Cohen, 1987
According to Stanley Cohen,
author of a sociological study about youth culture and media called "Folk Devils
and Moral Panics" (1972) a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode,
person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal
values and interests". Those who start the panic when they fear a threat
to prevailing social or cultural values are known by researchers as moral
entrepreneurs, while people who supposedly threaten the social order have been
described as "folk devils". Cohen put forward the theory that the media exaggerates news stories in a manner that portrays people of particular social groups negatively, when in reality the extent is much lesser. Here's what I defined a "Moral Panic" as in an earlier post:
"Simply, a Moral Panic is an
intense feeling, emotion or notion expressed in a population about an issue
that threatens social order. They often involve social tension and arguments
and disagreement as often the crux of the argument is a taboo subject. The
media often instigate a moral panic by reporting facts that generate concern,
anxiety, or panic itself. Major moral panics of recent times include AIDS,
drugs, knife and gun crime, paedophilia and Satanism.
The government sometimes intervenes to prevent moral panics through censorships- during the World Wars, letters were censored to prevent harsh realities of war from reaching the people, and nowadays in China many websites are blocked and things regulated to prevent the people from seeing things that are anti-governmental, for instance "Tienanmen Square" is strictly policed. Famously in the 1950s, Elvis Presley's live performances were censored from the waist down. But censorship itself creates the moral panic of freedom of speech, creating further debate,"
The government sometimes intervenes to prevent moral panics through censorships- during the World Wars, letters were censored to prevent harsh realities of war from reaching the people, and nowadays in China many websites are blocked and things regulated to prevent the people from seeing things that are anti-governmental, for instance "Tienanmen Square" is strictly policed. Famously in the 1950s, Elvis Presley's live performances were censored from the waist down. But censorship itself creates the moral panic of freedom of speech, creating further debate,"
Eldridge, 1997
John Eldridge is a British
sociologist known for his writings on Industrial Sociology and on Max Weber as
well as for being a founder member of the media analysis research group the
Glasgow Media Group. Regarding Media, Eldridge came up with the theory that media reproduce the definitions that are put forward by the powerful members in society. In, "News, Truth and Power", Eldridge suggested that "
As times change, Eldridge states that the patterns of the ownership, genres, types and range of opinions represented change in pattern, to accommodate the change in authority and power figures.
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2) Read the attached article and answer the following questions:
(( https://atlara.wordpress.com/2010/11/25/rage-of-the-girl-rioters-britains-students-take-to-the-streets-again-and-this-time-women-are-leading-the-charge/ ))
How are students and women represented?
The students are portrayed, on the whole, infinitely negatively, through superlative language and lexis choices, to portray an image of terror- the women are especially emphasised, with the article focusing on how the female students were also taking part in the rioting, an area not typically covered by the media, as it was described as "disturbing", and also "new", suggesting it is not expected. The students are represented negatively and are demonised, for example, the phrase "a masked yob".
Is this a moral panic?
This would be classed as a moral panic as, according to Cohen's theory, a group of people, the protesters, have become a "threat" to societal values - with the degradation and vandalism of the police equipment/vehicles and large protests as highlighted by the media. However, also referencing Eldridge's theory, the media articles covering these stories do not give the other side of the story, that the government are planning to strongly affect a large amount of student's lives by increasing fees, and that it is not the government's fault- despite the clear anger at them for going back on their previous promises- hence, the article reflects the views of those with power, perhaps to prevent anarchy.
Are expectations being challenged or demonised?
The article demonises young people- clearly, they are committing crimes, but the language used such as "yobs" "yelling obscenities", etc portrays them very negatively. However, the offering of a more positive outlook at the end of the article focusing on the girl who stood up to the riots provides the view point that not all young people are like this and it is instead moral panics that group together societal groups and associate them all with the rioting, when in fact not all of them are.
(( https://atlara.wordpress.com/2010/11/25/rage-of-the-girl-rioters-britains-students-take-to-the-streets-again-and-this-time-women-are-leading-the-charge/ ))
How are students and women represented?
The students are portrayed, on the whole, infinitely negatively, through superlative language and lexis choices, to portray an image of terror- the women are especially emphasised, with the article focusing on how the female students were also taking part in the rioting, an area not typically covered by the media, as it was described as "disturbing", and also "new", suggesting it is not expected. The students are represented negatively and are demonised, for example, the phrase "a masked yob".
Is this a moral panic?
This would be classed as a moral panic as, according to Cohen's theory, a group of people, the protesters, have become a "threat" to societal values - with the degradation and vandalism of the police equipment/vehicles and large protests as highlighted by the media. However, also referencing Eldridge's theory, the media articles covering these stories do not give the other side of the story, that the government are planning to strongly affect a large amount of student's lives by increasing fees, and that it is not the government's fault- despite the clear anger at them for going back on their previous promises- hence, the article reflects the views of those with power, perhaps to prevent anarchy.
Are expectations being challenged or demonised?
The article demonises young people- clearly, they are committing crimes, but the language used such as "yobs" "yelling obscenities", etc portrays them very negatively. However, the offering of a more positive outlook at the end of the article focusing on the girl who stood up to the riots provides the view point that not all young people are like this and it is instead moral panics that group together societal groups and associate them all with the rioting, when in fact not all of them are.
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3) How does this challenge/reinforce the representation of Youth Culture in Human Traffic and Quadrophenia?
This reinforces the representation of youth cultures in the two case study films, as generally negative. The films, like the article, highlight the negative actions of youths to the general public and demonise the youths. In Quadrophenia, for example, the scene at the beach, could be likened to the riots described in the article, in that a state of anarchy unfolded due to the actions of the young people, the mods and rockers in the case of the film. The influential language of the article and derogatory terms, such as "masked yob", are reflected in the attitudes towards young people in the two films - the public, generally, has a negative view on young people for the view that cause the trouble, that is highlighted in these films, causing a moral panic - the riot scene in Quadrophenia, when occurring in reality, was over-reported by the media to seem far worse than it actually was, demonising the youths. In Human Traffic, the attitudes of authority figures to the young people, particularly Moff's parents, when he comes into his room to interrogate him as to why he doesn't have a job- these views, that young people do not work or contribute to society only through instilling fear and challenging the authority figures and the safety of the public, are often focused on by the media. On the other hand, there are positive representations- like in the article, how one student stood up to the rioters, passively and without violence, not all young people are portrayed to wreak havoc on society. In the films, Jimmy is also shown to have a job, as do all the characters in Human Traffic bar Moff- albeit they do not enjoy their jobs, but they are not a menace as Cohen's theory of moral panics would suggest. However, to conclude, I feel that all in all, the article reinforces the portrayal of youth culture as negative and threatening to the rest of society- this, arguably a direct impact of Eldridge's theory of news truth and power in that young people are condoned by the media because they are a scapegoat for blame, and often their actions are as a response to the negative, pre-set attitudes of older generations and the social situation that young people have been placed in as a direct consequence of older people's actions. Youth cultures are portrayed negatively because it is easier to condone young people as a whole through the media than recognize the significant action of the majority of young people to avoid situations that the media reports.
This reinforces the representation of youth cultures in the two case study films, as generally negative. The films, like the article, highlight the negative actions of youths to the general public and demonise the youths. In Quadrophenia, for example, the scene at the beach, could be likened to the riots described in the article, in that a state of anarchy unfolded due to the actions of the young people, the mods and rockers in the case of the film. The influential language of the article and derogatory terms, such as "masked yob", are reflected in the attitudes towards young people in the two films - the public, generally, has a negative view on young people for the view that cause the trouble, that is highlighted in these films, causing a moral panic - the riot scene in Quadrophenia, when occurring in reality, was over-reported by the media to seem far worse than it actually was, demonising the youths. In Human Traffic, the attitudes of authority figures to the young people, particularly Moff's parents, when he comes into his room to interrogate him as to why he doesn't have a job- these views, that young people do not work or contribute to society only through instilling fear and challenging the authority figures and the safety of the public, are often focused on by the media. On the other hand, there are positive representations- like in the article, how one student stood up to the rioters, passively and without violence, not all young people are portrayed to wreak havoc on society. In the films, Jimmy is also shown to have a job, as do all the characters in Human Traffic bar Moff- albeit they do not enjoy their jobs, but they are not a menace as Cohen's theory of moral panics would suggest. However, to conclude, I feel that all in all, the article reinforces the portrayal of youth culture as negative and threatening to the rest of society- this, arguably a direct impact of Eldridge's theory of news truth and power in that young people are condoned by the media because they are a scapegoat for blame, and often their actions are as a response to the negative, pre-set attitudes of older generations and the social situation that young people have been placed in as a direct consequence of older people's actions. Youth cultures are portrayed negatively because it is easier to condone young people as a whole through the media than recognize the significant action of the majority of young people to avoid situations that the media reports.
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