘Barthes’ as
it made the audiences question themselves of who that could be. The edit used
to make this effective was cut shots as he was walking at the start of the
alleyway the cut effect allowed us to visualize the character. The medium
close-up allows the audiences to analyse his facial expression as his face was
then revealed to the audience. The sound used at the start was non-diegetic.
The music playing built up the tension as the police siren got louder.
Furthermore, the way they've introduced the main character is
interesting as he was made out to be the villain at the start of the film. The main
character seemed pleased with assaulting the police officer. We know this as he
smiled whilst getting arrested ad sentenced in court. This is an unusual way of
starting a film as it started off with violence. Generally, the audiences are
meant to gain information so that they build that connection with the main
character or they could start profiling the main character. The introduction of
this film hasn’t done that but as it is a thriller genre and the title of the
film is ‘Offender’ the violence at the opening is shocking but the audiences
sort of expected that in a prison based film.
In addition, the music industry has made it hard for the youth. This is
due to new and digital media. The youth are trying to set trends over YouTube
by rapping, they either rap about drugs, money and gangs. This has also
reinforced the stereotype that has been created for the youth. The youth is promoting
their illegal activities. This affects the views made on other youths as the
youth aren’t trusted due to the lyrics they promote. This has become more
common due to new technology and the internet has become more easily access to
viewers. The American music has had a big impact on the youth as people tend to
listen to trending music and the lyrics they promote aren't suitable for the
youth as it only promotes four categories, such as money, drugs, females and
violence. Youths tends to copy their idol. This may lead them to committing
crimes etc.
Correspondingly, London youth listen to YouTube channels such as SBTV,
GRM and Link up TV to receive music as these channels receive millions of
videos and have hundreds of thousands YouTube subscribers. YouTube artists like
67 are based around Brixton and they’re promoting gun and knife violence. The
theorist that supports this is ‘Alvarado (1987)’ as the youth are seen as
‘dangerous’ by promoting gangs and crimes. The general public sees this as
concerning as its becoming more common. Groups such as 67 are making it seem to
carry weapons is legal and if caught with one you wouldn’t face charges. They
receive millions of views on YouTube. The other theorist which supports this is
‘Frantz Fanon’. The youth are
seen as ‘decivilize’ as the props used by these artists are not seen as normal.
For example having a gun in a music video or having knifes as props to support
their lyrics and to promote gang violence. “Mainstream music is also
responsible for ‘brainwashing’ the delicate minds of the prepubescent
population.”[4] This shows that mainstream music brainwashes the youth. This
suggests that the youth have no control over mainstream music and believe what
they hear. This is a disadvantage as they could be easily manipulated and take
action due to the lyrics they listen to.
The current music that’s trending is ‘hood’ music. The lyrics used are
memorable. American rappers are allowed to have guns in their videos as they
could have a permit. Whereas, rappers in the UK aren’t permitted show guns as
it’s illegal. The difference with American music and UK music is that the UK
music promotes gang violence verbally and record music videos in groups and
American rappers do the same thing but wave weapons about. “I'll kill u in
front of your family, G, I knock down family and family trees till there's no
branches left”[5] – David Gaynor’s lyric.
This lyric reinforces the representation being created as the artists are promoting
violence. This is seen as ‘decivilize’
as he’s talking about he’ll kill you in front of your family. The youth see
artists like him as idols.
Additionally, in May 2004 ambitious rapper David Gaynor shot a man in
the head and then wrote a song about the event. When being trialled he was
asked ‘if the lyrics were his’ he said that he had adapted those lyrics from a
song already published by ’50 Cent’. This demonstrates that ‘50 Cent’ is looked
up to and a rapper took action and shot someone’s head due to what another
rapper said. This shows us that people can easily get influenced and the lyrics
can consume them and everything may seem normal when in fact they are seen as
dangerous, troubled, pitted etc.
Furthermore, “76% of reporting of young people is negative”[6] The public only remember statistics like this as it high and it fits the
representation created. However, this suggests that the public turned a blind
eye to actual statistic “Only 12% of crime is committed by young people.”[7] This
shows us a small percentage of the youth commit crime. The other 64% to make
that 76% are misguided this is due to the social media. This representation has
been created and this is one of the reasons why people are afraid of the youth
as a large amount of the youth are considered as criminals. The reason why the
percentage may be high is due to people calling the police reporting mysterious
behavior as the youth are dressed mysterious at night and are generally in
groups.
In addition, the word ‘chav’ is being used more commonly to represent
the youth in Britain. British rapper Plan B is formally known as ‘Ben Drew’ has
disapproved the label ‘chav’ for being an insulting expression no different to
the ones regarding race or sex. However, some dispute being a 'chav' is to do
with attitude and behavior, sex, not race, class or education. This shows the
representation of the word ‘chav’ “The typical representation of contemporary young people in
Britain is the iconic image of the 'chav'. The chav has become a symbol of
David Cameron's 'broken Britain' and a cultural movement of young people that
is easy to recognise.”[8]
The representation of modern young people comes from the upper class and middle
class. They are the ones labelling people socially beneath them. The youths
that are been called ‘chavs’ have no choice to alter the representation that
has been created and act in the way the media represents them. They could be
the ones showing ‘the people with power’ that they are wrong to call the youths
‘chavs’.
Moreover, the quote above says that “The chav has become
a symbol of David Cameron's 'broken Britain'”[9]
This shows that even their leader has lost hope and placing the youths of today
in a position where they’re limited to live. Also, it suggests that the word
‘chav’ has become a symbol and no one’s doing anything to better them as they
are labelled and people tend to stay away as they don’t want to be placed in
the same category. "More than half of the city's children live in
poverty."[10]
We could debate on this as the youth can take action and make something of
their lives and try to get themselves out of poverty and others can say that
the youth is seen as troubled and are stereotyped by classes higher than them.
The quote highlights more than half of the city's children live in poverty and
when they grow up to become teenagers and young adults they're seen to be
dangerous and educated. The people can help as from an early age it is easier
to change and learn new things.
The public does not
categorise the youth it placed them under one branded name. If the youth comes
from a difficult social class background such as D and E they’re seen as not
having a future as they may live in poverty and only know how to commit a crime
to survive. Another film that’s similar to my main text is the film ‘Scum’. The
film ‘Scum’ was released in 1979. The film is presenting the hard and awful
story of life in Britain Borstal for young offenders. The film was formerly
made as a BBC play but it was banned before it was shown. ‘Alan Clark’ &
‘Roy Minton’ had the play re-made as a film. The representation of the youth
then hasn’t changed really much now. The way the film is similar to my main
text 'offender' as the main characters in both films take down the ‘top dogs’
and make a name for themselves, they have different reasons for doing so. The
film ‘Scum’ released in 1979 and the film ‘Offender’ was released in 2012 and a
similar film had been created after decades since release. The problems that
occurred then are the same problems that we’re facing now.
The 2011 London riots had
made headline news over the globe as viewers watched from their devices and
kept tabs on what was occurring on the streets of London. An example of this is
“In South Africa, the
Afrikaans daily Beeld led with the headline 'Anarchy Grows' above a huge
picture of a burning street in the capital.”[11]
The prime minister
David Cameron delivers a speech shortly
after the 2011 riots describing it a “wake-up call”[12]
as the riots were address as “the causes
of 'broken Britain'”[13]. This shows us that the actions taken by the youth
in the riots has made them look like the they’re out of control and as a percentage of the youth participated not
knowing the main reason why the riots have started. This was shown when the majority
of the people rioting were asked, why have they contributed to the riots? They
didn’t have a solid answer as they had no clue why the riots began.
The
youth of Britain are being described as dangerous and reckless and the fear of
them becoming much more is growing. This quote gives us an idea of what the
public is thing and “Anthony Daniels, a retired prison doctor and psychiatrist who has
worked in some of the hardest-hit areas on the planet, said the British were
now in great fear of their own arrogant, knife-wielding children”[14]
This quote shows us the negative stereotype created because of the 2011 riots.
This quote is also creating panic as it says “British were now in great fear of
their own arrogant, knife-wielding children”[15]
it creates panic as the public see this already happening due to the increase
of knife violence in the UK.
Moreover The BBC has stated
this “Police recorded 26,370 offences in 2014/15, up from 25,974 the previous
year - breaking a downward trend since 2010/11.”[16]
This is because if you’re found with a knife for the first time you’ll get a
warning and the youth carry a knife to protect themselves or to commit a crime.
Also “Young offenders, aged 16 and 17, will face a minimum four month detention
and training order.”[17]
The youth are more likely to carry a knife as they have a minor consequence. If
they get sentenced they used that to earn a ‘street rep’.
David Cameron stated, “the English 'rioter'
and 'looter' are of the same breed; namely of the feral underclass type. These
people, as Cameron would have it, are foreign to the hard-working, regular
citizen and it is through poor life choices and like of meritocratic initiative
that they find themselves clinging to the margin of society."[18]
This quote illustrates what our prime minister ‘David Cameron’ thinks of the
2011 riots as he claimed: “‘rioters’ and ‘looters’ are of the same breed;
namely of the feral underclass type”[19]. This
suggests that the rioters were unemployed and are not in education and they fit
the underclass category ‘D and E’. A “These people, as Cameron would have it,
are foreign to the hard-working, regular citizen and it is through poor life
choices”[20]
this tells us that the rioters aren’t used to the working for what they desire
and choose the easy way out. This is done by committing petty crime due to poor
life choices made as a teenager. Moreover,
“Youth unemployment are signs of increasing crime, relationships between
communities and the police and the use of stop and search”[21]
the relationship between the youth and the police wasn’t good as the youth have
created the own representation of the police. They believe that the police have
nothing better to do apart from arresting those that commit crime
The stereotype of the youth
hasn’t changed for more than a decade. An example of this is the 1981 riots in
Brixton. 1943 stop and searches in four days and those were predominately
young, black men - fought police, attacked buildings and set fire to vehicles.
This links to the 2011 riots in London as the youth are looting the streets of
London and the large percentage of the youth were to be black and under the age
of 21. This is similar to the main text ‘Offender’ as they had a riot scene
replicating the 2011 London riots. The youth in the scene were attacking police
officers and bystanders as they looted down each street breaking and entering
and damaging properties. This links to the main text as the youth took control and
acted in a sane way to express their feeling. This was shown both in the film
and the news coverage of the riots. Also,
"An ethnographic research
tradition originating at University of Chicago became famous for its attempts
to explain deviant activities such as drug taking, petty crime and gang
membership as collective normative behaviour associated with distinct urban
social regions”[22]
An ethnographic researcher is programmed to
explore cultural phenomena where the examiner observes culture from the point
of view of the subject of the study, in this case, the youth. This quote shows
us that the study is trying to explain why ‘deviant activities such as
drug taking, petty crime and gang membership as collective normative behaviour’
are more common and what triggers a person to go down this route. “The ONS said 1.85 million people were unemployed in the
March-to-May period, an increase of 15,000 from the previous quarter, with the
jobless rate at 5.6%.”[23]
The 1.85 million statistics include people aged 16 and above. By law you have
to attend some sort of education till the age of 16, this is compulsory.
Furthermore, after a teenager
turns 16 they’re not entitled to education as they can either carry on studies
or find a job. The youth are finding it difficult to learn due to some
individuals and the area the schools based. Also, they’ll find it hard to
maintain staff for a long period of time as if the schools located in a gang
area and the crime rate is considerably high teachers come and go as public
schools are attended by students that live near the school. “The
idea that Britain and other late capitalist societies are witnessing the rise
of an ‘underclass’ of people at the bottom of the social heap, structurally
separate and culturally distinct from traditional patterns of ‘decent’
working-class life, has become increasingly popular over the past ten years”[24]
This quote also links to the paragraph above about unemployment as there has
been an increase of unemployment level and the youth are struggling more as the
completion level has increased due to new technology and the volume of
applicants. Moreover, the youth of today
are caught up on social media and music as they’re up-to-date with what’s most
trending and are sucked into to that lifestyle that they forget reality. Social
media is the cause of why the youth are in that ‘underclass status’ as they’re
too busy interacting with their friends and less time studying.
Not all youth are deviant, some of the youth are trying to secure their
future and not let the adults ruin it for them. ‘Youth Parliament’ shows the
adults that the youth is concerned on the decisions are being made. “We should
be working together to combat racism and religious discrimination, according to
the UK Youth Parliament, which has chosen ‘reducing racism and religious
discrimination in our communities’ as its national campaign for 2016. Mental
health was also chosen as the UK Youth Parliament’s priority campaign
for England for a second time.”[25] This shows that they’re
trying to tackle major issues and that they want their voices heard. Generally
other parties say one thing and do the opposite. The youth is unlikely to do so
as they’re unlikely to run the country and they are making noise so that they
could get their voices heard. It seems
as the youth are taking interest as the age of members start from 11 years.
This is interesting as if 11-year-olds are able to spot the problem, how come
that the politicians and the general public aren't taking action.
Word count: 3,058
Academic Books:
Cited:
ü
Bloom, C. (2012). Riot city: Protest
and rebellion in the capital. Houndmills, Basingstoke,
ü Briggs, D. (2012). The English riots
of 2011 a summer of discontent. Hook, UK: Waterside Press.
ü Cohen, S. (2011). Folk devils and moral
panics: The creation of the Mods and
Rockers. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
ü
MacDonald,
R. (1997). Youth, the 'underclass' and social exclusion. London:
Routledge.
Consulted:
1. Bloom, C.
(2012). Riot city: Protest and rebellion in the capital.
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
2. Briggs, D.
(2012). The English riots of 2011 a summer of discontent. Hook, UK:
Waterside Press.
3. Casey, B.
(2002). Television studies: The key concepts. London: Routledge.
4. Ferguson,
R. (1998). Representing "race": Ideology, identity, and the
media. London: Arnold.
7. Lacey, N.
(1998). Image and representation: Key concepts in media studies.
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9. Malik, S.
(2002). Representing Black Britain: A history of Black and Asian images
on British television (1. publ. ed.). London [u.a.: Sage Publ.
10. Wheatley,
S. (2010). Don't call me urban: The time of grime. Newcastle upon
Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
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12. Moran, L.
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[2] Cohen,
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[4] Media Magazine P 54
[6] http://www.ukyouth.org/resources/youth-statistics/item/379-young_people_in_the_media#.VinjpvmrTIU
[10] Jones, O. (2011). P 73.
[15] Ibid. fn 7.
[16] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33547806
[18] Briggs,
D. (2012). P 11.
[19] Ibid. p 11
[21] Bloom,
C. (2012).
[22] Hodkinson,
P. (2007). P3.
