Age Ineq Media Flashcards
Postman youth
Found that the idea of childhood has begun to disappear as children interact more and more with the media. He argued that children are sexualised in the media and that the media creates a world in which adults and children share the same music, sports, language, literature and films. He further emphasised this lack of difference between children and adults through clothing. For example, little girls in high heels and adult men wearing trainers.
Griffin youth
Stated that youths are labelled by the media in 3 ways:
Dysfunctional (meaning they don’t ‘function’ effectively), Suffering a Deficit (they act hard-done by e.g. financially due to increased tuition fees) and as Deviant (meaning they are norm and law breaking). This can create a self-fulfilling prophecy and also negative treatment from the general public / by those in ‘power’.
Cohen youth
Discussed negative labelling of youths in the media E.g. the Mods and Rockers. He stated that they are labelled as ‘folk devils’ who threaten the basic morals of society. This can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where youths ‘live down to their label’.
Landis elderly
Supports the findings of Age Concern and identified a number of stereotypes in representations of older people. They were depicted as ‘one-dimensional’ and described in a number of ways such as:
- grumpy old man - mentally deficient
- feisty old woman - sickly old person
- depressed or lonely - having wisdom
- busybody - having a second childhood
Carrigan and szmigin elderly
- State that older people are ignored in media advertising and when they are included they are stereotyped and presented as a caricature of an elderly person - They are presented as ‘smelly and incontinent’ and in need of support meaning they are seen as dependent on others.
Age concern elderly
Old people are disproportionately stereotyped as a burden, mentally challenged and grumpy.
Middle advantage
Carrigan and szmigin (younger people more in ads) Sontag (men not affect by standard of aging)
Kelly-youth
Has conducted research on the language used by journalists to describe young people who come into contact with the law and found there are three major types of representation: Young people are dangerous, young people are in need of protection and young people are immature.
Cuddly and fiske elderly
In the US, tv programmes portrayed just 1.5% of their characters as elderly. They usually play minor roles and are used as a form of comedy, often depicting their mental, physical and sexual capabilities as ineffective.
