Youth Culture Essay - TV

A2 Media – Youth Culture Television Series Essay

Since the introduction of youth culture television series, it has become increasingly popular and there has been an increase in the quantity and variety of programmes available for consumers to watch. In class, we have looked briefly at the history of youth culture television programmes and we have watched some episodes of the programmes Byker Grove and Grange Hill as these were the first real series to tackle more serious issues that had been associated with youth culture such as teen pregnancy, drugs and alcohol. Grange Hill first aired in 1978 and the final episode ended in 2008 whereas Byker grove was first shown in 1989 and ran through until 2006.

Byker Grove was all about a youth centre up in Newcastle and it followed the stories of the teenagers that attended it. Although it was centred on the teenagers and their issues, it still had the presence of adults in the form of the supervisors which made it more suitable for a younger audience as it ensured that the teenagers were not subjected to complete freedom and some boundaries were put in place. This meant that is was more tolerable than the likes of Grange Hill and therefore did not go into great detail with some of the issues but did illustrate how it affected the youth and why young people incurred these issues. In terms of Grange Hill, it was similar in the fact it illustrated issues involving young people but it illustrated them in a more graphic and detailed manor which made it seem as though it was more accurate than Byker Grove. Grange Hill was set in a school in London and because of this, there were teachers which meant that like Byker Grove, boundaries were put in place. Both of the series were set in places that were inhabited by people with little money so the adults in each series acted more as parents to the younger characters as they were seen as more trustworthy and this therefore meant they were the ones that were needed by the teenagers to fix the issues that had been incurred. These series were both seen as highly accurate compared to any other similar programmes before it or aired at the same time. Grange Hill gives the illustration of social order being present which complies with the theory constructed by Acland of how youths should obey the social order but tend to break away from this. It also complies with Giroux’s theory of how the issues are constructed by adults as they all seem to have very severe consequences to them. The same goes for Byker Grove but it is less severe making it relate less to Giroux. They both have an element of Gramsci’s theory to them as they are both mixing the classes together but the upper class seem to have more authority over them as all the adults are higher class (especially Grange Hill) and the children of higher class in the classroom tend to be more powerful.

Coming back into the present day, we have the criteria of looking at shows that have been screened on television within the last five years. The first series we looked at was Misfits and more specifically seasons 3-5. The series is about a group of young people who are all attending community service after breaking the law and being given an ASBO. They also get given superpowers after supernatural thunderstorm that reflects their personalities. They use these powers to benefit themselves and to try and bring order to any situations they find themselves in. The main issue that is tackled in this series is the crime committed by the youth culture and the amount that occurs. This is supported through the fact they are attending community service and have been labelled with an ASBO which was put in place by the prime minister at the time. The series illustrates the youths as troublesome and makes them seem deviant to society but as the series grows greater, you see that some characters have just been caught doing something wrong once and being punished severely for it. An example of this would be Curtis as he was caught holding drugs and his athletic career is over. This complies with the theory of Gerbner as it suggests that people who watch the TV series that involve crime see crime as always being caused at a high expense when really this isn’t the case. This then ties in with Giroux’s theory as the youths are labelled in such a way because of the way they are viewed by adults, thus meaning they are being illustrated through the eyes of adults. As well as this, the characters all fit into different subcultures despite all being in the same community service team. This therefore means that Hebdige’s theory is also present in Misfits and Acland’s theory also ties in with that of Giroux’s because adults are expecting the teenagers to behave like they do but do tend to be deviant and troublesome on occasion.

The other television series that we have looked at is The Inbetweeners. This follows the story of a boy called Will who moves from a private school to a public school and makes friends with Simon, Neil and Jay. These 4 are considered unpopular by society but they are believed to be more popular that people at the bottom of the social order. Also, they see women as sexual objects and tools when in fact they are unable to even hold down a relationship with one of them. This series is very likely the most realistic youth culture series around as it follows the lives of a group of teenagers that are more common in society rather than rebellious youths. It appears as though it has been presented through the eyes of teenagers rather than the eyes of adults even though the producers are both fully grown men. This is because the series is based on a recount of the producers’ lives and this makes it seem more accurate in terms of how teens are represented. It does address some issues of youth culture but they are more commonly incurred issues such as gaining independence, losing their virginity, experimenting with drugs and alcohol etc. As for theorists, I feel that The Inbetweeners complies with the theory put in place by Hebdige as they all fall under a sub culture of not being popular but not being terribly unpopular. Throughout the series, you always see the main characters trying to break away from their parents and even from one another at some points but they always seem to struggle without them which indicates that Acland’s Theory applies as the need a source of protection as without one another they would not really be anything.