Youth Culture and Collective Identity: BFI trip

Identity and the media:

• jaques lacan's Mirror stage
• The mirror stage is the point in which a child begins to develop their identity
• Applied to screen with audiences, audiences start to see themselves in the film (or other media) and start to aspire to be or create an identity with a character.
• This can act psychologically in a negative or positive way
• Representations can be accurate and therefor bring solidarity
• or they can be inaccurate or distorted and portray a false representation.

Youth Culture

• First reconginised youth culture was the 'Bowery Boys' of the 19th century, who were a gang of youths with there own sub culture and identification.
• Was the first time the entertainment industry and fashion industry targeted youth culture as a potential market for profiting
• 1900-1940's
• Youth culture started to become more vibrant but still not recognised as teenagers
• magazines start to target insecure young girls
• WW2 demands large labour force which in turn means many young people have disposable income to spend on entertainment and fashion
• 1945-160
• potential economy growth is obvious for youth culture to be the market of the future
• first negative stereotypes of adolescents
• the rock n roll culture and films such as 'the wild one' start up the new generation gap that don't want to identify with there previous generation and rebel against it.
• Adult Hegemony?
• hegemony = a dom. social group keeps an oppressed group in their subservient position by making them feel this position is normal or desirable.
• dult mainstream exploited the image of the 'rebel teen'
• sold to teenagers as aspirational
• sold to adults as a fear
• James Dean
• First real star to capture the dissonance of youth
• 'rebel without a cause'
• Characterised the 'live fast die young' culture
• 1960's and 70's
• Subcultures to counter cultures
• Next generation of teens very cynical about commercial exploitation of youth
• rebel chimes with social upheaval
• young people support movements, such as civil rights, feminist, anti nam movements, the rebel now has a cause.
• resistance to marketing and consumerisation wanted to make the world better
• Punk and Hip-Hop
• Both reactionary and rebellious music that was realities of their own areas, being that of poverty or being anti-establishment
• Adult obsession with youth
• women in journalism reports: 'Am i Bovered' and 'hoodies or altar boys'

Identity and stereotypes

• Internalised stereotypes
• youthful search for collective identity could result in these representations being internalised and accepted and self fulfilling
• Are the films 'kidulthood' and 'harry brown anti-youth and adult hegemony?