Groups Of People Represented Through Media

In today’s society, it is very familiar to see in the news and on television that young people are categorise themselves into different types of social groups. One of the major groups that is analyzed is the British youth.  We can see in the media that they are portrayed to be the type of people that like to express themselves, through music, clothes, there personalities and how they interact with each other. Many people have a variety of opinions on them, and ninety nine percent of the time it is usually in a negative form. Times are always changing and revolving, and adults themselves see this is as a different way of being brought up, and because it doesn't match how they were brought up themselves this is looked at as bad. They may say that they have more luxuries, or that things aren't as 'tough' as they used to, they may even say that things are a little bit easier, and that the youth take this for granted. This fits in with the influences that modernism and post-modernism have on youth and how it contributes to their identity.

Some of the films that we have been studying portray youth in specifically different ways. In the film ‘White Girl’, the young girl, Leah, has a transformation of her own identity caused by different reasons. Growing up in a rough background, her family escape from their abusive stepfather and try to find somewhere else to stay, and as far way as they can. They end up staying in a Muslim filled community, and further on in the story she seems to take the traits and influences from the islamic school and the teachers there, and manages to convert herself into a Muslim. This first of all seems strange as the character doesn't have any sort of interest in religion, but because she is lost herself and doesn't have any social path to go down, the religion of Islam acts as a deterrent from all the issues that are happening in her family and is an object to shy away from everything, however to her family, this religion is looked upon as bad, and they seem to find it intimidating, perhaps because they are not used to it, and that the traits of this religion, they are not familiar with . Another film that we looked at was “This is England’, in this film, the main character Sean, seems lost and confused this is due to the loss of his father and after this event he doesn't seem to be happy and needs something to help him move along. He doesn't so much find his own identity but seems to incorporate an identity from a certain 'mod' social group near him who help him out. He befriends a group of people that he meets who express there identity 'extremely' through there haircuts and clothes. When Sean gets together with this group, after a while, he tries to become vigilantly like them. He goes through a small process of self discovery and slowly changes into a 'mod' himself. He shaves all his hair off and invests in a shirt to wear and incorporates all of the subculture. He eventually fits into the group. One final example would be in the film ‘About a girl. This is a very short film, this sees a character not so much trying to find her identity which is common like the other films I have mentioned we're mostly seeing a girl pretty much expressing her misery for the life she leads. But again this girl is from a slightly damaged family and cannot come to grips with her home life. This is a different take on a cracked family as the majority of the film, is the girl talking to the camera/audience about the shoes she walks in and you can sense tat she is miserable. A key part in this film is that she carries around a small bag, we don't know whats in this bag until she shows us right at the very end of the film, in which she throws the object into a canal and a strange dead baby flows out of it. Which is a strange and confusing ending to the film. It continues with the girl explaining the bad relationship she has with her parents. This contributes to her not really knowing who she is properly and not finding her identity in someone else or any group or having any influences luring her to be something or someone, its more of a lost identity, which makes her lost in her own life without any guidance. 

These films have a common bond which each other. Yes, they're all views on the british youth, but when it comes to the subject of identity, one usually finds there own identity through a process of looking at the background that they were brought up in. This is a visual that we can see in everyday situations which helps us make our decision on what someone is and contributes to who they are as a person. Each character has a seemingly scarred upbringing, whether its an event or situation, that has knocked them a bit, and needs that thing to guide them through the rough and bad time that they are having, this thing being an identity. Because this identity may lead to a group of people just like them, who they can be around in confidence, and we can see this common form as an identity as 'comfort' from reality. This makes them feel like they can achieve something and become un-directionless.

These films are an example of Identity Formation. But the starting point for all of this goes back again to the broken families. They wouldn't start looking for something to drain all the anger or pain or frustration they have with there lives. The pieces of film show the fact that as well as there families being broken, there own search for identities are broken. This focus' on the 'Broken-Britain' topic, the young children show there change in identity as an act of rebellion against there families as they don't agree with what it is they are trying to accomplish and there losing control. 
Another focus point to add is the phrase of 'trying on identities', in the media we are seeing them focus on the identities of British youth, these teenagers around on the age of 13 to 17 and in this particular age group your starting to learn more about yourself and the world around you, and with the never ending change we have in society, it is a must to play around and try on identities as a way to fit in with everything else, this is a common trait with the british youth as, as I said at the beginning people want to find out who they truly are and it is shown with these outrages, eye catching identities trying to shy away from the norm that everyone is used to. Everyone experiences it and it is shown particularly in the media as this is what they want to focus on, when the topic of British Youth occurs.