Mass Media Representations: Age

Mass Media Representations: Age

1. How groups are stereotyped.

2. The factors that have led to change.

3. The stereotypes that have started to change.

4. Media representations of different groups of people based on age often generalise and categorise people on the basis of stereotypes. The media encourage audiences to assume that specific representations in terms of image and behaviour can be applied wholesale to particular age groups.

   • Youths
     • Involved in crime: Little Boy Blue
     • Associated with technology.
     • Mental Health.
     • Dangerous and Hostile
     • Representations of Youths
       • Youths (from around the age of 15 to the early 20s) are often portrayed as a 'problem group' in society, and as a major source of anti-social behaviour, particularly young working class, and especially Afro-Caribbean males. The mass media often generate excitement by creating stereotypes of young people as troublemakers, layabouts and vandals, and by exaggerating the occasional deviant behaviour of a few young people out of proportion.
       • Studies
         • Wayne et al found that the media gives a one dimenst=ional view of youth encouraging fear, particularly from the older generation. They argue it distracts from the real problems faced by youths e.g unemployment and homelessness.
         • White et al found that young people were dissatisfied with how they are portrayed in the media as disrespectful layabouts and felt it was far from reality.

5. Children

   • Clothing: Pink/Blue
   • Innocent: Heelies, Cartoons
   • Vulnerable: NSPCC Advert
   • Representations of Childhood
     • As victims of horrendous crimes: Jamie Bulger, Madeleine McCann, April Jones.
     • As brilliant: Child prodigies or donating pocket money to a third world country. Harmony - 8 year old pianist, work champion chess player and writing a book about the UAE.
     • As accessories: Beyonce - Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir.
     • As brave little angels: Heintz-Knowles found that children were rarely shown as coping with societal issues such as racism or with major family issues such as child abuse and domestic violence, however in recent years there has been a trend towards showing more realistic child drama often from a child's point of view.

6. Elderly

   • Traditional views.
     • Representations of Elderly
       • Older people are often presented in the media in quite negative way, and elderly people suffer from negative stereotyping in the media, perhaps more than any other social group. Old age is generally represented as an undesirable state: being poor, in ill-health, forgetful, anti-social, incapable of work and personally difficult and grumpy and typical stereotypes.
         • The Grey Pound
           • The Grey Pound is about the elderly having disposable income which they can spend.
             • James argues that the media gives the impression that the values and lifestyles of the middle class are the norm.
           • Marxists believe that the Grey Pound contributes to capitalism by taking money back off pensioners.
             • White et al found that older viewers thought they tended to be stereotyped, especially middle aged and older women who were often ignored completely. They accuse the media of being out of touch with an ageing society.
       • The Invisible Elderly
         • The elderly are overlooked by the media - they are rarely consulted as wise elders with information to pass on.
         • Cuddy and Fiske showed that in the US only 1.5% of characters on TV were elderly and when they were shown they were in minor roles used for comic relief, with psychical or mental impairment.
         • The emphasis on youth and beauty suggests ageing should be avoided at all costs.
   • Need care: Meals on Wheels
     • The Elderly in Advertising
       • Szmigin and Carrigan found that advertising agencies were wary of using older models that they considered might alienate/put off younger audiences.
       • However, with the ageing population and the commercial value of the 'grey pound' we have seen more adverts like the Dove Pro Age campaign where elderly models were used.
   • Vulnerable: Fraud
   • Lonely