There is a competing paradigm in the media’s
representation of youth. When it markets
beauty products for example, it emphasises the importance of looking and being
youthful. However when it markets young people as a group, the media generally perpetuate
negative stereotypes of young people. This paper will critically analyse a
media article by looking at theoretical aspects of young people that could be
applied. It will consider the tone of the article and also consider the impacts that these
stereotypes and theoretical perspectives have on young people. It will also
consider an alternative portrayal that the media article could take on young people.
The media article chosen comes from the Gloucestershire Echo in the
UK. It labels a teenage boy as a feral. This is similar to a recent string of
media reports done by channel Seven’s Today Tonight program (Today Tonight,
2012). The article from the
Gloucestershire Echo uses words and statements like ‘Feral ‘and ‘These
crimes are made even more serious by the fact that you are 12 and 16’ (Gloucestershire
Echo, 2012). Young people are often
perceived by the media in a negative light rather than as competent citizens (Checkoway et al,
2003). The use of the language like that stated
above shows newspaper’s representation of young people as portraying a position
or perspective through language (Simpson, 1993). The problem is that media perspectives and
representations like this one can quickly filter into the political and public
domain (Omaji, 2003). Journalistic
ethics pride themselves on fair and balanced accounts (Ward, 2009). This article
however lacks some details about social factors that can affect young people’s
offending behavior, including such factors as family issues, ethnic background,
mental illness, drug use and intellectual capacity (White & Wyn,
2008). This information may provide a
better background to what was happening with that young person at that
particular time and there are many theories to account for young people
committing crimes.
A sociological theory
that can be applied throughout this news article is that of Merton’s theory of
deviance. Merton argues that deviance is
caused by the interplay between society structure and culture. It builds on and
critiques the idea of functionalism (Blackman, 2007). The key ideas that functionalism asserts is
there are just some things that people need to do to survive, such as getting a
good education (source). Merton shared
these views but also added that sometimes structures may not always be able to
fulfill the needs of the person causing the problem to arise (Blackman, 2007;
York & Marcus, 2009). Give an eg of such problems (outside of the article) to demonstrate your understanding of this
point. The media article has some clear
parallels with Merton’s theory as it portrays the clash of ideals between the
dominant ideology of the establishment and the young person as rebelling
against society through the criminal acts as is evident in the magistrate’s
comment "A charge of an offence such as this would
take many respectable people's breath away...” yes, the key issue here is the
use of the word respectable – unpack that word to give your argument more
strength.
This media article quite
clearly labels the young people in the article as ‘Ferals’. However due
to the lack of academic resources it is hard to construct a theoretically based
image of what a feral is. The only definition available describes the feral
subculture as ‘sporting ‘a shaved head with crusty hair out the back, kinda
anti-intellectual’ Good quote J (Edwards & Mercer, 2008). This raises the idea that the newspaper is
trying to explain their
actions through the
subculture that they have assigned them.
Subcultures can be formed on the basis of music and recreational activities (White & Wyn,
2008). In some instances certain
subcultures can be problematised (Carrington, 2009). This was evident in post
war Britain when subcultures between young people became highly visible which
in turn created a
moral panic and in turn public space
became a contested area of young people’s subcultures (teddy boys) and police
(Carrington, 2009). The media article
makes reference to a sub-cultural group ‘ferals’and paints the picture
of the young person as a transient drifter ‘it
seems like he lives a feral lifestyle in the sense that he has not been staying
at home’. The Newspaper questions his lifestyle and
labels it within a particular sub cultural group ‘feral’. Some academic literature suggests
that feral subculture is based on peoples’ standing in the labour market,
political views and looks (Edwards & Mercer, 2008; Gleder, 2007;
John, 1999). There is a lack of research in this field that links the feral
subculture with criminal activity. It would seem that the newspaper used
subculture as way of defining the young person as a deviant and used language
to portray them and a particular subculture in a certain perspective (Simpson, 1993). This
is good, but could be restructured to make your point clearer. It jumps around
a bit and therefore becomes a bit repetitive.
Stories like these do not only have an impact on
individual young people but can have far wider effects on them as a group. As
mentioned above, Omaji (2003) explains that media bias can quickly filter into
political and public domain. This can impact on young people greatly as media
bias and public opinion can filter into the political arena and can affect
policy and legislation that is used to police young people. This is shown by
moves towards things
such as naming and shaming and mandatory
sentencing rather than other options such as more socially focused polices such
as ….(Omaji, 2003). Adams (as cited in
Omaji 2003, p. 3-4) comments that he is disgusted that policies such as those
mentioned above are being used more often and quotes the bible in saying what
ever happened to “love your enemy”.
Negative
labels and stereotypes are formed when we consistently associate them with
certain traits and preconceived ideas (Bernburg & Krohn,
2003). Negative labels and stereotypes
such as those within the media article can alter young people’s self concepts of who they are (Anderson
& Schoen, 1985). Labelling and
stereotyping young people can also substantially alter a young person’s life
course especially if they have been labelled as deviant. This reduces
opportunities for a normal life in the functional sense (Bernburg & Krohn, 2003). Bernburg and Krohn (2003) also discuss that
labeling and stereotyping have been indirectly linked to negative behaviour
because of the opportunities missed due to the label or stereotype. Good, now
link it back to your article – to what extent might labeling have played a part
for these young people?
One of the issues this article ignored was the
social factors that could have been impacting on the young person’s
behavior. As mentioned above the article
did not discuss any of the social factors that can impact on young person’s
offending behaviors (White & Wyn, 2008). In order to have a balanced
argument these factors should have been included. There is evidence to support the family and
community environments impacting on the offending behavior. Andrews &
Bonitas (2010) longitudinal studies found there is a greater likelihood for
young people being involved in criminal activity if their families are involved
in crime. The Australian Institute of
Criminology (AIC) supports the idea of investing in socio-economic status of
communities but also takes a functionalist view of assisting young people to
grow out of their offending behaviors explain further …(Richards, 2011). Studies of young person’s behaviour have
tended to focus on the individual rather than broader society wide aspects (Rutter,
Giller & Hagell 1998). This goes
against White and Wyn’s (2008) notion of looking at young people and crime in a
holistic manner. Some of the issues that the article could have looked at
included the socio-economic status of person, family issues and drug use (White
& Wyn, 2008; Auther, 2005).
The second point that could be argued is that
this media representation is not a true reflection of young people and further
analyses that the media portrayals of young people such as this can affect attitudes,
beliefs and actions of young people and adults (Checkoway et al, 2003). This
has been demonstrated in the United States where studies found New York Times
coverage over represented young people’s involvement in crime at a time when
crime rates for young people were falling (Figueroa et al, as cited in
Checkoway et al, 2003). This study
showed that peoples’ attitudes reflected media coverage and a majority of
Americans believed that the youth crime rate was on the rise (Figueroa et al,
as cited in Checkoway et al, 2003). The
article focuses on the young peoples’ behaviour but does not go to any lengths
to tell readers that the UK has successful early intervention programs that has
seen crime rates and recidivism of young people at their lowest levels a good point to make – links well with
discussion above re NY Times article. (Ashford, 2007). This media article does not attempt to put
youth crime into perspective White and Wyn (2008) state when young people are
charged with an offense it usually is for offenses like riding a train without
a ticket, noise complaints and destruction of property. As explained by Simpson
(1993) this media article uses language to state a point or position but when
looking at an article like this it seems that it is based on community
ideologies rather than based on academic evidence. These last two points while good need to be
examined further to ensure they don’t read like they were just added at the
end.
This essay has considered how the article has
constructed an image of young people. It then used ideas from different
theoretical perspectives to describe young people and their actions. It then
looked at the impacts that these perspectives can have on young people as a
group and as an individual. Finally it produced an alternative view of young
people. Overall the article emphasizes a representation of young people to
perpetuate society’s stereotypes through language which presents a negative
connotation to society of an already marginalised group.
Reference list
Anderson, D. B., &
Schoen, D. F. (1985). Diversion Programs: Effect of Stigmatization on Juvenile/Status Offenders. Juvenile and
Family Court Journal 36(2).
Andrews, D. A., &
Bonita, J. (2010). The Psycholgy of criminal conduct Lexinexis Group :New Jersey
Ashford, B.
(March 2007). Towards A Youth Crime Prevention Strategy. England, UK Justice Department. Retrieved
from http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/youth- justice/prevention/TowardsAYouthCrimePreventionStrategy.pdf
Authur, R. (2005). Punishing Parents for the
Crimes of their Children. The Howard Journal,
44(3). Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/doi/10.1111/j.1468- 2311.2005.00370.x/abstract
Bernburg, J. G., & Krohn, M. D. (2003).
Labelling, Life Chances, and Adult Crime: The
Direct and Indirect Effects of Official intervention in Adolescence on Crime in Early Adulthood. 41(4).
Retrieved from
Blackman, S. (2007). Youth Subcultural Theory:
A Critical Engagement with the Concept,
its Origins and Politics, from the Chicago School to Postmodernism. Journal of Youth Studies, 8(1).
Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676260500063629
Carrington, K. (2010). Offending
youth: sex crime and justice Sydeny The Federation Press
Checkoway, B., Richards-Schuster, K., Abdullah,
S., Aragon, M., Facio, E., Figueroa, L.,
. . . White, A. (2003 ). Young people as competent citizens. Community Development Journal, 38(4). Retrieved
from
http://cdj.oxfordjournals.org.ezp01.
library.qut.edu.au/content/38/4/298.full.pdf+html
Edwards, F., & Mercer, D. (2008). Gleaning
from Gluttony: an Australian
youth
subculture confronts the ethics of waste. Australian Geographer, 38(3).
Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00049180701639174
Gelder, K. (2007). Subcultures: cultural
histories and social practice New York Routledge
Gloucestershire, Echo. (2012 ). "Feral" teenager from Cheltenham, 16, admits burglary, from
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Feral-teenager-admits- burglary-s-16/story-16547513-detail/story.html
Johns, G. S. (1999). Alternative
Cultural Heterotopia: ConFest as Australia’s Marginal
Centre. Doctor of Philosophy, La Trobe University.
Omaji, P. (2003 ). Responding
to youth crime: towards radical criminal justice partnerships. Marrikville NSW: Hawkins Press.
Richards, K. (2011). Trends & issues in
crime and criminal justice: What makes juvenile
offenders different from adult offenders? Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra
Simpson, P. (1993). Language, Ideology and
Point of View. London: Psychology Press.
Today, Tonight. (2012 ). Underage
street crime, from http://au.news.yahoo.com/today- tonight/lifestyle/safety/article/-/13960117/underage-street-crime/
Ward, S. J. A. (2009). Philosophical Foundations
for Global Journalism Ethics. Journal
of Mass Media Ethics, 20(1). Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327728jmme2001_2
White, R., & Wyn, J. (2008). Youth and
Socitey: Exploring the social dynamics of youth
experince (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford university press.
