Final Critical Investigation Draft

MEST 4: Coursework
Sundeep Sohal

'Gangs are usually between 20 to 30 in number and members aged between 15 and 25. People are dependent on you and you have a role. To suggest this is a breakdown of societies values etc is simply to echo numerous moral panics of the past.'[1]

'An investigation into how and why the tabloid press generates moral panics about male teenage delinquency.’

‘A young man in Britain today is unlikely to pick up a tabloid newspaper without seeing himself reflected as a ‘terrifying teen’ or ‘heartless hoodie’, wielding a knife or binge-drinking.'[2] This illustrates how the tabloid press continues to report about youths being ‘dangerous’ and leads to ongoing moral panics within society, even after audiences knowing that tabloids are trivial and not to be taken seriously. This leads too many members of the public becoming increasingly scared and intimidated by regular young people who are not criminals and do not cause anti-social behaviour. Teenagers, especially young boys are most likely to be targeted by the media for being immoral or delinquents in society. The media amplifies the issues of teenagers and their social habits by making links to previous stories from the past generating a moral panic. Stanley Cohen who studies Mods and Rockers showed that the actual situation is far more serious from what the media had generated.

Moral panics are created through different media texts e.g. films, magazines, articles and other different platforms e.g. broadcasting on the internet. Tabloids generate disproportionate number of articles about teenagers being ‘thugs’ and ‘youths out of control.’ Films like ‘American Pie’ (1999) and ‘Adulthood’ (2008) demonstrate a difference from how teenagers can be seen as comical and yet are also seen as highly anti-social and a threat to society. In the 21st century it seems teenagers are not getting treated any better and are increasingly represented in negative ways. This critical investigation will analyse the reasons behind how and why the tabloid press generate moral panics about male teenage delinquency.
Firstly, tabloid newspapers ‘contain stories that tend to be trivial and are responsible for the creation of moral panics.’[3] This could exemplify a reason behind why teenagers have been stereotyped and labelled as being anti-social and aggressive. The tabloid press generate many stories about young people as contemporary society is preoccupied, so it attracts the widest possible market through stories and make sales rather than providing balanced objective and information that is strictly fact and not exaggerated. ‘The Guardian’ published an article about a movie which is called ‘Harry Brown’ (2009) that strikes fear in British cinema, which is all about hoodies, teenagers and violence. This is currently the moral panic in society and the main reason for creating a film that is hard hitting reveals what society is like today and to stop it from happening. It has become intimidating for many viewers and the audience. However, this article was released by a broadsheet newspaper which shows they are going against the stereotype as they are saying that teenagers are not all the same and showing them a different light, unlike the tabloids that say all teenagers are the same ‘violent’ and ‘thugs’. 'A fear of the new and unknown if something is new and popular - especially if it is popular among young people - it is threatening, and… dangerous.’[4] This shows the simplicity of the matter that teenagers is just something new and simply another topic for tabloids to exploit in order to make sales. Additionally, because it is to do with young people it has been stereotyped as ‘threatening’[5] and created a panic in society to fear youths of today.

Additionally, the way the tabloid press generates these moral panics is by predominantly coming up with issues in society that will attract as many consumers as possible, they follow up stories and exaggerate them in order to make sales. ‘Moral panics occur when media and society link youth culture to juvenile delinquency. In all moral panics, patterns emerge of how the media chooses to portray what society finds threatening.'[6] This suggests that moral panics are illustrated through the media portraying certain groups in society that are threatening.
Tabloids also include stories that many people can relate to and identify with because this way it will feel like a magazine to users and they will want to purchase it regularly, unlike the ‘Financial Times’, which will generally attracts people in business or finance. They also want to promote their logo and bring in revenue for the company.
Moreover, the tabloid press has an effect on their audience, this is because the audiences feel tabloids are more interesting and customer related as it has stories that they can engage in and it makes them feel like it is gossip so they become more interested as it appeals to them a lot more than real news. Also, institutions like ‘The Sun’, generally have news about celebrities and occurring in society (trivial matters), they are also promoted through many different marketing tools like adverts, billboards but usually word of mouth. 'The typical user smokes their first joint in their mid-teens. The habit then declines steeply as young people move into jobs.’[7] This is a representation of teenagers which suggests that they do things that are illegal which intimidate society and give reason for tabloids to attack them. Tabloids are generally gossip newspapers which society can talk about whilst at work, on the phone etc. The ideology behind creating this article was it shows positive values like informing the readers and encouraging social and political change. However, it was at the expense of young people which made society believe the message being sent out was that teenagers in ‘hoods’ are anti-social and destructive youths and this quickly became the stereotype. The public believed that this was what all youths were like so it became the dominant ideology and now all youngsters are labelled to be anti-social.
Tabloids can also be found online posting reports on the internet, creating moral panics, the reason behind it is that technology is changing and nearly everybody has access to a computer, so by posting on the internet many people can see the news without going out to get it and this will still advertise the company. Moral panics have been created on teenagers because they are they currently are creating the most problems in society, however, my argument is that: Is it right to stereotype every teenager the same, as a ‘Terrifying teen or heartless hoodie.’[8] This informs us that all teens that are interested in news and society today always find themselves being attacked even though they are innocent which makes society ‘fear’ them and makes life difficult for all teenagers. 'It looks at what certain media texts do to vulnerable groups - 'recruiting' them as armed 'teenage thugs'. This idea of 'recruitment' and the word 'gangsters' in the striking white-on-black headline connotes a world away from hanging around on street corners to a more organised world of criminality and lawlessness.’[9] This shows us that media texts, doing this could possibly backfire on themselves and cause innocent teens to become delinquents and organize a world of crime that is more subtle.
There is a huge social concern with young people at the moment, and it is shown in the article above that society ‘fear’ teenagers because they believe that they are ‘gangsters’[10], rude, aggressive, violent and ‘dangerous’ all because of them wearing ‘hoods’, society has know followed the stereotype and strongly believe it. This is an example of self fulfilling prohecy and the hypodermic needle theory because news is being fed to the public, regardless if it is true or not and the public believe it, absorb it, thus, leading to a false panic to be created. 'The period was characterised by social and industrial unrest and successive moral panics about crime waves. A more aggressive and confrontational approach to law and order displaced the emphasis on crime, as a social problem.’[11] This demonstrates that socially it creates tension and stress for many members of the public and the emphasis on the moral panic is usually exaggerated so socially the public are suffering as well. This also simply re-emphasizes the issue and the problem that occurs with teenagers; 'Don't think Britons needed a bunch of think-tank eggheads to inform us our teenagers are the developed world's most accomplished binge drinkers.'[12]
Many people like the producers of the new film want to show society that the concern should not have happened because not all teenagers are like that, the same concern was with many other social groups in the past and they did not cause any problems. It is simply a over-reacted story that has fed the society to believe that young people are ‘evil’. Also, society believe that young people do not care about the community and always think about themselves, ‘me’, which is an example of uses and gratifications theory. This suggests that society are the ones who have made this decision to believe that young people are dangerous when they are not, so society is thinking about themselves.
‘What separates hoodies from the youth cults of previous moral panics – the teddy boys, the mods and rockers, the punks, the ravers.’[13] From the article above this shows that many groups and youth cults from previous years have all been around and been feared when the only problem was that the groups just liked the new styles that were in fashion, enjoyed a certain kind of music and followed their clothing (copy cat theory). This is the same with young people of today who wear ‘hoods’ because of the music they listen to and the artists also wear ‘hoodies’.[14] So, we are in a time where these new fashions are used. 'Major moral panics in recent times have centered on fears about paedophillia, AIDS, drugs, knife and gun crime.’[15] This clearly suggests how these panics have come about before and is still to this present day a continuing issue.
'The term moral panic was originally employed by Jock Young (1971) and Stanley Cohen (1980).’[16] Moral panics were first thought up by these theorists that stated what a moral panic was. ‘The Guardian’ decided to write this article as it can help them economically grow by generating many sales and making revenue from the number of copies sold. What is more, by promoting a film on their newspaper they may make revenue from producers of that text as well. Also, ‘The Guardian’ can grow and expand through having an article that is appealing, interesting and keeps the reader engaged, this will help them economically because they can then become recognized through ‘word of mouth’ and then sell more copies and financially do even better and by creating moral panics will attract more consumers. Also, during a moral panic, everybody wants answers and wants to know all about the issue that the world is facing at this point and if they do not get the answer society draw up their own conclusions. ‘With the populist press in full panic mode, everyone was out to propose answers.'[17]
The political problems with this text is that already there is news, debates and issues about young people being ‘dangerous’. It is slowly becoming a concern for superiors like the police and government because if the moral panic continues to grow the police may have to intervene and clamp down on young people by arresting suspicious teenagers (who may not have even done anything). There is a new law which enables police to stop and search without any questions and this is negative for youths as the way they are represented in the media suggests that they are the main reason behind why there is a stop and search policy and they are the ones who are searched more often than others. ‘The idea and the image of the juvenile delinquent continued to colour films of all kinds made about teenagers in the 1950s and 1960s, from sensationalised crime dramas and social problem films'.[18] They do this because they want to ensure the safety of the public as they can see what the issue is about and be aware. However, it is not a good thing for teenagers because they may not be doing anything and still get searched, arrested etc. 'A great deal of public discussion of the link between media violence and children's aggressive behaviour.’[19] The government have become involved by sending out new laws on teenagers, for example, not being able to leave school until the age of 18 and this could be because after 16 young people hang around in the streets and cause havoc due to their ‘aggressive behaviour.’[20] Teenagers may just want to start working, so the stereotype is constantly against them.
To conclude, teenagers are ‘intimidating’ and ‘violent’ to an extent and moral panics can be generated because tabloids enjoy gossip and also teens are the ones who are creating the most problems in society today. However, not all teenagers are delinquents as they are not all the same as the ones represented on the front page of tabloids, many teenagers do not go around 'mugging and picketing.’[21]. 'The other tabloids all ran similar stories, many on their front pages along with photographs of writing masses of sweaty teenagers, thrill seeking youngsters in a dance frenzy at the secret party attended by more than 11,000. The ravers in the photo look hot, crazed and quite demented.’[22] Also, the use of an exclamation mark in a headline is usually reserved for only the most shocking of subjects. ‘The moral panic had begun.'[23] This shows how petty and insignificant the problems are and that the moral panic does not have to be made into a big deal like it is, many should take into account that teenagers are mercly stereotyped, whilst being represented in a tabloid newspaper and this representation is far from accurate. Many tabloid newspapers excuse reports related to teenagers who demonstrate positive things they have done in society.

WORD COUNT: 2, 195


































Bibliography: Shown in alphabetical order;

'Works Cited’

Books:-

Ø Bennet, P, Slater, J, Wall, P, (2006), A2 media studies: The essential introduction, Abington: Routledge.

Ø Cook, P, (1985), The cinema book 2nd edition, London: British film institute.

Ø Hartley, J, (2002), Communication, cultural and media studies The key concepts, London: Routledge.

Ø Kolker, R, (2009), Media studies An Introduction, West-Sussex: wiley-blackwell.

Ø Laughey, D, (2009), Media studies Theories and approach, Great Britain: Kamera books.

Ø Lovin, J, (2000), Media violence alert, USA: Dreamcatcher press inc.

Ø Probert, D, Graham, A, (2008), Advanced media studies, Oxfordshire: Phillip Allan.

Ø Rayner, P, Wall, P, Kruger, S, (2001), AS media studies: The essential introduction, London: Routledge.

Ø Williams, K, (2003), Understanding media theory, London: Arnold publishers.

Internet:-

Ø Hoodies strike fear in British cinema -http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/nov/05/british-hoodie-films

Ø Moral panic and a return to gesture politics -http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-moral-panic-and-a-return-to-gesture-politics-462773.html

Ø Moral panics -
http://www.lycos.com/info/moral-panic--moral-panics.html

Ø Moral panics over youth culture and video games -http://www.gamebits.net/other/mqp/

Ø Street Life -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6399961.stm
Ø Teenagers binge drink because adults think it is cool and exciting -http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/rowanpelling/6123282/Teenagers-binge-drink-because-adults-think-it-is-cool-and-exciting.html

Ø The effects of bad press -http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/18/asbos-youthjustice

Ø The effects of bad press - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/18/asbos-youthjustice

Ø The world map of cannabis -
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-world-map-of-cannabis-1803642.html

‘Works Consulted’

Books:-

Ø Casey, B, (2008), Television studies The key concepts, London: Routledge.

Ø Gifford, C (2006)

Ø Strinati, D (2000) p.55

Internet:-

Ø Drug addiction in Britain -
http://www.beatingaddictions.co.uk/drug-addiction-britain.html

Ø Teenagers in court over shooting -http://www.itv.com/News/Articles/Teenagers-in-court-over-shooting-708538133.html

Ø http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/ 43305/

Ø http://www.slideshare.net/newsprod/film-genres-presentation



[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6399961.stm
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/18/asbos-youthjustice
[3] Rayner, P, Wall, P, Kruger, S (2001) p.223
[4] Kolker, R (2009) p.269
[5] Ibid
[6] http://www.gamebits.net/other/mqp/
[7] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-world-map-of-cannabis-1803642.html
[8] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/18/asbos-youthjustice (Ibid)
[9] Probert, D, Graham, A (2008) p.172
[10] Ibid
[11] Bennet, P, Slater, J, Wall, P (2006)
[12] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/rowanpelling/6123282/Teenagers-binge-drink-because-adults-think-it-is-cool-and-exciting.html
[13] http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/nov/05/british-hoodie-films
[14] Ibid
[15] Laughey, D (2009) p.100
[16] Hartley, J (2002). P. 147
[17] http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-moral-panic-and-a-return-to-gesture-politics-462773.html
[18] Cook, P (1985) p.218
[19] Lovin, J (2000) p. 69
[20] Ibid
[21] Williams, K (2003) p. 137
[22] http://www.lycos.com/info/moral-panic--moral-panics.html
[23] Ibid