young people and the impacts of media constructions

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

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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

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Gelder, K. (2007). Subcultures: cultural histories and social practice New York Routledge

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White, R., & Wyn, J. (2008). Youth and Socitey: Exploring the social dynamics of youth experince (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford university press.

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Good Resources for social work practice

Australian Association of Social Workers Practice Standards (2003).

Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. (2010).

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Critical Social Work an introduction to theories and practice. Crows Nest: NSW Allen & Uwin.

Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1967). The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. The University of California: Doubleday.

Bould, D., Keough, R., & Walker, D. (Eds.). (1984). Reflection: Turning experince into learning. London: Kogan

Bowels, W., Collingridge, M., Curry, S., & Valaentine, B. (2006). Ethical Practice in socal work: An Applied Approach Sydeny Allen and Unwin

Carrington, K. (2010). Offending youth: sex crime and justice Sydeny The Federation Press

Chenworth, L., & McAulifffe, D. (2005). Road to Social Work and Human Serives Practice: an intoductry text South Melbourne Thomson.

Crane, P. (2003). What happens to ‘Big Ideas’ at the front line of human services : the case of service user rights. Doctor of Philosophy, University of Queensland, Brisbane

Dominelli, L. (2004). Social work: theory and practice for a changing profession. Cambridge: Polity press.

Dorfman, R. A., Meyer, P., & Morgan, M. L. (2004). Paradigms of Clinical Social Work: Emphasis on Diversity (Vol. 3). New York Brunner-Routledge.

Dozier, M., Stoval, C., Albus, K. E., & Bates, B. (2001). Attachment for Infants in Foster Care: The Role of Caregiver State of Mind. Child Development, 72(5), 1467–1477.

Eraut, M. (1994). Developing Professional Knowledge And Competence. London Routledge

Hemingway, C., & Maclagan, P. (2004). Mangers personal values as driver of corporate social responsbilltiy Journal of Business Ethics, 50(1).

Hepworth, D., Rooney, R., Rooney, G., Gottfried, K. S., & Larsen, J. (2010). Direct social work practice : theory and skills (8th ed.). Belmont: Brooks/Cole.

Howe, D. (1979). Agency Function and Social Work Principles. British Journal of Social Work, 9(1)

Hudson, J. D. (1997). A model of professional knowledge for social work practice. Australian Social Work, 50(3), 147-169.

Jabiru youth and children services induction booklet (2011)

Ife, J. (1997 ). Rethinking Social work: Towards Critical Practice South Melbourne Addison Wesley Longman.

Lynn, R. (2001). Learning from a ‘Murri Way’. Britsh Journal of Social Work 31(6).

Miller, A. B., & Keys, C. B. (2001). Understanding Dignity in the Lives of Homeless Persons American Journal of Community Psychology, 29(2 )

Nemetz, P. L., & Christensen, S. L. (1996). The Challenge of Cultural Diversity: Harnessing a Diversity of Views to Understand Multiculturalism. The Academy of Management Review, 21(2).

Payne, M. (2005). Modern social work theory (3rd ed.). Chicago: Lyceum Books, Inc.

Sanders, J., & Munford, R. (2005). Authentic Relationships Possibilities for Social Work to Make a Difference for Children and Young People. Childrenz Issues, 9(1).

Specht, H., & Courtney, M. E. (1995). Unfaithful Angels: How Social Work Has Abandoned Its Mission. New York: The Free Press.

Trevithick, P. (2005). Social Work Skills: a practice handbook (2nd ed.). Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education

White, S., Fook, J., & Gardner, F. (Eds.). (2006). Critical Reflection in Health and Social Care. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education

Young, K. (2006). The Art of Youth Work (2nd ed.). Lyme Regis: Russell House Publishing.

A Critical Analysis of The Coffs Harbour city council crime prevention and safety plan

In Australia, juvenile offender rates are almost double the rate for adults (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2008; see appendix 1). Young offenders are most likely to commit offences because of non-conformity and acting against social control, opting for a method of 'self control.' In the eyes of authorities and the general public, this is fracturing social bonds in Australian society (Western, Lynch & Ogilvie, 2003). Other theorists have tried to explain youth crime in Australia as a reflection of a much deeper struggle over economic resources (Omaji, 2003). Authorities have attempted to address this offender rate and possible underlying causes through various federal, state, and local policies. This essay will review a local plan, the Coffs Harbour City Council (CHCC) crime prevention and safety plan 2008- 2011 [CHCCSP]. The document’s purpose is to help police and local councils develop a coordinated response to community concerns and reduce incidence and fear of crime in the council’s area. While this document is supposed to take all age demographics into consideration, it seems to be primarily focused on the ages 12-25 years. The document also makes several assumptions about youth crime. The document does address key issues, such as the lack of access to public space for young people, early intervention strategies and mentoring. However, there are concerns about the role of police in public spaces and the lack of consideration regarding youth workers and legal advice. This document has made some attempt in discussing youth crime and has some really good options in relation to young people, but it also has some flaws which will be discussed in this essay.

The crime prevention and safety plan was tabled by CHCC in March of 2008 and it developed upon a previous plan, which expired in 2001. The main purpose for the plan was to create a sense of safety amongst community members and to develop an action plan to combat crime. It seems to be primarily focused on crimes committed by young people, aged 12-25. The document outlines its future strategies. It details research, planning and prevention rather than punishment for young people. This plan is set to be reviewed frequently, to see if the local council and other stakeholders are meeting the proposed goals. Some goals of this plan indicate that strategies, such as mentoring programs, need to be established for offenders and those at risk of offending. Other specific strategies include: developing partnerships between council and organizations; introducing education programs focused on problems of underage drinking; developing safe places for young people to ‘hang’ on Friday and Saturday nights rather than attending beach parties; organizing inexpensive activities to foster engagement; offering ‘get skilled’ workshops, which target at risk youth and are run by police and juvenile justice department; and raising awareness that supplying alcohol to underage drinkers is illegal. These are proactive strategies developed by the council and local stakeholders. However, a concern regarding this document’s strategies is the lack of solid age limits to define who these strategies are aimed at. According to Hudson (1997), it is important to define age limits as it helps to easily and specifically adapt the program for a particular targeted group. The CHCCSP defines youth crime as crimes committed by young people aged 12-25. This conflicts with the Young offenders Act 1997 (NSW) (see Appendix 3). The document describes youth crime problems as malicious damage caused by young people; violence amongst young people; public nuisances. In addition, it describes beach parties as a major problem because the large gatherings of young people (up to 500 people) include a large percentage of intoxicated underage drinkers. The document details that beachside residents in communities such as Sawtell, Park Peach, and The Jetty are often abused when walking past these gatherings. The document also suggests that a great deal of crime is committed when youth are walking from the beach back into the CBD. The document represents the majority of youth crime as being caused by: boredom, lack of affordable youth activities, and the lack of affordable transport to and from the city of a late night/early morning. These are some of the premises for youth crimes being committed and the explanations offered by CHCC to why youth crime exists in the local area.

The document’s assumptions about youth crime relate to its focus that young people are committing crime due to being excluded from society and public space, by not having safe affordable or engaging places to hang out. According to Malone (2002), there are not many public spaces available to young people because of political views and media spin. Omaji (2003) further explains that media bias can filter quickly through the public sphere and dominate ideology. White (1998) stresses the importance of making public space more accessible to young people; he lists ways that public space can be managed better to benefit both young people and the wider community. These include communicating directly with young people, while being non-judgmental, establishing links with young people, having an attitude of conciliation, and dealing with rule breaking fairly. The other assumption this documents makes is that if we identify those people who are most likely to commit crime, successful intervention will make it less likely that they would commit crime. The plan breaks the early intervention programs down into two categories. One program is for young people in general (for example, education workshops in schools around alcohol) and preventive programs for those who are at risk of offending (for example, the ‘get skilled’ program). Studies in Europe have shown that prevention seems to be more effective than imprisonment (Blyth & Soloman, 2009). These proactive strategies are based on assumptions that prevention is more effective. The assumptions about youth crime, made by the document, have resulted in three strong approaches.

Three key strengths of this document are its consideration of the availability of public space for young people; its promotion of early intervention strategies; and its focus on peer mentoring. A major strength of this document is its consideration of the lack of public space available for young people. It takes into account barriers that may prevent young people from accessing public space such as money, transport and general scrutiny from the public and it identifies ways to address this issue. It is valuable that this document takes into account the lack of public space available to young people, because providing access to public space can encourage young people to express themselves, to socialise with peers, to be engaged within the community space, without much cost to the young person (White, 1990). However, there are barriers to giving young people access to public space. This is evident in Pearson’s (1983) study into hooliganism, which shows it is easy to create a moral panic about young people as deviant and engaging in activities that are perceived as wrong or socially unacceptable, in areas of public space, which are aside for young people. A recent example of this is on the southside of the Coffs Coast a news article about a skate park (Mixed views on skate park , 2010; see appendix 2). Views like this, make it difficult to create public space for youth because they can trigger heavy political scrutiny on the use of public space (Pearson, 1983). In response to this the document does recommend educating the general population about public space, what it means and what they can expect from young people in designated spaces. While giving access to public space is a good start, the literature suggests that combining access to public space with other strategies, such as early intervention programs, would increase the effectiveness and the benefits provided by access to public space (White, 1990).

The second major strength of the policy document developed by CHCC is that it has a focus on early intervention strategies. The document splits the early intervention programs into two categories. It recommends education programs for young people in schools, such as raising awareness about the effects of alcohol and drugs. It also targets programs at young people at risk of offending (for example the ‘get skilled’ program, which links young people with opportunities for education, drug rehabilitation, and training). Early intervention with young people has shown to be effective to some extent in reducing youth crime (Cunneen & White , 2011). In Norway, there is evidence that early intervention appears to be working. However, the United Nations Human Rights Commission has warned that intervention strategies need to fit the specific crimes and that one intervention strategy is not appropriate for all contexts, such as in Norway (Wolf, 2004). Some of the intervention strategies involve one on one mentoring.

Another strength is the significant focus on mentoring young people who are at risk of offending or who have committed an offence. The CHCCSP includes agencies, such as PCYC, Juvenile Justice and Tafe outreach support, to refer identified young people to a mentoring program. This mentoring program would be established and operated by an independent body. The projected outcomes are to lower the number of young people participating in crime. Researchers have reported that one on one mentoring is generally effective with young people, who have or are at risk of entering the youth justice system (Flaxman , 1988). A key feature of mentoring is that a mentoring program requires significant planning (Dubois, Hollway, Valentine & Cooper, 2002). It is evident from the CHCCSP, that considerable planning has been undertaken in relation to their mentoring program. American research, suggests that people who participated in a similar program, experienced positive outcomes, including reduction of antisocial activities, an improvement in grades and engagement with school, better outcomes with building trusting relationships and were more open in seeking emotional support (Bilchik, 1997).

While there are several strengths within this document, there are also some flaws, which require consideration. These include: the scope and definition of young people; the unclear role of police in public spaces for young people; the lack of consideration regarding youth workers and improving access to legal advice for young people. These aspects are currently undermining a largely strong plan. Addressing these concerns could enhance the usefulness of this plan in preventing crime on the Coffs Coast.
The definition of young people in this document differs from that of the NSW legislation. There needs to be awareness that youth or young person is a recent construct; children throughout history have been treated as adults. Definitions, such as youth and young people, have existed for around 150 years (Skelton & Valentine, 1998). Unfortunately, constructs of young people can be distorted, factual information can be misinterpreted, and characteristics wrongly attributed to certain age demographics. Further still, this generic construct of young people can also lead media outlets to portray the wrong demographic as having the issue (Jewkes & Letherby, 2002). Consequently, an age bracket that ranges in 13 years difference is in conflict with data analysts, who suggest narrowing the focus to obtain precise information (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002). The Coffs Harbour city council crime prevention plan’s definition of young people seems to be too broad and may have attributed to some flawed data within this plan. This could have contributed to an inaccurate reflection of youth crime in the Coffs Harbour area. The document could be improved by including more specific definitions of young people and the methodology used for collecting the data.

Another key flaw within the CHCCSP is the strategy to place more police in young person related public space. The issue is not that the police are located within public space, but that it is unclear what the role is of the police in these public spaces. It is difficult to speculate on reasons for the absence of this information. However, research suggests that in general young people do not have a good relationship with police. White & Alder (1994) conducted a longitudinal study considering whether young people knew their rights when dealing with police. The sample was taken from young people at schools, youth centers, and public spaces. The results, based on interviewing the sample of young people, indicated that 80% said that they had been in contact with the police before; 33% admitted to being ‘roughed up’ by police; 28% stated their rights were not read to them; 21% said they were allowed to make a phone call; and 70% were abused or sworn at by police. Furthermore police have significant powers over young people in public spaces (Law enforcement powers Act 2002 (NSW); see Appendix 3).

The final weakness is that the policy does not make any provisions about youth workers or access to legal advice for young people. Youth workers’ involvement with young people can be vitally important because youth workers complement youth justice frameworks. Their preventative, rather than dentition, focus can be extremely beneficial for young people (Muncie, Hughes & McLaughlin, 2002). Youth workers’ roles can include: assisting young people to comply with court orders, assisting young people to connect with other related services, maintaining records of program attendance, and providing assistance in the case planning processes. (Youth workers your career in the department of communities: youth justice service center QLD, 2010) .To have a complete framework for a strong youth justice policy, in addition to youth workers, access to legal services for young people should be provided. If a young person is in conflict with the law, legal professionals, such as solicitors, can offer legal advice whereas youth workers can only provide legal information(Youth Advocay Center, 2010).This would also reduce the financial barrier to young people avoiding detention, if there was access to free legal advice.

The CHCCSP provides a solid plan to address youth crime. Particularly, because of its focus on accessible public spaces for young people, early interventions to prevent youth crime, and one on one mentoring within the community. However, there are three aspects which should be considered to make the plan more effective and equitable for young people. Firstly, the definition of ‘young people’ needs to be more specific, to match current legislation and reduce negative constructs. Secondly, the role of police needs to be clarified within the document, especially in relation to public spaces. Finally, the document should make provision for access to youth workers and free legal advice for all young people.





Appendix 1
Juvenile offender rates have generally been twice as high as adult ones. The offender rate of juveniles decreased from 1996–97 to 2003–04, from 3,965 to 3,023 per 100,000 per year. It increased in 2005–06, and again in 2006–07, to 3,532 per 100,000. The adult offender rate peaked in 2000–01, at 2,100 per 100,000. In 2006–07, it was 1,492 per 100,000, the lowest rate recorded. (Australian Instuite of Criminology, 2008)

Appendix 2 Mixed views on Skate Park

8th June 2010 Coffs Coast Advocate

Residents near the new skate park at Nambucca Heads are not happy.

IT has won a huge thumbs up from the town’s youth but the Nambucca Heads skate park is proving far from a hit with its immediate neighbours.

Just a year after it was opened, the park has been described by the Meadow Crescent residents that overlook it as a haven of bad behaviour.

They expressed their ongoing concerns at last week’s meeting at the Nambucca Shire Council  in response to a council-conducted audit which they claim painted a picture which is far rosier than reality.

Long term resident Jim Teasel said the lack of adult supervision at the park had forced some neighbours to capture the antics of unruly youth on film and video as proof of the behaviour.

“I’ve tried to reason with the kids that go to the skate park about bad language and using the bushes as a toilet but I’ve been abused,” Mr Teasel said.

“It wasn’t my retirement plan to be involved in the surveillance of a skate park but the problems there are real.”

Mr Teasel said he was confused and disappointed with the audit report summary which did not allude to anything but minor issues attached to the park.

“Why weren’t the residents involved in the review when people I know that aren’t at the park after hours or on weekends were?” he asked.

Mark Novicky said the audit was little more than a band-aid that allowed council to pass the buck.

“The park is poorly cared for and poorly supervised,” Mr Novicky said.

“Council had other options at the time but now must admit it made the wrong decision to put the skate park opposite a quiet residential area,” he said.

Defence of the park and its users came via local skater Daniel Duong who said it was proving a big hit with local kids.

“On weekends and after school it is often full,” Mr Duong said.

“It is a great place for kids to gather and develop their skating skills and to meet and interact with youth workers,” he said.

“I know nothing about drinking, drug use or vandalism down there and believe the troublemakers are not skaters.”

That opinion was reiterated yesterday by all five skaters at the park.

“This is the best thing that’s happened for young people in this town,” Jack Grant said.

“There are no lights so we can’t use the park when it gets dark and in all the time I’ve been coming here, I’ve never heard from any upset residents,” he said.

On Thursday night Councillor Brian Finlayson doubted that a council recommendation to install a rubbish bin and replace existing signage about acceptable behaviour with larger and more effective signs would prove effective.

“I do not believe the problems are being caused by legitimate skaters and this recommendation will do nothing to help the residents,” he said.

In moving a motion for council rangers to bring forward a report on attendances and discipline issues at the park, Cr Mike Moran lamented its impact on the neighbourhood.

“From the word go, council turned a blind eye to this issue and left residents swinging in the wind,” Cr Moran said.“Going on what we’ve heard, I’d have to say these people aren’t living in Nambucca Head the are living in hell

Appendix 3

Young offenders Act 1997 (NSW)

1(4) a person who is of or over the age of 10 years and under the age of 18 years.

Law enforcement powers Act 2002 (NSW)

(3)87 Has the power to disperse groups

(14)197 Give Directions generally in relation to public space

References

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Cunneen, C., & White, R. (2011). Juvenile Justice: Youth and Crime in Australia. Sydeny: Oxford University Press.

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Samson and Delilah film and Literature review

Samson and Delilah is an Australian film made in 2009. Samson and Delilah was dirctied by Indigenous film maker Warwick Thornton and produced by Kath Shelper. This film has two main characters Samson portrayed by (Rowan McNamara) and Delilah portrayed by (Marissa Gibson). They Both Indigenous young people living in a remote Indigenous community which is not named in the film. Samson is a bored teenager who uses petrol sniffing as a personal escape from community life. Delilah is the sole carer of her elderly grandmother who sells her art. After the death of her grandmother her family feels that she is responsible and is dealt with in a traditional way which in western mind sets would be a harsh punishment. There is a growing love between Samson and Delilah and the harsh punishment is the protagonist to Samson stealing a car and taking Delilah out of the community. They quickly realise that life outside the community is not easy being marginalised. Delilah soon discovers a way to improve their circumstances ART but is increasingly frustrated when people will not buy it from her. Samson is caught between his addiction and his growing love for Delilah. After Delilah is seriously assaulted she also begins sniffing petrol to escape from her experiences. Everything seems to be going downhill until Delilah is hit by a car and is injured and Samson is left under the bridge alone. Delilah reappears at the end of the movie to take him back to the community where hopefully she can help him fight his addiction with petrol.

There are two main issues I have identified that are predominant throughout the duration of the film Samson and Delilah. The first main issue is how white Australian society marginalises Indigenous people through exclusion and how they marginalise them through exploitation. The other main issue that was how it can seem that indigenous people exclude them self through society this was portrayed in the movie in two separate ways the constant way of petrol sniffing and also unfamiliar and seemingly violent traditions and practices. The director of the movie said he wanted to confront these issues “head on” (Simmons and Stranieri 2009).

There are many examples within the film that it shows Indigenous exclusion from White Australian Society. The scenes I think show it the clearest are scene where Delilah is watching the the two white girls eating ice cream and talking on the mobile phone. It shows that she is so near to this type of lifestyle still so far. It is also shown in the scene when she is in the supermarket through symbolism the supermarket has an over emphasis on the colour white and contrasts against skin colour of Samson and Delilah. Also throughout the movie they are forced to live under a bridge not in a house like most white Australians. It is seen in Australian society that we see all other ethnic cultures pushed aside and white culture as the centre piece making it the cultural norm (Hage, 2002 pp. 190-1). This has been going on since colonisation through racist legislation and peoples stereotypes of Indigenous people (Dixon and Scheurell , 1995). The current views that people have of Indigenous are that they are Alcoholics, Drug and Violent people and this stereotype furthers the exclusion from Australian society (Blagg, 1997).

Throughout the film it portrays the issue of marginalisation by way of exploitation which is another issue that contemporary Indigenous socialites face. The example of art is used in the movie in the scene back on the community it is shown that the artist is given very little finical insensitive to paint yet when Delilah sees her grandmothers painting in an art gallery in town for 22,000 dollars. This shows this is an example of how the film confronts exploitation of Indigenous art. The exploitation of Art is linked to the intellectual property rights of Indigenous people. Non indigenous board such as Tourism Australia have promoted the country as having a rich Indigenous cultural heritage through t art, music and other activities even looking at the tourism Australia logo you can see that it is heavily influenced by Indigenous art see appendix 1 (Simmons, 2000) . This raises the question whether indigenous art should be profited off or whether it should be left alone? My view is that it can be sold but the money should go to the people who created it. The second way we see Exploitation in this movie is in a way that harms a person Delilah is dragged into a car and by the way she is forced into the car it infers that the people in the car wanted to sexually exploit her but there is no way to tell definitively if she has been raped or not. Most people reading this paper agree that violence against women is wrong and most of the literature I have found does not give statistics of violence against indigenous women outside remote communities even though as early as 1988 Indigenous women have argued to also look at the number of violent deaths of Indigenous females outside of these communities (Atkinson, 1990).

The issue of petrol sniffing is brought up in the movie it cannot be defined to just one scene it is continues throughout the film. You are first introduced to this issue right at the start of the film with sniffing petrol being one of the first things Samson does when he wakes up. To me it looked like he was doing as a way of dealing with the repetitive cycle of community life instead of expressing it in what I would call a positive sense. This has made me review literature not only for petrol sniffing but to investigate more widely on just substance abuse. A paper done by 7 universities in conjunction with alludes to the fact that there a high percentage of those surveyed sniffed petrol in conjunction with other drugs (Clough, D’abbs, Cairney, Gray, Maruf, Parker, O’reilly, 2004). One thing that the movie does quite well at the end is shows the lasting effects that continual substance abuse can have on people Samson is need to be cared full time by Delilah as a result of his continued petrol sniffing. According to Maggie Brady 10% of injuries poisoning and death is the result of substance abuse (Brady, 1995 p. 1488).

As I have already said western ways of thinking seem to put the values and beliefs at the centre of society and push it as the cultural norm or main stream society any other way of thinking is pushed aside as ethnically diverse (Hage, 2002 pp. 190-1). I was confronted in the scene just after Delilah’s grandmother had died she was beaten quite severely with large sticks. It is hard for me to come to a position on whether I think it was right or wrong and if it would seem like I am supporting violence against women. The Conclusion I have come to is that I was not brought up with the same values and belief systems of that certain community so therefore how can I really understand the motivations and importance behind the incident that occurred. Literature seems to support still having traditional law present (Povinelli, 2002). The problem I found it is hard to find resources that talk about traditional law outside the Northern territory and remote communities. For the most the literature i have reviewed on traditional law just talks about how the northern territory intervention takes into consideration of traditional law under the current legislation

In conclusion I think this is a realistic portrayal of the issues I have outlined in this review as Warwick Thornton Him Self said he wanted to confront the issues “head on”(Simmons and Stranieri 2009). He does this in direct ways such as the petrol sniffing and in direct ways such as the use of colour and sound. But I think it is also important to remember that his view of the issue after reviewing the literature I do share his views on the almost all of his issues. However I do think the movie could have made some of the cultural practices somewhat clearer and the reasons behind these practices.



References


Atkinson, J. (1990). Violence against Aboriginal Women: Reconstitution of Community Law –the Way Forward. Aboriginal Law Bulletin, 40(4), from proquest database.

Brady, M. (1995). Culture in treatment, culture as treatment. A critical appraisal of developments in addictions programs for indigenous North Americans and Australians Social Science & Medicine, 41(11), from proquest database.

Blagg, H. (1997). A JUST MEASURE OF SHAME? Aboriginal Youth and Conferencing in Australia. The British Journal of Crimonlgy, 37(4), from Proquest database.

CLOUGH, A. R., D’ABBS, P., GRAY, S. C. D., PARKER, P. M. R., & O’REILLY, B. (2004 ). Emerging patterns of cannabis and other substance use in Aboriginal communities in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory: a study of two
communities. Drug and Alcohol Review, 23(2), from proquest database.


Dixon, J., & Scheurell, R. (1995). Social Welfare with Indigenous People. London Routledge
Hage, G. (2002). White Nation: Fantasies of White Supremacy in a Multicultural Society

Povinelli, E. A. (2002). The cunning of recognition: indigenous alterities and the making of Australian Multiculturalism. USA: Duke Unvirsty press.

Simmons, & Stranieri (2009 ). Samson & Delilah study guide Canberra Screen Australia

Simons, M. S. (2000). Aborignal Heritage Art And Moral Rights. Annals of Tourism Research, 27(2), 412-431. from proquest database.





Appendix 1
Colours of this logo are used in traditional ochre reds and Yellows and brown in the colours
So I ask the question
Should tourism Australia be allowed to use these colours?