Contemporary British Cinema and the
Representation of Youth
Watch the opening sequence of ‘Harry Brown’.
How does it represent young people?
Read the article about the
representation of hoodies in
contemporary British films and
make notes on the key points.
You should consider:
• How it suggests young people
are represented
• The links to the horror genre
• The significance of social class
• The implications of the
representations
Link to article
Eden Lake
Eden Lake Trailer
Watch the opening 15 minutes of ‘Eden Lake’. How are Jenny
and Steve (the main couple) represented? How is this
contrasted with the representation of the other characters?
How important is the issue of social class? How are young
people represented?
Horror and the
Representation of Youth
What is the significance of the
emergence of a cycle of
British films in which the
‘monster’ is young people?
How do they threaten
normality?
What term could we use
instead of normality?
What other theorists may be
relevant to this discussion of
the relationship between
young people and ‘conformity
to the dominant social
norms’?
• Film theorist Robin Wood
argues that the basic
formula of the horror film
is ‘normality is threatened
by the monster. I use
“normality” here…to mean
simply “conformity to the
dominant social norms”’.
‘Attack the Block’ – Youth, Stereotypes, Social Class
Watch the opening sequence of ‘Attack the Block’ – how are the main characters
introduced? How does this representation change?
‘Attack the Block’ – Youth, Stereotypes, Social Class
• Opening sequence stereotypical hoodie
representation.
• As the film progresses the representation becomes
more positive. Develops a more sympathetic
representation.
• The film initially represents the young people as
‘monsters’, then replaces them with actual
monsters.
• Contrast to other ‘hoodie horror films’.
‘Attack the Block’ – Youth, Stereotypes, Social Class
‘While Attack the Block has moments of hilarity, and evokes the loneliness of ET – the
fantasy, the bizarre things happening in residential streets – this is definitely a horror
film. A political horror film, far less silly than fans may expect. There are monsters,
aliens of the sort we haven't seen in the cinema for a long time.
"They're all the things that the press and people call those kids, made into a monster.
People call these kids monsters, they call them feral, they call them animalistic, they
say they've got no morals or values and all they care about is territory and
competitiveness. So what if there was a creature that really was like that, and then
you pitted the kids against it?“’
The Observer, interview with director Joe Cornish
‘Eden Lake’ – middle class adult main characters, antagonists are
teenage hoodies (monsters) who torture and kill the main
characters. Reflects middle class fear of working youth and their
perceived threat to hegemony.
‘Harry Brown’ – middle class, adult hero. Teenager hoodies are
antagonists. Hero hunts/kills antagonists. Middle class revenge
fantasy in which threatening working class youth are punished.
‘Attack the Block’ – film initially opens with middle class
protagonist, teenage hoodie ‘monsters’. These characters then
become heroes. Film is an attempt to resolve tensions between
middle class and working class youth.
Entertainment and Utopia, Richard
Dyer
• Film theorist Richard Dyer argues that one of
the functions of entertainment is utopianism.
‘Entertainment offers the image of “something
better”…the sense that things could be
better…Entertainment does not present
models of utopian worlds…Rather the
utopianism is contained in the feelings it
embodies.’
Utopian Categories of Entertainment
•
•
•
•
•
•
Energy
Abundance
Intensity
Transparency
Community
Dyer argues these categories reflect
‘temporary answers to the inadequacies of
the society’.
Watch the ending of ‘Attack the Block’. How can you
relate Dyer’s theory of entertainment and utopia?
Choose one of the three films to research. Try to find
reviews which reflect different perspectives, e.g.
from conservative newspapers like the Daily Mail, or
the Telegraph, and liberal newspapers like The
Guardian, and The Independent.
Applying Theory
•
•
•
•
Gramsci, hegemony
Giroux, empty category
Hebdige, style/resistance to hegemony
Acland, reinforcing hegemony/ideology of
protection
• Cohen, moral panic
Essay Question
• How are young people represented in
contemporary media?
• Introduction:
– State argument (link to theory)
– Identify texts
How are young people represented in
contemporary media?
• Newspapers
– ‘Hoodies and Altar Boys’ study
– Cultivation theory
• Television
– ‘Young, Dumb, and Living with Mum’ (Giroux,
Acland)
– ‘Misfits’ (issue of social class)
How are young people represented in
contemporary media?
• Film
– Hoodie cinema (‘Eden Lake’, ‘Harry Brown’)
ideological significance
– ‘Attack the Block’ – more positive (utopian)
• Conclusion
– What is the significance of these representations?
– What is your opinion?