“You see us as you want to see us... in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a prince...and a criminal.[1]”
An investigation into the representation of teenagers in Hollywood productions and how this has changed over the years.
The representation of teenagers in the media has continuously evolved over the years as shown through programmes ‘Saved by the Bell’ in comparison to ‘Glee’ where representations of teenagers has significantly changed when comparing to an older text and a contemporary text. In 1990’s programmes such as ‘Saved by the Bell’ for example, teenagers are represented more innocently and more like what today’s society would consider as ‘geeks’. The contemporary text ‘Glee’ emphasises the innocent representation of earlier programmes by depicting a group of more worldly “aspiring underdogs”[2] trying to get the best out of life. Other contemporary texts such as ‘Take the Lead’ follow this idea of aspiring to be better, to an extent, as they show that teenagers are involved in gang crime. Teenagers have been represented positively and extremely negatively which creates a moral panic in wider society. This essay will explore the representation of teenagers in contemporary mainstream Hollywood texts such as ’17 Again’ (2009) and ‘Glee’, compared to older mainstream Hollywood texts such as ‘The Breakfast Club’ (1985) and ‘Saved by the Bell’. Murphy believes ideas become stereotypes that are "unrealistic" and "unsatisfactory"[3] which could be the case when looking at teenagers as explored in this essay.
Indeed, "today it is widely recognised that stereotypes are inaccurate, simplistic generalisations about a group of individuals that may lead to particular perceptions of the group by others"[4]. Is this the case with teenagers? Youths have repeatedly been represented in a “negative way thus creating folk devils”[5] within movies due to the unbalanced image that has been constructed as shown in films such as ’17 Again’ and ‘Superbad’. In ’17 Again’, teenagers are shown to be continuously getting into fights and having sex. Similarly, ‘Superbad’ shows the teenage boys being obsessed over the ‘hot girls’. This shows the customary stereotypes of teenagers are being reinforced in dominant, high-grossing films and Hollywood institutions are not challenging ideologies but are pandering to the lowest common denominator so that Hollywood has been “decisively juvenalized”[6]. However, in the film 'High School Musical' (2006), teenagers are represented as passionate towards their singing which challenges stereotypes of teenagers. This relates to Ferdinand de Saussure’s semiotics theory as different interpretations are being created which will make the audience have different opinions on teenagers. Yet, Lewis believes that, "teen films are addressing major issues like alienation, delinquency, rebellion, sex and gender"[7].
During the 20th Century, institutions began to treat those under 20 as "distinct and separate from adults“[8]. This demonstrates, over time stereotypes of teenagers have changed in the media as in the 20th century this representation began. This representation is shown in films such as ’17 Again’ where a medium shot is used when a fight occurs in school. The use of close ups are used to help emphasise the feeling of each character involved in the fight which mainly revolves around Mike. There is a clear opposition between the ‘jocks’ and the ‘nerds’ which relates to personal identity according to the Uses and Gratification theory as teenagers may find this film similar to themselves due to the distinction between jocks and nerds. In parallel fashion, Hollywood has made films about young people and made films designed or presumed to cater for what it called, “'the juve trade' - juvenile spectators”[9]. This was shown while comparing this contemporary text to a historical texts as there was a difference in the stereotypes of teenagers from how it is now which was shown the jocks in the film are continuously threatening to kill and stab their enemies whereas no violence takes place. These type of films have created a representation in parent’s minds that every middle school student is, “gossip ridden, hormone-raging and naive”[10] which shows the way in which parents are easily willing to “pin these stereotypes to their children, and then judge them accordingly”[11]. This has resulted to becoming a social factor in the public mainly due to parental concerns. This demonstrates that it is as Hollywood is purposely producing films on teenagers for fashion as if teenagers are a trend resulting to teenagers becoming a social topic which creates the ideology that they do not fit in to society. This has resulted to an increase in moral panics being generated about teenagers, and due to this, the representation of teenagers are becoming more negative.
Martin Barker describes the concept of stereotypes as a “useless tool for investigating texts for misrepresenting the ‘real world’”[12]. This is shown in the film ‘Step up 2: The Streets’ (2008) as teenagers are being misrepresented due to teenagers taking part in street dance and dancing illegally which creates the ideology that they are wrong. This refers to the reception theory as not all of the audience will watch this film and gain a negative view of teenagers whereas some of the audience may interpret this text in a different way depending on their gender, age, class and ethnicity. Is this representation of teenagers being created in to a moral panic due to the way that the media is portraying teenagers? The media is known to have “the power through selection and reinforcement to give us very influential portrayals of a whole range of groups”[13]. This shows that, with reference to the hypodermic needle model, due to the media and its texts, the audience is then being injected ideas in to their minds. This is shown as the media organise power through stereotypical representations that “re inscribe social rules and roles”[14] which shows that the media plays a part in the stereotypes of teenagers, resulting in the evolution of moral panics.
In a historical perspective, the representation of teenagers has changed over the years in a range of ways in Hollywood productions. Marshal Mcluhan, dubbed the media that they “rarely see by accident and never without interest”[15] which shows the media wants to gain an audience for their benefit. This change has been shown as can be depicted in the Hollywood film ‘Rebel without a Cause’ (1955). The film shows that; teenagers in the 50’s were not represented as negatively as they are now as shown in ‘Rebel without a Cause’; the movie shows the protagonist, Jim, is continuously trying to prove himself to his friends by switchblade knife fights and dangerous driving. In this film there is violence present but it is not as much as now as no murder scenes are shown or abuse towards peers unlike in contemporary films.
In the 90’s, the hegemonic stereotype of teenagers was that they were disrespectful towards teachers and were portrayed as extremely immature. Over time, this negative stereotype has developed into a more negative stereotype and become a threat in the media, creating moral panics against teenagers. ‘Rebel without a Cause’ shows teenagers answering back to teachers and arguing with them instead of embracing the knowledge given to them by their teachers. Barry believes ‘Rebel without a Cause’ was “deeply alarming in their portrayal of teenagers willing to defy school teachers”[16]. The representation of teenagers seem to have become more negative than it was in the 90’s, which now seems ‘innocent’ compared to the violent, threatening stereotypes we are not presented with which shows “youth have once again become the object of public analysis”[17]. This has resulted to teenagers becoming a part of social interaction according to the Uses and Gratifications theory as the public now gain an insight in the circumstances of teenagers.
Another historical media text that can raise awareness on the difference of the representation of teenagers is ‘The Breakfast Club’. Tessa Parking believed that “we tend to make assumptions about stereotypes which can themselves be misleading”[18]. This could be the case when looking at ‘The Breakfast Club’ as throughout the film, five stereotypes, a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal are shown in Saturday detention. In one particular scene Andrew picks a fight with Bender for making Claire feel uncomfortable. This immediately shows a negative representation of teenagers which is emphasised by Bender telling Andrew that he doesn’t want to get into a fight with him because “I’d kill you!” He pulls out a knife which anchors the meaning even more. Although, it’s implied no one ever sees Bender do anything bad, he seems to be all talk, when the teacher threatens him in the store room, he doesn’t attack him. In today’s society, if that had happened, a fight would have taken place which shows a large difference.
This historical text can be evidence to show that adults have made “protecting and controlling the young as an obsession”[19]. This implies that this text shows the way teenagers are being controlled by teachers and their parents which creates the ideology that they may be the cause of teenage delinquency behaviour. Bender’s parents are said to be the kind of characters who beat their son up which shows that his parents made him who he is. Bender is seen to be confirming this as this is what everyone thinks about him even though it is not him and is an act. Similarly, the 1986 film, ‘Stand by me’ depicts the lives of four children searching for an adventure. Chris is assumed to be a ‘bad kid’ by everyone in the story, including the protagonist’s, Gordy’s father due to the fact that his brother, nicknamed ‘Eyeball’ is part of a gang, led by ‘Ace’ an ex-con. This implies parents may be wrong whereas an emphasis is only being made on teenagers as the dominant groups are also responsible for this stereotype on teenagers.
The media holds a vital part in the representation of teenagers and can be the reason for this representation. This is shown as the media is known to find teenagers as “easy targets and plenty of materials for sensational journalism”[20]. The media is ‘using’ teenagers in order to gain a larger audience that will be attracted and create a moral panic. Youth is known to provide the audience with “ample opportunities for negative representations of young people”[21]. This connotes that the media is using this opportunity wisely and creating a stereotype of teenagers which will attract customers. This relates to the Uses and Gratifications theory as the audience will be interested in what is happening in the media and therefore links to surveillance. Teenagers have become a “source of titillation for the older viewers”[22] due to teenagers becoming an amusement topic which is reinforced by the way teenagers are represented in movies. The stereotype that is labelled on teenagers has been created mainly through “alarming stories about high school shootings, property crimes and incidents involving so-called youth gangs”[23]. This implies teenagers are being a social factor due to the way the media is carefully constructing this stereotype.
Overall, looking at contemporary and historical media texts, it is clear that the representation of teenagers has changed in a very negative way. This is shown in ‘The Breakfast Club’, which represents teenagers in a negative light and enforces this idea that teenagers are trouble makers, which is emphasised at the very start of the movie by informing the audience that they are in detention. Their use of drugs, lack of respect for teachers, violence, damaging school property, and breaking the rules continuously throughout the movie emphasises this negative representation whereas in contemporary texts such as ’Superbad’ there is a use of knives, guns and an obsession over girls. Hollywood is known to create “unrealistic expectations”[24] of teenagers, thus targeting the group, making them central to negative exposure by major institutions. This may be because of teenagers being a subordinate group who are controlled by dominant groups which refers to hegemony as no matter what teenagers do, their stereotype will remain. This could result to teenagers knowing that they have no impact on the changing state of their representation, they choose to conform to it and therefore cause the media to have more negative exposure on them and as Galtung and Ruge said, negativity sells. Looking at the representation of teenagers in a historical and contemporary view, in many texts over time, it is clear the portrayal of teenagers is not improving yearly but is becoming negatively extreme. The stereotypes overall are being reinforced but we as teenagers are misunderstood as “we’re people, just like everyone else”[25].
Word Count – 2193
[1] The Breakfast Club (1985)
[3] Nicholos, J, Price, J (1998) p44.
[4] Casey, B, Casey, N, Calvert, B, French, L, Lewis, J (2002) p229.
[5] Sardar, Z, Loon, B (2000) p77.
[6] Doherty, T (1988) p124
[7] Blandford, S (2001) p238.
[8] Neale, S (2000) p119.
[9] Cook, P, Bernink, M Eds (1999) p218.
[10] Teen stereotype (website)
[11] Teenagers in today’s society (website)
[12] O’Sullivian, T, Dutton, B, Rayner, P (1994) p86.
[13] Representation and youth (website)
[14] Curran, J, Gurevitah, M Eds (2005) p341
[15] Bennett, P, Slater, J, Wall, P (2006) p77.
[16] Carter, C, Weaver, C.K (2003) p52.
[17] Valdivia, A (2005) p227.
[18] Bennett, P, Slater, J, Wall, P (2006) p81.
[19] Provert, D, Graham, A (2008) p135.
[20] Ibid. p135
[21] Brignell, J (2004) p240.
[22] Ibid p240
[23] Youth stereotyping and its impact (website)
[24] Hollywood’s obsession with the perfect prom (website)
[25] A teenager speaking out against teenage stereotype (website)
