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.
