Throughout history, youth have been assigned various labels
that are meant to define their role in the current society. Jon Savage’s article describes a phase in
history where youth were seen as objects of saving in study. The “Montgomery
Guards: A Growler Gang in Session” and the commentary surrounding the photo
presented the idea that youth were vulnerable to corruption and society, and
the adults of society need to create ways in which to alleviate them from their
plight. Photographers were seen as crusaders on a mission to rescue youth from
the disease known as poverty. Society felt that poverty was what drove youth to
corruption, so once youth are rescued from poverty, by extension they should be
saved from corruption. Savage’s piece does an excellent job at showing the
media’s power to shape other’s perceptions. As the article explains, this photo
was one of many that set the tone of adult perceptions of youth for the next
several years of history.
Savage’s article resonates with a time period much later in history during the late 1900s. In this part of history, youth were seen as dangerous individuals. In fact, this view is identical to the idea of youth as objects of saving. However, as we discussed in class, the major difference is how adults approached the “problem”. In the late 1800s, adults became proactive in laws and other legal guidelines and systems that aimed to help youth. But if we were to fast forward 100 years to where youth were viewed as dangerous, society has almost turned the opposite direction. At this point, youth were scene as so dangerous and corrupt that they were feared and avoided. Instead of court cases and laws that were aimed to help the youth, the legal matters of this time period were either meant to protect society or punish youth. An example of this would be Gallo v. Acuna. This case dealt with gang injunctions and resulted in the passing of said injunctions. If this incident were to have happened in the 1800’s, its likely that adults would have attempted to decipher the root of gang behavior (using scientific method and research), and following that, think of laws to assuage that problem.
If we were to examine the perception of youth now, it would almost be a combination of “youth as objects of saving and study” and “youth as dangerous”. Similar to the late 1800’s, we study youth culture and with that knowledge, devise programs or laws that are designed to help troubled youth. Society has acknowledged that some aspects of youth culture can be dangerous, but instead of turning out back on them, they offer them opportunities for change if they want to take it. Perception of youth as it is presently shows how the perceptions we’ve created throughout history don’t necessarily disappear with time, but fluctuate in various degrees depending on how the media presents youth.
Savage’s article resonates with a time period much later in history during the late 1900s. In this part of history, youth were seen as dangerous individuals. In fact, this view is identical to the idea of youth as objects of saving. However, as we discussed in class, the major difference is how adults approached the “problem”. In the late 1800s, adults became proactive in laws and other legal guidelines and systems that aimed to help youth. But if we were to fast forward 100 years to where youth were viewed as dangerous, society has almost turned the opposite direction. At this point, youth were scene as so dangerous and corrupt that they were feared and avoided. Instead of court cases and laws that were aimed to help the youth, the legal matters of this time period were either meant to protect society or punish youth. An example of this would be Gallo v. Acuna. This case dealt with gang injunctions and resulted in the passing of said injunctions. If this incident were to have happened in the 1800’s, its likely that adults would have attempted to decipher the root of gang behavior (using scientific method and research), and following that, think of laws to assuage that problem.
If we were to examine the perception of youth now, it would almost be a combination of “youth as objects of saving and study” and “youth as dangerous”. Similar to the late 1800’s, we study youth culture and with that knowledge, devise programs or laws that are designed to help troubled youth. Society has acknowledged that some aspects of youth culture can be dangerous, but instead of turning out back on them, they offer them opportunities for change if they want to take it. Perception of youth as it is presently shows how the perceptions we’ve created throughout history don’t necessarily disappear with time, but fluctuate in various degrees depending on how the media presents youth.
I think it’s really interesting how the contrast between perspectives of youths as ‘objects of saving and study’ and as a ‘dangerous class’ really brings forward the different adult perspectives existent in the two time periods. In less than a century there is the shift from an attempt to ‘save’ and investigate youth via new social science principles to a period in which youth are labeled as ‘superpredators’. Especially in the 1980s and 90s media was overused against youth to the extent that actual has crime had declined while it was the fear of crime that had increased. In addition to immediate prevention of gang activity Gallo v. Acuna also had the radial effect of systematic racial and gender profiling which would ensue. I agree with Anthony’s point that society and law today are a mix of both periods, because youth are still viewed as capable of heinous crimes (Roper, Miller, etc) but they are ‘not quite adults’ and thus have the ability to reform themselves. This relates back to how in section in which we discussed that the various perspectives of youth tend to overlap throughout the years and thus we cannot simply ignore them as mere history.
ReplyDeleteAnthony was effective at bringing together two of the adult-centered perspectives of youth, "youth-as-objects-of-saving-and-study" and "youth-as-dangerous-class" in his essay, "The Unchanging Ideas of Youth." It was analytical of the ways in which adults are constantly changing their perspectives regarding youth. Savage’s article refers to the violence that has become associated with youth, which even would include the problems related to gangs and the bringing about of gang injunctions. The solution to all of these problems is unattainable since the world is constantly changing, as well as society’s views on what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Youth is not a class that involves easily deciphering what is right and what is wrong; instead, it has many overlaps, especially regarding age. In fact, I strongly agree that the media plays a strong role in how youth is perceived. Also, the advancing of technology is a strong component in how youth are viewed, since it enables youth to have more control on how they are viewed. It was enlightening to see a comparison of these two particular classes in order to really see the stark differences in how youth has been viewed and how they are still viewed today.
ReplyDelete-Marlow McCurdy
This essay was quite interesting as it tied together the idea of media representation with how youth are treated in the legal system. I think he made a good case of youth as dangerous and youth needing saving coming from the same place, but I think there is one main difference. In the beginning youth were considered sort of dependent on adults and I think that idea has stayed in our minds even up to now. This whole thing where youth need saving, or that they are not quite adults stems from the fact that at youth are tied to their parents and thus not held to the same standards as adults. Youth as dangerous comes from fear and that is the fundamental difference between this and youth need saving. It is this fear that is the main distinction between youth needing to be saved and youth being these super predators. If there had been no crack epidemic, no war on drugs, and abortion had been legalized sooner, this portrayal of youth as dangerous may have never entered the legal sphere. The problem with these different classifications is that they stay in the minds of society for generations, so I agree when he said that it is a combination of youth need saving and youth as dangerous, but in reality it is a combination of all of them.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, there is an “unchanging” feel to the direction in which the legal system and society views youth. Your idea that today if we are in a hybrid youth culture of “youth as an object of study and saving” and “youth as a dangerous” is valid. We are still utilizing social science and science to create more “progressive” policies for youths, through both youth and adult narratives, at the same media portrays the youth, especially black and latino youths, as dangerous and in need of incarceration – being that the state isn’t really interested in rehabilitation anymore. Today, we see a new kind of “youth as dangerous” where the term “youth” is analoglous to meaning “poor” and “person of color”. We see that with the discretion of the courts, youths can claim “affluenza” and suffer no punishment, whereas, a youth who’s committed a less serious crime will be punished with jail time. Discretion from judges for criminal acts for juveniles is needed but, when used in such a way that it doesn’t allow for society to feel there’s been some sort of retribution to the victims, this can lead to greater issues in the future.
ReplyDeleteAs Anthony Toves mentioned that photographers took on the role as crusaders to expose many social problems and necessary reforms during Progressive Era. Photographer such as Jacob Riss portrayed children sleeping in back allays and collective gathering of youth training. Moreover, the media was not only contingent in United States since the "Apaches" in Paris was portrayed to be wild and dangerous. I think media has distorted the presentation of youth. I agree with Anthony Toves that media had successfully classified youth as a new threat to society which also affected how other institutions and adults would treat youth.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Anthony's comparison of "youth-as-dangerous-class" and "youth-in-need-of-saving" was very accurate in how it blurred the lines between the two across the years. I thought the reference to Savage's article regarding youth as being vicious and dangerous creatures lurking about in search of some defenseless person was an unfortunately accurate depiction of youth in the 1900s. The Males article was very intriguing in that it was a fascinating study highlighting the fallacies in the media's depiction of youth both in the early 1900s till the 1990s. I found it interesting that as actual crime decreased, the population's perception of crime activity increased over time. I also liked how Males articulated the fact that the media creates its own images of people solely for the effect of selling stories and creating fear, which sells. The author of this essay did a great analysis and incorporated the main ideas from these readings on youth in the media.
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