Representation of Age.

Young people:

Young people are usually represented in a negative way within the media. The young are usually tagged with the representation of showing anti-social behaviour, being irresponsible and being wild with drugs and alcohol. This representation is used within different modes of the media today. For example, in the show 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents', Teens involved in the show are represented as people who get drunk on a regular basis and can't control themselves; this behaviour often results in anti-social behaviour being committed. All of this content is filmed, and along with the use of language and other devices, the viewer is provided with a negative perspective on teenagers today. Language in the show used by the protagonists contains large uses of taboo, suggesting the immaturity of the teenagers, whilst the narrator often hints that trouble is around the corner for the drunken participants.

Old People:

Old people are presented in the media in either a positive or negative way. The elderly are often represented in a stereotypical way by showing them as heavily routine, slow, boring and lazy. An example of this negative representation of the elderly is in the Scottish comedy, 'Still Game'. Still Game is based on a group of elderly pensioners living in a low social class part of Glasgow. The pensioners are shown as lazy and plain as they base their lives around the TV or the local pub. Visual Codes are used to create the suggestion that these are slow-moving pensioners as they wear old-fashioned clothes. A positive representation of elderly in the media is the character 'Hershel' in the American Horror-drama, 'The Walking Dead'. Hershel is one of the strongest characters in the show and is looked up to by the majority of the protagonists. Hershel is represented in a positive way by showing he is strong and independent despite him being elderly.

Cultivation theory

Cultivation theory looks at TV as a social agent and studies the effect of the exposure it has. According to Chandler, the more we live with TV, the more invisible it becomes. Watching TV alters the viewers attitudes rather than their behaviour as overtime, it will shape their perspective on reality. TV is said to have two order effects on the viewer: one is that it supplies general beliefs, and the second is that it provides specific attitudes and judgements. These effects divide the audience into light viewers and heavy viewers.

Heavy Viewers:
-young
-low socio-economic group
-watching TV more than 4 hours a day
-affected by the world mean syndrome (seeing the world a nastier place than what it really is)

Example:
-After watching Crime programmes (NCIS, Dexter etc...) for a long period of time could leave the viewer with the opinion society is in fact like the one featured on the programmes, therefore supplying them with a negative perspectives.

The theory suggests that television and media possess a small but significant influence on the attitudes and beliefs of society about society. Those who absorb more media are those we are more influenced.

It is suggested that more and more people are becoming scared of walking in the dark after the release of horror films and horrific stories involved in the media today.

Stereotypes of Age in media today

Family forced to sell off 81-year-old's home for care fees STATE should have covered: Relatives receive half their money back after five-year legal battle

• Church organist Barbara Bullock suffered a severe stroke aged 81
• It left her needing round-the-clock care, but no help was forthcoming
• Ruling said fees had to come out of her and her husband's savings
• It then emerged she was entitled to state support for the nursing costs
• But by then the couple had sold their house and paid out £80,000
• Mr and Mrs Bullock both died before the claim was resolved

By JAMES TOZER

PUBLISHED: 22:29, 2 February 2014 | UPDATED: 08:49, 3 February 2014

 

 

 

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They were a hardworking couple from the wartime generation  that never dreamt of claiming anything from the state.

But, despite paying taxes all their lives, when William Bullock's wife Barbara, 81, suffered a severe stroke that left her needing round-the-clock care, no help was forthcoming.

In a sickening example of authorities' reluctance to pay care home bills – even when legally obliged to do so – health officials ruled that the former church organist's nursing fees had to come out of the couple's savings.

This article is a stereotypical representation of old people as it is believed that when people get old, they rely on the state for financial income and support. In the headline they have outlined the age of the woman as 81 is a very old age to live, so therefore grabs the reader attention. Words such as 'severe' and 'reluctance' are used to show the condition the woman is in, and yet the state have done very little to help this.

Representation of Gender examples.

Sexualised/objectified female (advertisement)
The new Lynx Dry advertisement shows a model (Lucy Pinder) bent over taking a turkey out of the oven while wearing only underwear. This shows women in a negative perspective as not only is she made to look like a sexualised object, she is also doing domestic housework at the same time. This type of advertisement shows that society is run by patriarchy as males are the dominant force and this is shown in this image as the woman is made out to be a sexual servant.

Domestic Females

The show, 'The Simpsons' features a typical stereotype of a woman in the media. Marge Simpson is a stereotypically represented as a woman that does all of the domestic housework as well as caring for the children, whilst the husband Homer, does nothing. This is showing women in a negative perspective as they are carrying a 'dual burden' and this often results in Marge showing anger and frustration due to little help from the husband or the children. 

Post-feminism

Dominant/aggressive male

In the music video 'Eminem-Berzerk', Eminem is represented as a powerful and dominant male. This representation is achieved by Eminem often standing alone, and when he does, the camera is looking up at him, giving the viewer the perspective that Eminem is looking down on them. Eminem is using hand gestures often associated with gangs throughout the video as well as having a negative and almost angry facial expression. This is representing him in a violent way however many young males would look up to him and see him almost as a role model. 

Stereotypical males

In the Walking Dead, Rick who is the leader shows features of a stereotypical male in the media. Rick was a sherif before the zombie apocalypse so was obviously a leader, however he took up this role again when the apocalypse happened. Rick is shown as a strong and independent individual throughout, he is extremely brave, can stand up for himself and is a protecter of the others. All of these values make Rick a perfect role model and a typical stereotype of males in film and TV shows.