Media representations of Age Flashcards
Media representations of age
Media representations of Childhood
Heintz-Knowel (2002)
Conducted a content analysis of ways in which children are portrayed in entertainment television. This entailed closely examining children’s entertainment programs portraying child characters (i.e. not child news, talk or reality shows. From her analysis, a number of somewhat contradictory findings emerged:
- Children shown on entertainment television are motivated most often by peer relationships and romance. And least often by school-related or religious issues
- Children shown on entertainment television are motivated most often by peer relationships and romance. And least often by school-related or religious issues
Rosen and Crafter (2018)
The UK media simultaneously portrays child refugees as innocent, tragic victims and suspicious illegitimate migrants.
Postman (1982)
Postmans research into childhood suggested that the development of entertainment media from the 1950s has an effect on ‘childhood’ as a stage in life.
He illustrated through his study of the effects of TV on children nevertheless illustrated sociological ideas about media representations of childrren.
Described ways in which children were prematurely sexualised in media portryalsand the ways in which the media creates a world in which adults and children share the same music and hobbies.
See this illustration of the effect of the lies in the lack of differentiated clothing styles (little girls in heels and men in trainners) and the effects this has on young peoples self-concept.
Who are you using for childhood?
Heintz-Knowel (2002)
Rosen and Crafter
Postman
Media representations of youth
Orgerby (2002)
tudied the shifts in media representations of youth in the second half of the twentieth century. He noted a recurring theme of ‘youth-as-trouble’. A phrase coined by Hebdige (1988). Osgerby asserted that shifts in media representations of youth reflect wider cultural developments and mirror the spirit of the times. He illustrated this view by referring to the way in which the media represented youth positively in the 1950 and early 1960s in a post-war mood of hope of teenage violence in the 1970s and 1980 which seemed to reflect concerns about growing lawlessness and social breakdown.
Wayne (2007)
and a team of researchers at Brunel university examined ways in which young people are portrayed on television news. Their analysis covered 2,130 news items across all the main television channels during May 2006. They found 286 stories in which young people were the main subject of the news items.
Hoodies or Altar Boys (2009
examined national and regional newspapers’ content, looking at how stories on teenage boys were covered.
Results found:
Terms used in newspaperss stories about teen boys included ‘thugs’ ‘yobs’ ‘hoodies ‘feral’ etc.
There were more newspapers stories about teens and crime (as victims or offenders) than about teens and other subjects put together.
What are you using for media representations of youth?
Osgerby (2002)
Wayne (2007 - study
Hoodies or Altar boys (2009)
Media representations of older people
Landis (2002)
Identified a number of sterotypes in representations of older people in a TV or films.
She described typical portryals as ‘one-dimensional’ and identified certain types:
- Grumpy and old
- Feisty old women
- Sickly old person
- Depressed and lonely
Cuddy and Fiske (2004)
Showed that in US, TV programmes portrayed by 1.5% of their chracters as elderly. Most of them appearning in minor roles and usually as figures who provide comic relief.
Biggs (1993)
Argued that there is evidence for change is representations of older people. He identified contrasting trends in the representations of ageing including:
- older people appearing in considerable numbers of soap operas
- Negative portrayed a more active view of older people
