The unfair framing of youth in the
media denies the fact that adults are as dangerous; youth violence is minimal
compared to adult violence in the 90’s. The media decides what to emphasis on
thus influencing adult perceptions of youth as dangerous or in need. I believe
this is done to further the communal interest of an older generation who feel
dis-empowered and is concerned with creating a false image of concernment and
conserving certain practices and values to adults only.
1997 We the media claims that the media
corrupts youth values by presenting vices and goods to solve problems cause by
insecurities and anxiety; anxieties and insecurities that are from an adult
centered perspective due to their lack of youth consciousness. Adults buy more
into the market hype than youth, think of the influence parents have on their
children; youth emulate adults. Adult markets push youth to accepting adult
ways and values either directly or through parent’s choices. Daniel Offer’s,
psychiatrist, observation that American adults have a dislike for youth because
of their fear of getting old, demonstrates a sense dis-empowerment that comes
with age. In such case commercial media can be seen as a tool of influence of a
previous generation to control youth. It’s the adult that needs to check its
habits and values and not blame other things for youth corruption.
Internet is another medium that is blamed for the
corruption of youth through carnal vices however males recognizes that children
face dozens of threats in unregulated areas of everyday life, like adult
violence on children which is lightly covered by the media. Males also points
out that there is no evidence to support that the internet is making youth
corrupt. Adults create a false sense of concern by suggesting youth
restrictions when no regards for adult regulation or criticism of adult
indulgences is made. It’s ironic that adults emphasis youth protection from
negative influence when they are inconsiderate of personal habits.
Males notes that reporting of youth murder is three
times more likely than adult murder in the Los Angeles Times, a major newspaper
in the nation. Again, this emphasis undermines the commonality of adult
violence and most adults agree that media plays a role in constructing their
opinion of youth. Males also notes how Rolling Stone magazine, major and influential,
pick rare cases of minimal significance which are then exalted to present
falsely youth as a dangerous class. A quick browse through today’s Major
newspapers in the nation such as LA Times and News outlets show the over
representation of youth as either dangerous or in need. Gang
shooting in Korea Town 24 and 19 year old gunmen, Craigslist
Killer 19yo, Hazing
Death 19yo, Boy
found dead 15yo, this and more in current news.
Media representation of youth creates false
concerns. The media tends to take on a slippery slope argument where if one
teen deviates then all can and will. This misrepresentation of youth in the
mainstream excludes them and disrupts community.
-Males,
Mike. 1999. “Myth: The Media Tell the Truth about Youth.” Pp. 260-298 and
366-378 in Framing Youth: Ten Myths about
the Next Generation. Monroe, ME:
Common Courage Press.
I think my colleague did a great job analyzing the article by Males as well as highlighting the unfair way in which youth are depicted in the media. First of all, the media is an adult centered and censored means of communication that they use to funnel the public a certain message and in this case it's an adult-made depiction of youth-as-dangerous. As my colleague mentions in his post, many of the societal malaises are scapegoated on to the youth whether it be drugs, smoking, alcohol, violence. Many of these actions are said to be attributed to youth watching inappropriate things on tv or the internet, but realistically, most of the images seen on the tv and internet are from the minds of adults. Therefore, it's really hypocritical to say that the youth shouldn't do drugs or drink when adults are constantly sending subliminal messages telling us we should do it and that by doing it we'll be "fill in the blank". Also as my colleague highlighted, many of the crimes committed by only the smallest fraction of the youth are broadcasted on the headlines, but the majority of those same crimes are done largely by adults. Not only are youth blamed for these problems, but they are used so that adults can push the blame off of themselves for putting these messages into the youth's head whether it be smoking in front of their kids or even molesting their kids. Rather than adults saying that they're the bad influence and that they should change their behavior and change the way media portrays youth, they blame the youth for spending too much time on the internet and watching tv.
ReplyDeleteThis essay highlighted Male’s reading well. I find it interesting how media is blamed for the corruption of youth. For example, most of the things we watch on TV are aimed towards adults. Every TV show has a specific audience in mind and they choose a certain time to be played. Most of the cartoons are shown in the morning or afternoons when youth get out of school and the explicit material is shown late at night because they don’t expect children to be up to watch it. Essentially what we are saying is that Saturday morning cartoons are corrupting our youth. This can be true, since cartoons are created by adults. However, this is where I agree with you when you say, “It’s ironic that adults emphasize youth protection from negative influence when they are inconsiderate of personal habits.” Bottom line is that its probably not the cartoons that are corrupting youth. Maybe they are watching explicit TV shows that corrupt them since the adult isn't there to regulate. It's not their fault, it might be the parent's fault.
ReplyDeleteThis essay does a great job summarizing the Males reading. However in the introductory paragraph, I believe that Males tries to hint as adults using their past to assume that their youth will be just as bad or even worse, not just because they want to reserve certain things for just adults. This is very true as well, as Males explains this through the use of higher prices for car insurance that benefit the negative images portrayed of youth. But throughout the rest of the argument of the essay, this is supported well. I like that the author of the essay also make sure to include the idea that much of the media uses certain images and stories that are not very common situations but come to seem common as those situations are the ones most highlighted by the media.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the point made in both Males’ and Fernando’s essays that the adult-controlled media has framed the youth into this imagined negative ideal-type of unruliness and recklessness. I think both make an interesting point that the media has contributed to the longevity of many negative stereotypes so as to blame the youth for the problems of society in a completely disproportionate manner. Males’ article also contains countless examples of utterly wrong facts and often-misguiding figures. These have been used by many politicians to help them convince the electorate that they could cure all of society’s ills with a tougher stance on what they label juvenile delinquency. But denying youth a voice and blaming them for everything is more than electoral manipulation; it is a means of protection against more fundamental existentialist questions. If it is not the youth’s fault, then it means that “something is rotten in the [states of America]”, and that the roots of the social problem are considerably deeper than we would like them to be. Using the media to lock the youth in this cell of blame is an unfair burden on the country’s future adults, perpetrating a vicious cycle that will lead them to be resentful and act similarly with future generations, but it is above all a debilitating heuristic device to prevent adults from questioning their own actions and moral values.
ReplyDeleteFernando highlighted great points about the chapter, particularly when he touched on the double standard that youth are subjected to in society. Adults are responsible for many bad habits and have essentially imposed their fears and problems onto youth. The way that the media portrays youth as a promiscuous, dangerous, and drug-addicted class is hypocritical on the part of adults. In the media, there are recurring representations of youth-as-a-dangerous-class and as dependents.
ReplyDeleteI found it extremely interesting when Males pointed out the product-driven society that we live in, and how he outlined how much adults spent on beauty products and how they are just as insecure about their appearance, if not more, than youth. The statistics he draws upon reflect something important about society: it’s not just teens that have problems - it’s adults too. Having said that, I believe that there is something to be said about media affecting youth in the same way that media affects adults. I don’t entirely agree with Males when he says that the media has not role in shaping adolescent behavior. I believe on some level, the media shapes the behavior of youth, just as it does adults.
Perhaps there is an emphasis on the crime of the young, because adults feel as if they can and should control them. As mentioned in previous lectures, youth are seen to be malleable and capable of reform. If the media cast a constant and emphasized eye on the defects of adults, the nation would fall into dejection from lack of hope. It is believed that is far easier to reform youth than adults. You mention how the media lightly covers adult violence against children, for example. If such things were brought to light, society would feel morally unhinged. Therefore, the media concentrates on the deficiencies of the young. I do agree, though, that current media representations play to the vanities of those who feel their prime years have long past. There are more “older” individuals in society than youth, after all. Media outlets must play to their audiences in order to stay relevant. This is why, as you mentioned, the media chooses to portray the “rare cases,” they make good stories. In the end, there is an exacerbated view of “youth as a dangerous class,” which muffles the true voice of youth. This in turn does a great disservice to the welfare of our country.
ReplyDelete