Youths were portrayed positively between the years of 1914
and 1945 because they were seen as heroic throughout the war years. The
propaganda was used in the media to attract young people to fight for their country.
I suggested that young men would be praised for joining the army in the Sunday
Pictorial edition (20th August 1944) when it said: “If you are over
17 and under 19, you are now needed for vital work.” Another example of when
the media suggested that youths were seen as heroic was when the Daily Mail
(1939) said, “There were
casualties perhaps inevitable for the remarkable view these men laid down their
lives for this country.” Furthermore, young women were also praised for their
voluntary work as nurses during the war years; in the Western Morning News
(1939), a quote from the matron shows that not only young men were seen
positively: “I should like to thank the nurses for the noble work they have
done in preparing the hospital, the whole of the staff have volunteered for the
work.” This shows a time
where youths were viewed positively through the eyes of the media. Because of
the effects of the war, fiction films were not made in terms of the British
cinema. Due to this, showings of the war were in the form of non-fiction
documentaries about life in the war; but often didn’t show the true experience
because they were heavily edited.
The media’s view on young people worsened after the end of
the Second World War in 1945. Between the years of 1946 and 1964, the Baby Boom
took place causing an increase of a younger population in Britain, which
brought the birth of a current new country. An additional contribution to the
amount of young people in the country was the influx of immigration caused by
the legalisation for people with British passports from the British Empire and
Common Wealth, which allowed younger people from other countries to come to
Britain to find a better life; and also created an increase of cultural
diversity.
In terms of politics, Winston Churchill carried Britain
through WW2 but after the British Empire collapsed, Britain faced financial
problems. In 1945, Atlee was elected from the Labour party because of his
promise to help rebuild the country by creating things such as the NHS, free
schooling and disability benefits – this was the birth of the welfare state.
This particular time between the ending of the war and the
1960’s represents the invention of the teenager. This in between child and
adult stage was created because this age group is useful in terms of the media
as they are a key market. The increase in the population of young people caused
a conflict between them and the older generation; as a result of this, media
institutions reported it in a way that portrays teenagers to be trouble; which
fits with Osgerby and Hebdige’s theory of “youth as troublemaker”. An example
that refers to this theory is the John Boulting film, Brighton Rock (1947)
which focuses on the criminal behaviour of the younger generation.
80's
Youth culture of the 90’s followed the grunge fashion, which was inspired by bands such as Nirvana where they would wear things such as t-shirts with ripped, baggy jeans and dye their hair unnatural colours. Other music such as the Spice Girls inspired the pop fashion where mostly girls would base their image on the way the Spice Girls looked: short skirts, crop tops and tight dresses. Later in the 90’s, it became popular for men to wear football t-shirts during the time of the football riots.
In 1993, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain committed suicide. One of Nirvana’s most popular songs: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, relates to the youth culture of this decade. Drugs such as ecstasy were also popular with the youths of the 90’s as well as illegal raves which supports Hall’s theory. Youths of this time would do illegal things for fun, but this meant that tragic incidences would happen; for example, this quote from the BBC dated on 13th November 1995 shows the consequences: “An 18-year-old student is on a life-support machine after taking an ecstasy tablet at her 18th birthday party.”
In terms of British cinema, Danny Boyle’s Train Spotting is an example of how youths were portrayed by the media in the 90’s. This film shows the effects of drugs on people’s lives and also how they were always up to no good and in trouble; which supports Hall’s theory that “All young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioral upheaval.”
2000's
During the 1970’s, youth were known as the Counter Culture
because the media portrayed them to be difficult, dangerous and violent. The
movements that youths followed during this decade were Punk Rock and Scar which
were influenced by bands such as the Sex Pistols, Ramones and The Clash. In the
UK, Punk Rock became a major cultural phenomenon and a punk subculture emerged
where youths would express themselves by being rebellious and wore distinctive
styled clothes, such as: leather jackets, spike and studded jewellery and
deliberately offensive t-shirts. As the fashion and movements changed, this
decade was known as the death of ‘peace & love’.
The 70’s witnessed social, cultural, economical and
political unrest where there were strikes throughout the decade such as the
Colour Strike (1970-1971), Postal Workers Strike (1971), Miners’ Strike (1972,
and again in 1974). This lead to power cuts between 1970 and 1974, where the Conservative
Government created the Three-Day Week in order to conserve electricity mainly
due to the coal miners’ strikes. There were also riots across England such as;
the Chapelton riot (Leeds), Notting Hill Carnival riot (London) and the
Southall Riots (West London).
This was also the decade of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth
II which was celebrated by the media and everyone in the UK, Canada, Australia
and New Zealand. People had large-scale street parties and parades throughout the
UK in 1977.
In terms of technology and entertainment, George Lucas’ Star
Wars was released in the UK in 1977. This US film was popular in many countries
with a very large target audience. In terms of British film, Stanley Kubrick’s
A Clockwork Orange (1971) portrays youth in a negative way by showing youth
gangs and other social, political and economical subjects to be violent and
delinquent. This supports Hall’s theory that youth go through “some degree of
emotional and behavioural upheaval”.
80's
During the 1990’s, the media portrayed youths to be trouble,
which links with Osgerby and Hebdige’s theory which described “youth as
troublemaker”, and also portrayed them to be addicted to sex, drugs and alcohol
which supports Hall’s theory that “all young people go through some degree of
emotional and behavioural upheaval,” and that “Youth must have excitement,” or
it is “prone to be sought in sex or drink.” An example that supports this is
from the BBC dated on the 1st April 1990 during the football riots: “They have set fire to the chapel and gymnasium, and
wrecked prison cells.”
Youth culture of the 90’s followed the grunge fashion, which was inspired by bands such as Nirvana where they would wear things such as t-shirts with ripped, baggy jeans and dye their hair unnatural colours. Other music such as the Spice Girls inspired the pop fashion where mostly girls would base their image on the way the Spice Girls looked: short skirts, crop tops and tight dresses. Later in the 90’s, it became popular for men to wear football t-shirts during the time of the football riots.
In 1993, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain committed suicide. One of Nirvana’s most popular songs: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, relates to the youth culture of this decade. Drugs such as ecstasy were also popular with the youths of the 90’s as well as illegal raves which supports Hall’s theory. Youths of this time would do illegal things for fun, but this meant that tragic incidences would happen; for example, this quote from the BBC dated on 13th November 1995 shows the consequences: “An 18-year-old student is on a life-support machine after taking an ecstasy tablet at her 18th birthday party.”
In terms of British cinema, Danny Boyle’s Train Spotting is an example of how youths were portrayed by the media in the 90’s. This film shows the effects of drugs on people’s lives and also how they were always up to no good and in trouble; which supports Hall’s theory that “All young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioral upheaval.”
