Over the years subcultures and groups have evolved from the Teddie boys in the 50's to the rave scene in the 90's. This is seen through representation, especially in film. Kidulthood (2006) and Rebel without a cause (1955) demonstrate this change through the two social groups.
Kidulthood which is a Y2K film follows the issues that can be faced in teenage life, including bullying and teenage pregnancy. There are a mixture of boys and girls in the social group and they all conform to the stereotype of the 'chav' subculture, this can be seen through their image. The girls wear gold jewelry and the boys were tracksuits and caps. They also speak in slang and use swear words, what they say is also vulgar language which also conforms the stereotype of chav. This is very different to James Dean and the group in Rebel without a cause as they are from a middle class background whereas in Kidulthood many of them live in council estates. The group James Dean tries to fit in mainly dress in leather jackets and jeans and Judy who is his love interest wears a red top and pretty dresses, in much contrast to Becky in Kidulthood who wears little clothing. Although at the time Rebel without a cause was released, Judy's top caused some controversy as it was red which denotes danger and lust, but this is interesting as in today's society this would be overlooked as in films we see a lot more explicit content. Another obvious difference in both films is the mix of races. In RWAC there were predominately white characters but in Kidulthood there were many races but predominately black characters which represents a more modern society. Their image can be related to the ideas of Henry Tajfel as the two different groups build their image around each other especially seen in RWAC as he wears a leather jacket with the collar up to give off a rebellious feel .
Another change in the representation of social groups is the violence shown in the films. In RWAC the only scene that is somewhat violent is when Buzz and his gang pull out a pen knife of some sort but in Kidulthood there is scenes involving guns and in the end scene Sam beats Trife to death with a baseball bat which is explicit violence. This shows how society has changed in the way of what we are allowed to see as in the 1950's violence of that level would be censored, as well as the language and scenes of a sexual nature.
The ideas of Foucault can also be related to both films as James Dean is from a middle class background and from what we see in the film so is Becky as she lives in a house that is decorated to quite a high standard with white sofas and glass cabinets yet they both want to rebel and try to hang around with the wrong people, more in Becky's case as she takes class A drugs and sells her body.
There is a major difference in the education of the students, in Kidulthood we rarely see them learning as in the class scene Katie is being badly beaten up by a group of girls but just in their overall personalities it is clear to see they are not well educated whereas in RWAC Dean first meets Judy in a class where they are learning about science of some sort, and in their speech we can tell they are educated to a higher standard. This could also reflect the change in society as education was very important in the 1950's and men especially were seen to have to get good jobs and provide for their families but in today's society there a high statistics of truancy in schools and children have a lower expectation of school.
In conclusion the representation of social groups in Rebel without a cause and Kidulthood is very different but goes accordingly with modern society as the times have changed and so have what we expect and accept in modern day society, overall the idea of what a rebel is has greatly changed from James Dean to Kidulthood.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
How do young people form their 'collective identity' through reality TV?
In today's society there are now many reality TV shows focusing on young people and their lifestyles such as Made in Chelsea and Geordie Shore. These programs show us as the audience how these people live their everyday lives which therefore giving us in opinion of these groups.
Young people as a whole can now watch a reality TV show and feel gratification from it as they may be able to relate to these people therefore showing a way of them forming an identity of some sort. In the series Made in Chelsea, it focuses on the lives of a group of affulent young friends. As an audience watching this we may feel like we can relate to them if we were from a similar background or were going through the same things as they were. Their collective identity is created through their class as they are all from wealthy families for example Jamie Laing who is the heir to the Mcvitie fortune. Due to their class this brings them together and forms a collective identity becuase they would have been brought up in similar ways and used to a wealthly background. Due to the creation of this collective identity by audiences we therefore label them in perhaps a negative way because they are 'snobs' and 'stuck up. Them trying to break out of this label relates to Michael Foucault's theory as we can see them as trying to break out of their boundaries as in one of the episode, a boy refers to a girl as a 'bird' which is typically associated with the lower class. They also form their collective identity through their sexuality as they date each other and are romantically interested in eachother and a lot of the show revolves around their relationships.
In contrast to Made in Chelsea, the program Geordie Shore shows a completely opposite group of people. It focuses on a group of boys and girls from newcastle living in a house together. From first viewing we see them as coming from a lower class background as the boys are all topless and have tattoos which could be related to lower class and the girls are dressed in cheaper looking clothes. When watching Geordie Shore we see how different they are as they are portrayed as party animals, crude, loud and promisciuous. They create their collective identity through again class as they are all from a lower class, but also gender as the boys see the girls as 'objects' and want to be with as many as they can whilst the girls comply with this. Although like Made in Chelsea the characters in Geordie Shore can be seen to try to break out of their boundaries by wanting to have more money and trying to fit into a higher class society by the way they dress and through their image.
Having a collective identity can be seen as somewhat oppressive because according to Michael Foucault we cannot break out of these boundaries which means we are always labelled as that. For example if a girl who was a typical 'chav' wanted to become a goth she would struggle as she already has created her identity as a 'chav'. The Bolton News wrote:
Gary, for instance, says: “I have a degree in pulling women,” while Sophie adds: “I’m going to be a complete slut and put out. Her proud mum adds that she has a fantastic figure" this relays the idea of Foucaults theory as by reading this and then watching the program the audience would therefore stereotype and believe they were like this. The idea of reading and believing everything we read relates to the Marxist theory in the fact that they believe the media is an ideological tool and we take what the media give us.
In conclusion, through the use of reality TV many young people create their collective identity through various means but especially through their class, gender and sexuality. Although it can be seen as opressive these people can try to break out of any boundaries they are given but when the media has labelled you as something, its hard to ever subvert that as the media is a powerful tool!
Young people as a whole can now watch a reality TV show and feel gratification from it as they may be able to relate to these people therefore showing a way of them forming an identity of some sort. In the series Made in Chelsea, it focuses on the lives of a group of affulent young friends. As an audience watching this we may feel like we can relate to them if we were from a similar background or were going through the same things as they were. Their collective identity is created through their class as they are all from wealthy families for example Jamie Laing who is the heir to the Mcvitie fortune. Due to their class this brings them together and forms a collective identity becuase they would have been brought up in similar ways and used to a wealthly background. Due to the creation of this collective identity by audiences we therefore label them in perhaps a negative way because they are 'snobs' and 'stuck up. Them trying to break out of this label relates to Michael Foucault's theory as we can see them as trying to break out of their boundaries as in one of the episode, a boy refers to a girl as a 'bird' which is typically associated with the lower class. They also form their collective identity through their sexuality as they date each other and are romantically interested in eachother and a lot of the show revolves around their relationships.
In contrast to Made in Chelsea, the program Geordie Shore shows a completely opposite group of people. It focuses on a group of boys and girls from newcastle living in a house together. From first viewing we see them as coming from a lower class background as the boys are all topless and have tattoos which could be related to lower class and the girls are dressed in cheaper looking clothes. When watching Geordie Shore we see how different they are as they are portrayed as party animals, crude, loud and promisciuous. They create their collective identity through again class as they are all from a lower class, but also gender as the boys see the girls as 'objects' and want to be with as many as they can whilst the girls comply with this. Although like Made in Chelsea the characters in Geordie Shore can be seen to try to break out of their boundaries by wanting to have more money and trying to fit into a higher class society by the way they dress and through their image.
Having a collective identity can be seen as somewhat oppressive because according to Michael Foucault we cannot break out of these boundaries which means we are always labelled as that. For example if a girl who was a typical 'chav' wanted to become a goth she would struggle as she already has created her identity as a 'chav'. The Bolton News wrote:
Gary, for instance, says: “I have a degree in pulling women,” while Sophie adds: “I’m going to be a complete slut and put out. Her proud mum adds that she has a fantastic figure" this relays the idea of Foucaults theory as by reading this and then watching the program the audience would therefore stereotype and believe they were like this. The idea of reading and believing everything we read relates to the Marxist theory in the fact that they believe the media is an ideological tool and we take what the media give us.
In conclusion, through the use of reality TV many young people create their collective identity through various means but especially through their class, gender and sexuality. Although it can be seen as opressive these people can try to break out of any boundaries they are given but when the media has labelled you as something, its hard to ever subvert that as the media is a powerful tool!
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Video Analysis of Judas- Lady Gaga
In this video Lady Gaga is portraying Mary Magdalene, who is a biblical character and her torn love between Jesus and Judas who betrayed Jesus. Although she has done this with a modern twist as the costumes she wears have a 20th century twist with the leather jacket and bandannas which relates to the idea of Lady Gaga being a modern pop star. Also the outfit in the end scene shows her unique style which she is most known for therefore conforming to her stereotypical image. The whole ideas in the song also relate to herself as she is a devout catholic yet she breaks this mold as we see her as extrovert and not a stereotypical Catholic which all adds to how she as a star is constructed as we know for being unique. There are lots of closeups in the video and she is the main focus therefore putting emphasis the fact she is the star. Although there are similar connotations with Madonna and Lady Gaga has been compared to her, as they both were religious but tried to break the boundaries as such and caused controversy, she has also been said to build her image and persona on Madonna. In the dance scenes Lady Gaga is at the front at all the times and the main focus, showing she is the star again. The idea of her being torn between her God and Judas who is a 'bad boy' which reiterates the fact she is a modern day star.
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