What are the Social Implications of Different Media Representations of Different Groups of People?

It can be difficult to investigate the social implications of the representations of youth culture that occur throughout a variety of mediums, such as British films and soap operas. This is because the particular culture can be interpreted to its audience in a number of ways, which would then produce different outcomes and reactions. The examples that can be used within this essay are that of “A Clockwork Orange” and the “Harry Potter” series as British films, which different genres can provoke certain social implications through the representations that it contains. However, these examples can be compared to British soaps, such as “Emmerdale”, which is main stream so that it has to appeal to a greater audience with a soap like “Hollyoaks” that is aimed at a more specific age range.
The 1971 film of “A Clockwork Orange” portrays a negative idea of the youth culture of a broken Britain, set in the future. It shows the bad aspects of the lives of teenagers and young adults within that particular social group because it includes a number of criminal acts such as rape that is committed by the film’s leading character of Alex. When Alex is finally arrested for his crimes and goes to prison, it does not completely punish him because once he is released he eventually turns back into his old ways by the very end of the film. This shows the audience that even if they do carry out dreadful crimes then they will not necessarily suffer the full consequences of it or may reoffend afterwards so it may influence the people of the youth culture to complete these types of actions. Also, Alex does not respect authority figures such as his parents or the police. This is because he does not follow their rules or laws but does exactly what he likes, such as not going to school and instead going to the Korova Milk Bar to drink milk laced with drugs to give him energy for his nights spent carrying out his criminal acts. Therefore, this shows that the youth culture do not have to obey or do what they are told to do and instead can carry out what they want even if it means hurting other people. Another point is that there are a majority of male characters in dominant roles with high powered careers within “A Clockwork Orange”. Whereas, the women are mainly seen as objects that can be controlled and used for sex. This means that they normally do not have important careers apart from one doctor and psychologist that are seen within the film for short spaces of time. This may be due to the period of time in which the film was produced because even in the 70’s, women did not have jobs with a large amount of power like police officers. This could influence the male viewers to not respect women or see them as not being as important as themselves. It can be proven that this certain film contains an excessive amount of serious, hard hitting issues because in the year of 1973, its director, Stanley Kubrick decided to ban the film from Britain because the styles of violence that is included within it were being copied by other people and it was therefore seen as being too dangerous. This means that the film was influential because it helped to give its viewers ideas on ways in which to commit acts of violence.
Unlike “A Clockwork Orange”, the “Harry Potter” series of films portrays a positive aspect of youth culture. This is because Harry Potter learns from the older characters that are around him such as his teachers like Dumbledore. These characters help him to learn and develop into a young man. This shows the young people who watch the films that they can have role models that of an authority figure such as their parents or teachers, who they can look up to and can be taught life lessons by so that they can be good, moral people throughout their adult lives. Another positive representation that is used within the films is that he only surrounds himself with friends that mainly follow the rules of their society correctly as they try to defeat evil with good. This point can show its viewers that it is good to have friends and family close to you because they will always keep you on the right path and support you to carry out the correct actions even when times are difficult. Harry also has to learn how to face his fears and find his inner strength to do so. Therefore, members of the youth culture can be influenced by this to find strength from within them and discover who they really are as they grow into adults.
When examining the representation of youth culture in soap operas, such as “Emmerdale”, a positive portrayal of youth culture can be seen by its audience members. This is because it shows a realistic angle of the lives of teenagers and young adults within today’s society. This is due to the fact that a majority of the characters within this certain television programme have a job and care about their future by training and developing skills within careers that they can progress in and receive a great deal of money from. An example of a character that is similar to this description is that of Debbie Dingle. This is because she has her own garage as a mechanic that is the only one of its kind within the village that it is located in. This means that it is constantly busy and earns Debbie a great deal of money even though she is only twenty years of age. While owning a business, she also cares for her four year old daughter, who she named Sarah. This shows the soap’s audience that people within the social group of youth culture can be successful in life and earn their own money to support themselves even if they have a teenage pregnancy. This means that they should not be ashamed of being a teenage mother, which is becoming a popular issue as the number of pregnancies of girls of this age group rises across Britain.
Another example of a soap opera that includes representations of youth culture is that of “Hollyoaks”. However, unlike “Emmerdale”, which is targeted at all ages and contains storylines that are suitable for a majority of the British public, the television programme of “Hollyoaks” is mainly aimed towards the youth culture. Therefore it contains a majority of people between the ages of sixteen to thirty. This means that it focuses on the issues that people of that age group face within society. However, these issues are normally about more risky topics than other soaps because it does not have to be as appropriate for all ages due to its specific audience. An example of an issue that this soap has recently contained is that of bullying by the new character of Gaz. Within the storyline, he is nearly killed by the other teenagers that are in the programme, such as Newt, in a wooded area. They do this to seek revenge on him for trying to terrorise them and making all of their lives in the previous months a hell. This portrays a negative view of this age group because it shows that they bully each other and that those who are suffering from the bullying do not prevent it from happening in a suitable manner that does not contain violence. However, Newt is arrested for attempted murder, which shows the audience that people who try to commit crimes are prosecuted. Therefore, this point may stop them from carrying out these types of criminal acts within their own lives because they have witnessed the consequences that they could face by watching the soap.
By looking at this essay, it can be concluded that the different negative and positive social implications that are found within these examples of films and television programmes can have an effect on the teenagers and young adults that regularly watch them. This shows that even though the audience have their own minds with a variety of opinions, they can still consume the topics that are included within these examples. Therefore, their behaviour can be influenced in a good way by watching films like “Harry Potter” and soaps like “Emmerdale” or in a bad manner by becoming an audience member to films such as “A Clockwork Orange” and television shows like “Hollyoaks”.