Media Studies Mock Revision

Task 1

1) Compare and contrast the representation of teenagers in the two texts.
(8 marks)

The representation of teenagers in the video game trailer for Bully is negative, as teenage boys in particular are objectified as being social deviants, as signified by the way the main character is dressed, with his shirt tucked out and by the way he talks. The use of medium shots of the 'bully' harassing school kids and creating havoc in the science laboratory injects messages into the audience that teenage boys are wild and troublesome. In many ways, an adult audience may have oppositional readings to the text, as it condones trouble and violence. By playing the game, teenage boys are injected with ideologies that creating havoc and being rebellious is acceptable. The teenage male audience for this game may reenact scenes from the game, such as the character using a slingshot at students and using the fire extinguisher at other students in order to harass them.

Likewise, in the trailer for Skins, teenagers are objectified as being rebellious, as signified by the montage which includes close up shots of teenagers smoking, having same sex relationships. In effect, the trailer may result in a moral panic, as adults may have oppositional readings to what the programme Skins actually mediates, as teenagers may be influenced by what they see and can adopt habits such as smoking, which could be harmful to their health. In many ways, the trailer may result in different audiences such as adults gaining negative views towards teenagers, as they are constructed to be rebellious and folk devils , as coined by Stan Cohen. In contrast to the trailer for Bully, the producers of Skins may be educating other audiences on teenage life and construct fairer representations of teenagers in order to signify how teenage life if about experimenting and being troublesome.

Across both texts, teenagers are negatively represented as being rebellious and deviant, as the trailer for the video game Bully constructs teenagers as being troublesome and deviant, as they can be liberal in what they do , for example the protagonist can use a fire extinguisher to harass other students and can cause mayhem in classrooms. Similarly, the trailer for Skins perpetuates a negative representation of teenagers, as they are more rebellious in the way they act and the fact that they can smoke, do drugs and have same sex relationships at a young age. The representation of teenagers in both texts may result in a moral panic, as adults may feel that teenagers are corrupted by society and are injected with ideologies that experimenting with drugs, causing mayhem and having relationships with members of the same sex is acceptable.