‘How are British youths represented in Quadrophenia and Harry Brown’
The British youths in Harry Brown and Quadrophenia are represented in very negative ways. The films are about violence, freedom and unity of gangs. The youths are acting in violent and deviant ways that cause a negative reaction to the public and the adults around them.
In Quadrophenia when there are the riots between the mods and rockers on Brighton beach were represented as very badly behaving youths taking the law into their own hands. Cohen's moral panics link here, where the media represent the youths as something to be feared, and exaggerate what they are doing, and make the public fear them, like with Giroux and his empty category, it is the adults fears created by the moral panics that are incorporated into the viewing and perception of the youths. The moral panics play a big part in the representation of youths because it signals how the public are going to view the youths, so if the media represent the youths in a negative light the public are going to think of youths negatively, and assume that all youths, not just the 'mods', 'rockers' or 'hoodies' are bad. Therefore, when the labels of being violent or bad or unimportant begin to be attached by the public and the ruling class to the youths they begin what Merton describes as a self-fulfilling prophecy where the apply those labels to their behaviour.
In Quadrophenia there is a rivalry between two groups of youths in the film, the mods and rockers. However, the youths in Harry Brown are not against another subculture, they are against the middle and upper class society, a cultural hegemony where they are frustrated as being seen as the lower class, and as less important or less significant so they make themselves something to be feared so that they become important to society. Their frustration leads them to violence.
The youths in Quadrophenia have their own identities, not just British youths but as 'mods' or 'rockers', enabling them to create their own rules and morals as their way of life. It creates hostility against each other, even though they are the same in many ways, just by their appearance and their names for each other they are divided against the rest of the society. They are not conforming with the rest of the nation, the mods have had no specific style because it continuously changes, they go against conforming to the mainstream ways.
The attitude of the youths in Harry Brown is very much that they are the ruling class, and that they own the estate they live in because everyone is too afraid to stand up to them. They believe they are better than everyone else, this could be cultural hegemony because they are frustrated with the way they have been previously treated so they resort to violence and use intimidation to become the ruling class.
The identity of the youths is important, because in Quadrophenia the mods have chosen to be mods and have chosen that way of life. However, in Harry Brown the youths have had no choice in the way they are brought up and the way they are perceived. They have not applied that label to themselves like the mods have, it is the society and the media that have done that. So the youths in Harry Brown have had no choice and have had to build their attitudes and actions around their label.
The parents in Quadrophenia are represented as trying to control the youths. The main character Jimmy's mum kicks him out after she finds out he was involved in the riot on Brighton beach and when she finds his stash of pills. When the mum kicks Jimmy out, it causes him frustration and anger that would make him probably even more determined to disobey her.
The parental figures in Harry Brown are very negative, they are not what traditional middle class parents would deem as appropriate for youths to grow up with. They're attitudes are incorporated into the youths way of life, so if their parent is a violent deviant of the law then the children are most likely to become just like them.
Parental figures however, in both films, are very non-apparent, with hardly any showing or representations of parents. It is arguable that they are to blame for the way the youths are represented no just in the media, but also in their society, in their neighbourhoods. Media do not cover as much on who should be blamed for the actions of the youths, is it the capitalist society as Marxists would argue, is it the media, is it the youths themselves and their own free will, or is it the parents who have brought up the children to be like that?
McRobbie's symbolic violence relating to gender links here, where the youths are almost all males in both films. They are the leaders of the pack, much like a pack of animals, with some (very few) females in with them. In Quadrophenia there is a main female who is viewed very negatively in the film. In Harry Brown there is a female police woman who is viewed more positively, and tries to stand up to them, which ends in disastrous ways, but she is not one of the youths, so still youths are represented negatively. This may show, as feminists would put it, a patriarchal portrayal of the youths in the films, and that the female youths, a small minority in both films, are seen as the subordinate to the male youths.
You could also argue that race plays a part in the way youths are represented. In Quadrophenia it is mostly white males who are causing the violence, and in Harry Brown it is much more ethnic groups as well as white who are responsible for the violence. This representation of ethnic minority groups therefore becomes negative because it is a relatively new representation.
Quadrophenia is a film from the 1970s whilst Harry Brown is a contemporary film, this makes it inevitable for there to be some differences between the youths and how they're represented. In Quadrophenia they are labelling themselves as being either 'mods' or 'rockers', but in Harry Brown there is no clear cut name that the youths call themselves. This may be as in Quadrophenia it is post war and the term 'teens' had not been around very long. This made it possible for new names and labels to be associated with the youths because it was a new thing so no one could call the labels wrong. However, nowadays we all know what teenagers are and now more and more subcultures are developing. Now it has become norm for deviant teenagers to use violence as a source of power, using weapons. As in the 1970s film there are next to no weapons used, it is all about the physical violence, less dangerous then today. In contemporary media there doesn't have to be a riot for someone to get hurt, as seen in Harry Brown all the youths have to do is shoot their gun at an unsuspecting victim.
In Harry Brown the youths are represented as 'monsters' of the modern day horror film, they are seen as something scary and to be feared.
The youths in Quadrophenia on the other hand are not represented as badly, more so just as deviants that need to be controlled, not violent and unsafe criminals.
Explanation/analysis/argument - Level 4 (17)
Use of examples - Level 3 (14)
Use of terminology - Level 3 (7)
Level Descriptor - Level 3
Good balance of knowledge and theories, linking with each argument. Some repetition and not clearly rounded arguments, but good arguments all the same. Some minor grammar and spelling errors but overall good :o)
In Quadrophenia when there are the riots between the mods and rockers on Brighton beach were represented as very badly behaving youths taking the law into their own hands. Cohen's moral panics link here, where the media represent the youths as something to be feared, and exaggerate what they are doing, and make the public fear them, like with Giroux and his empty category, it is the adults fears created by the moral panics that are incorporated into the viewing and perception of the youths. The moral panics play a big part in the representation of youths because it signals how the public are going to view the youths, so if the media represent the youths in a negative light the public are going to think of youths negatively, and assume that all youths, not just the 'mods', 'rockers' or 'hoodies' are bad. Therefore, when the labels of being violent or bad or unimportant begin to be attached by the public and the ruling class to the youths they begin what Merton describes as a self-fulfilling prophecy where the apply those labels to their behaviour.
In Quadrophenia there is a rivalry between two groups of youths in the film, the mods and rockers. However, the youths in Harry Brown are not against another subculture, they are against the middle and upper class society, a cultural hegemony where they are frustrated as being seen as the lower class, and as less important or less significant so they make themselves something to be feared so that they become important to society. Their frustration leads them to violence.
The youths in Quadrophenia have their own identities, not just British youths but as 'mods' or 'rockers', enabling them to create their own rules and morals as their way of life. It creates hostility against each other, even though they are the same in many ways, just by their appearance and their names for each other they are divided against the rest of the society. They are not conforming with the rest of the nation, the mods have had no specific style because it continuously changes, they go against conforming to the mainstream ways.
The attitude of the youths in Harry Brown is very much that they are the ruling class, and that they own the estate they live in because everyone is too afraid to stand up to them. They believe they are better than everyone else, this could be cultural hegemony because they are frustrated with the way they have been previously treated so they resort to violence and use intimidation to become the ruling class.
The identity of the youths is important, because in Quadrophenia the mods have chosen to be mods and have chosen that way of life. However, in Harry Brown the youths have had no choice in the way they are brought up and the way they are perceived. They have not applied that label to themselves like the mods have, it is the society and the media that have done that. So the youths in Harry Brown have had no choice and have had to build their attitudes and actions around their label.
The parents in Quadrophenia are represented as trying to control the youths. The main character Jimmy's mum kicks him out after she finds out he was involved in the riot on Brighton beach and when she finds his stash of pills. When the mum kicks Jimmy out, it causes him frustration and anger that would make him probably even more determined to disobey her.
The parental figures in Harry Brown are very negative, they are not what traditional middle class parents would deem as appropriate for youths to grow up with. They're attitudes are incorporated into the youths way of life, so if their parent is a violent deviant of the law then the children are most likely to become just like them.
Parental figures however, in both films, are very non-apparent, with hardly any showing or representations of parents. It is arguable that they are to blame for the way the youths are represented no just in the media, but also in their society, in their neighbourhoods. Media do not cover as much on who should be blamed for the actions of the youths, is it the capitalist society as Marxists would argue, is it the media, is it the youths themselves and their own free will, or is it the parents who have brought up the children to be like that?
McRobbie's symbolic violence relating to gender links here, where the youths are almost all males in both films. They are the leaders of the pack, much like a pack of animals, with some (very few) females in with them. In Quadrophenia there is a main female who is viewed very negatively in the film. In Harry Brown there is a female police woman who is viewed more positively, and tries to stand up to them, which ends in disastrous ways, but she is not one of the youths, so still youths are represented negatively. This may show, as feminists would put it, a patriarchal portrayal of the youths in the films, and that the female youths, a small minority in both films, are seen as the subordinate to the male youths.
You could also argue that race plays a part in the way youths are represented. In Quadrophenia it is mostly white males who are causing the violence, and in Harry Brown it is much more ethnic groups as well as white who are responsible for the violence. This representation of ethnic minority groups therefore becomes negative because it is a relatively new representation.
Quadrophenia is a film from the 1970s whilst Harry Brown is a contemporary film, this makes it inevitable for there to be some differences between the youths and how they're represented. In Quadrophenia they are labelling themselves as being either 'mods' or 'rockers', but in Harry Brown there is no clear cut name that the youths call themselves. This may be as in Quadrophenia it is post war and the term 'teens' had not been around very long. This made it possible for new names and labels to be associated with the youths because it was a new thing so no one could call the labels wrong. However, nowadays we all know what teenagers are and now more and more subcultures are developing. Now it has become norm for deviant teenagers to use violence as a source of power, using weapons. As in the 1970s film there are next to no weapons used, it is all about the physical violence, less dangerous then today. In contemporary media there doesn't have to be a riot for someone to get hurt, as seen in Harry Brown all the youths have to do is shoot their gun at an unsuspecting victim.
In Harry Brown the youths are represented as 'monsters' of the modern day horror film, they are seen as something scary and to be feared.
The youths in Quadrophenia on the other hand are not represented as badly, more so just as deviants that need to be controlled, not violent and unsafe criminals.
Explanation/analysis/argument - Level 4 (17)
Use of examples - Level 3 (14)
Use of terminology - Level 3 (7)
Level Descriptor - Level 3
Good balance of knowledge and theories, linking with each argument. Some repetition and not clearly rounded arguments, but good arguments all the same. Some minor grammar and spelling errors but overall good :o)
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