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.