Callum Endean-Coyle AS Film Studies 7057: Research essay

The representation of teens in British contemporary films

In this research I will be looking into the way that teenagers are represented in contemporary British films. British films produce a distorted representation of British male teenagers, in particular those from lower class urban areas. However, female teens with a middle class background are represented positively. In my research I will be looking at various sources of information and analyzing films that are represent a clear view on the topic. The films I will be looking at are Kidulthood (2006), Harry Brown (2008), Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging (2008) and Bend It Like Beckham (2002). As well as this, I will also be taking into consideration the social influences and impacts that have changed the film industry and introduced the stereotypes that are shown throughout these films.

In British contemporary cinema, lower class male British teens are represented to be intimidating, aggressive and terrifying. This reflects some of the negative representations I stated in my thesis. An example of this is identified in the opening scene of Harry Brown, where the director uses low key lighting and effective mise-en-scene to reflect ideas that male teens are represented in stereotypical ways such as taking drugs, being rebellious and being violent. A large group of male teens use peer pressure and aggressiveness such as pushing and getting into his face to intimidate another male into taking part in illegal activities. The use of low key lighting in this scene straight away informs the audience that something negative is happening, as well as showing that reflecting how the people in the shot don’t want to be seen properly. However they do want to prove that they have power and control and they show this through the way they act towards the individual who clearly looks uncomfortable. This desire for power is a reflection on the way society views male teens, and this view may have been affected by social influences such as the London riots, where (by the majority) male teens started a destructive riot over the death of criminal and gang member Mark Duggan. The riots lasted for days as teens terrorized the streets of London in an attempt to prove that they are a dominant force in society. The riots had both an impact on the way teens were perceived by elders as they were labeled with words such as ‘out of control’ and ‘a lost generation’ as well as this, the way that teens reacted added to this as some felt they had become a victim of a new prejudice, which unfortunately for some only led to worse behavior. Kidulthood also reflects ideas that male teens are threatening and contentious, particularly when involved in groups rather than when alone. Similarly to Harry Brown, a group of older male teens wearing identity covering clothing such as Hoodies surround a younger group of teens and bully them physically and verbally, the verbal abuse seems to effect the younger group more (than the physical bullying) which shows how important male teens place their pride and ego. The characters in Harry Brown and Kidutlhood are very similar in many ways, for example they both show how male teens cluster in groups when taking part in deviant or illegal activities, and they also are shown to attack others who have no form of defense. This behavior confirms the stereotype that male teens are intimidating and aggressive as they target vulnerable, weaker people in order to show that they are the powerful force in society. Gender roles are ‘cultural and personal’[1] and they play a huge part in why male teenagers are perceived to and actually do behave in the way in which these films represent them. This is mainly because as infants males and females are treated differently by their elders. An example of this differential treatment is the idea that’s young boys will be expected to take part in aggressive activities such as play fighting and playing competitive games such as football or rugby, on the contrary girls are brought up to be caring and friendly, the complete opposite to a male. In an article from The Guardian, they suggest that teenage males ‘strike fear’[2] into the people of Britian, and that films such as Kidulthood and Harry Brown reflect the ideas that these characters are so fearsome, they will make effective film antagonists. I believe that social influences are a reason for the up rise in the ‘Lower class gangster male’ antagonist due to things such as a rise in the awareness of teenage gangs, especially from areas that are deemed lower class. The Guardian states that people are ‘defined by their class’[3] which backs up Karl Marx theory which suggest that ‘the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles’[4] which means that ‘ever since human society emerged from its primitive and relatively undifferentiated state it has remained fundamentally divided between classes who clash in the pursuit of class interests’[5]. The class differences are obvious to the audience watching films such as Bend It like Beckham and Angus, thongs and perfect snogging. In comparison to these with the two other films, there are clear representation differences. An example of a representation difference is how female teens are shown to be affectionate and approachable, shown when Jesminder from Bend it like Beckham is approached by Juliette while playing football. This type of stranger interaction would be deemed as perilous if done in a situation where lower class male teens are involved. This shows how male teens from lower class areas are reflected in a negative way, whereas female teens from a middle class background are represented in a positive light.

The theme of negative stereotypes is also key to the distorted representation of lower class teenage males in British contemporary cinema. An example of a stereotype from British contemporary cinema is a scene from Kidulthood, where three teenage males enter a designer clothes shop and are making a bit of a nuisance while looking at expensive items. The security guard of the shop immediately makes the prejudice that the boys are going to attempt to steal from the shop. The guard made his prejudice due to the clothes that the boys were wearing, items such as tracksuit bottoms which were pulled down, hoodies covering their faces and ironically one boy was wearing a hat from the same designer label. These items of clothing could be deemed as stereotypical of lower class males. The guard made an assumption that the boys, due to there costume, wouldn’t be able to afford the items in the shop due to the prejudice they were from a lower class area where money income would be small. This stereotype is part of the new theory, which suggests that male teens ‘have no respect for any other part of society. It’s all about me, me, me.’[6] Young males are a very commonly stereotyped group, and this is due to the fact that ‘it is adults who create media texts and as a result of this younger people… are given simplistic representations’[7]. I agree with this statement as the media is dominated by adults, giving teens no chance to voice their thoughts and opinions on social matters and therefore are constricted to having to take action in order to make a social statement. Harry Brown stereotypes ideas that male teens are drug dealers, violent physically and also through the use of fatal weapons such as guns. These types on negative representations from Kidulthood as well as Harry Brown also affect the way that male British teens are seen in the British society. British directors such as Daniel Barber (Harry Brown) and Menhaj Huda (Kidutlhood) are taking advantage of the fear of that the public have on the new gang culture that is now ever growing in the UK.

The Inbetweeners (2011) give a counter typical representation on teenage males, they show the life of middle class white males who live in a suburban area of England where they have very different aims in life compared to the males seen in the lower class, for example Will (Inbetweeners) is desperate to gain a place in university and therefore prioritizes his school work over his social life whereas in Kidulthood there is a complete disregard for school life. The teenager’s represented in Kidulthood live in a completely different area to that of the males in The Inbetweeners, they live in council estates, flats based in extremely urbanized areas of London that are considered dangerous places to be because of the fact that they tend to be crime ridden areas. The idea that ‘the smart money in British cinema is going on those films that prey on our fear of urban youths and show that fear back to us’[8] suggests that the media are exploiting teenage males as a character base for films. This type of media based stereotype is a complete contrast to the stereotypes seen in Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging. An example of a stereotype shown is the idea of females battling over boys and one of them not feeling attractive due to the lack of male attention. This stereotype is one that feminist in particularly dislike as it shows males to be the more dominant sexuality as they are shown to hold a clear power other the female. Although this is a negative stereotype, it is a much less dangerous and damaging one compared to that seen in Kiduthood and Harry Brown in terms of its effect on society. Other less dangerous stereotypes are seen in Bend It Like Beckham where the one of the females in the film is stereotyped by her own judgmental mother to be a lesbian because of the fact that she plays football and shares a close friendship with another girl. This is a common stereotype and there have been many recent campaigns in football such as the ‘Rainbow lace’ campaign to help eradicate homophobia in football. Professional female footballer Grace Stoney discusses the difficulty of being a lesbian football, and explains how ‘I've never hidden it within football circles because it is accepted, but to the outside world, I've never spoken about my sexuality’[9], this portrays why films such as Bend It Like Beckham give us an insight into the difficulties of social stereotypes on female football players. Stereotypes of young people are shown throughout all the films I have looked at, some stereotypes could have more effect on society than others, but I feel all of them have at least some effect on society and the way that society views different genders and social groups. As long as, especially male teens are represented the way they are, they will feel under more pressure to actually conform to those stereotypes and it will eventually become of vicious circle of stereotypes, media representation of the stereotype and then the reaction to the stereotype.

Another aspect, which may be viewed in a negative way, is the idiolect used by the youth in Kidulthood and Harry Brown. The use of slang by youths from particularly the lower class is quite a controversial subject. People, particularly those who are from middle class and upper class backgrounds may deem slang to be rude, disrespectful and a sign of someone unintelligent; whereas people from lower class areas would argue it can give people an identity and also give young people a type of freedom. Both films use very similar terminology and also use it in similar contexts. Words such as ‘Fam’, ‘blad’, ‘bruv’ ‘ting’ and ‘buff’ are some examples of commonly used slang terms throughout both films. Both films are London based films, and therefore some of the slang used may not be used in Manchester for example, however these areas still do have teens that use slang terms similarly to London teens. The use of slang from these youth could be seen as a way to express himself or herself as an individual and also could be seen as an attempt to rebel against society by refusing to use the Queen’s English but instead almost making their own modification on the language of English itself. The use of slang could also be used as a way to be socially accepted in their own society, where younger males may feel pressurized into using slang terms to conform to expectations of elders. This is a change to the type of dialect used in Bend It Like Beckham and Angus and Thongs and Perfect snogging where slang is non-existent, which again reinforces my thesis that lower-class males are shown to be rebellious and unintelligent whereas middle class teens are shown to be intelligent and socially accepted. Similarly to other comparisons, the major difference between the two groups being represented in the films is class differences, this is another form of stereotype that middle class youths speak what is deemed ‘properly’ whereas the way that lower class youths speak is deemed as ‘improper’. The use of slang by young male teens is another stereotype which is portrayed negatively by this urbanized gang genre of films, the use of slang doesn’t always mean that the person speaking it is a violent, dangerous and unintelligent person however the films portray it in such a way that the audience wouldn’t know otherwise. The use of slang is being misunderstood by the older generation due to the fact that the media make it out to almost be dangerous.

The expectations that society have change massively when it comes to the lower class and the middle class. Lower class males particularly have a desire to rebel against the constraints that society places upon them because they feel that society has been unfair to them, and that they are actually owed a chance in life. Ethnicity could also be a factor in this rebellious behavior, as unfortunately the majority of people living in lower class areas are ethnic minorities, which could suggest that it is harder for ethnic minorities to become successful and escape the lower class. Social theorist Robert Merton uses the ‘self fulfilling profiecy’ theory which suggests that ‘a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the originally false conception come true to reflect ideas that people of a certain ethnicity are just going to fulfill the stereotype placed upon them’[10]. This lack of confidence in their ability to succeed the right way (getting a education, good job etc.) leads to these males taking part in activities that they think has a negative effect on society but in reality the only ones being given a bad name are themselves. Females in Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging and Bend It Like Beckham however have the complete opposite reaction to social expectations, they have a desire to fulfill them expectations and are disappointed when they can’t achieve this, for example Georgia desires to have a boyfriend, and this plays a part in her desire to get into a relationship with ‘sex god’ Robbie. Jesminder faces a different type of social constraint to that of Georgia, as she aspires to be a professional female footballer while her parents would rather her concentrate on school and what they see as a proper career such as becoming a doctor. This desire to achieve and become successful in a morally right way represents middle class females as inspirational, hard working and independent, which are all positive representations unseen in teenage males from the lower class. Although in a way Jesminder does rebel as she continues to play without her parents’ permission, but this is a very different type of rebellious behavior compared to the characters in Kidulthood and Harry Brown. Altogether, social expectations and constraints play an important part in all the films I have analyzed mainly due to the fact that they lead the individuals to do the actions that they do.

In conclusion, I believe that teenage males are given a false representation in contemporary British films; however they do target the small percentage of teenage males that take part in negative activities, which are portrayed in the films. Lower class male teens are shown as an intimidating and aggressive group of people who are fearless to the consequences that could potentially happen to them. They are also stereotyped to be disruptive, unintelligent and violent which are all extremely negative stereotypes that effect societies views on that particular social class. This all leads to the social expectations placed upon teens from lower class areas as they are always told that they will end up nowhere, following the trend set by other lower class males who rebel against society and defy all rules. This is a stark contrast to the positive representation of middle class teens where they are represented as intelligent, obedient and will do anything to make sure they meet the positive expectations society has of them.

Word Count: 2,828

Bibliography

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/sociology/sex-and-gender/gender-roles

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/05/british-hoodie-films

http://www.cf.ac.uk/socsi/undergraduate/introsoc/marx6.html

http://www.slideshare.net/smcmediastudies/harry-brown-age

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/12/sportswomen-stereotyped-gay-coming-out-casey-stoney

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0060/prophecies.shtml