Central to the negative reflection of youth by the media is the establishment of the community versus “otherness” mentality which is formulated through the use of binary oppositions and stereotypes following perceived dominant ideology. Through the use of stereotypes contrasts are able to be made, these contrasts are known as binary oppositions and act as a platform from which comes a sense of conflict. This sense of conflict upheld by the binary oppositions play upon the readers fear of a breakdown in community standards and thus portray youth against dominant ideology. This can be clearly seen in the article headed “Why This Sick Music Is Warping Our Kids” where this supposed new generation of bad news rockers are detrimental to the wholesome values of children and teenagers. This article puts forward the notion that these groups with foul language and lyrics which implicate violence were solely responsible for the violence caused at the Woodstock ’99 festival and the further violence and angst of youth in society. These assumptions show the discernible breakdown of community values thus the basis of conflict in this article. There are many different binary oppositions shown throughout the article however, the most prevalent puts youth against commonsense and reason. The use of binary oppositions is also seen in “School Sport Drugs” this contrasts youth of today with the youth of yester year in that a generation ago school sport was played for fun and drugs weren’t heard of that being the dominant ideology as opposed to youth now taking drugs for school sport. The use of stereotypes, binary opposition and dominant ideology to create a sense of community versus “otherness” is an impairment of the true reflection of today’s youth.
The use of technical codes is a crucial element in any newspaper article however the manipulation of these codes can allow the author to put a tainting slant on the article thus it is a key weapon in the negative depiction of youth. Technical codes involve things such as headlines, sub-headlines, insets, page design, columns and layout. As is the case in any newspaper article the use of headlines in this article have been used to grab the attention of reader. Both articles were situated in the centre of the paper and were placed on the top left hand corner of even numbered pages, meaning they were the first thing seen on a page turn. This coupled with the fact they were both accompanied by photographs one of which was colour also added to the amount of attention received. The article “Why This Sick Music Is Warping Our Kids” also contained a shaded inset which contains bold font for each point. This article also makes use of a different font, italic when quoting thus drawing attention to this part of the text. The photographs in each case have been used to reinforce the message of the article in that they support the reporters point of view as the content of the photographs are in both articles somewhat shock related and sensationalised they add to the conflict of community versus “otherness”. The photograph in “School Sport Drugs” gives only a head shot this allows the reader to focus on the facial expressions of the subject. Although the technical codes in these two articles have been used to the reporters advantage they are both relatively limited but they have very well fulfilled their secondary function and that is complementing the use of symbolic codes.
The implementation and employment of symbolic codes has been done exceptionally in relation to these two articles particularly the way two authors were able to sensationalise and create hype around articles with an almost non-existent factual base. The use of emotive words, photographs and the careful selection of headlines enabled the reporters to promote the sense of conflict and as well as degrading the image of youth. The headline “School Sport Drugs” is clever as it skilfully juxtaposes the harmless, wholesome fun of school sport with the cancerous world of drugs. This is partnered with the sub-heading “Athlete Kids Risk Comas” which appeals to every parent whose child participates in sport. This along with the rest of the article attempts to reflect how school sport is emersed in drugs. Through the use of emotive words and phrases for instance “healthy students are taking amphetamines”, “you become disabled or …psychotic”, “hasn’t been tested in the lab and can have any kind of effect.” And “dexamphetamine.” This language further widens the rift between community and “otherness.” The article also interviews a doctor in relation to the article trying to bring some type of authority or fact behind the article. A photo of a chemist is then shown with pills and other medications surrounding him and a concerned look on his face thus adding to the sensationalism.
The second article is much the same but a lot less factual. The headline immediately states the position of the article when it refers to “Sick Music.” This automatically separates youth with any interest in this type of music from the community and degrades them by using phrases such as “rape and arson for their entertainment” and by quoting lyrics such as “I pack a chainsaw” and “break your f***** face.” The two photos are used to great effect and embody what the author is putting across they represent the chaos, disorder and twisted nature of these events and bands. The exposition also contains an inset containing the name of bands a brief bio and a sample of their lyrics. Symbolic codes have been used to remarkable effect, and in doing so the misrepresentation of the youth in these particular articles has continued and brought further disdain upon them.
In discussing how the media specifically newspapers show youth in a negative light we must now discover the ramifications of this for youth in society. First and foremost negative and unfavourable media coverage in relation to youth causes a crevasse between youth and the community this is seen through the establishment of the community versus “otherness” philosophy. The more ill informed members of older generations read this material and suddenly stereotype and classify certain youth. This labelling is detrimental as it means that youth are typecast no matter how far from the truth this may be. This scenario leads to many social problems such as crime and youth unemployment. It is no coincidence that these two social problems are also the most covered by the media, so it is evident that there is a vicious cycle. This stereotyping is also based on limited fact and it is common knowledge that very few people come close to an actual stereotype as the broad range of humanity covers such a vast spectrum. The sensationalism these articles are based on I believe became ironically unstuck in the article “Why This Sick Music Is Warping Our Kids” when the expert psychologist said “Studies have been undertaken but nothing has been proved.” This took the impetus from the whole article. However, in saying this not all media coverage is pernicious, although this is at a bare minimum. There a several ways the media should accommodate the problem of youth in the media, firstly cut down on negative publicity, secondly try to declassify youth and concentrate on their achievements and thirdly let youth speak, especially on issues pertaining to them.
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