Critical Investigation
Draft
“Skins critics ranted against the supposed portrayal of modern youth as a sorry bunch of drug fuelled, sex obsessed, feral thugs.” (Jake Laverde denofgeek.com)
To what extent does Skins challenge dominant stereotypes of youth culture and does it go far enough?
Subcultures are often portrayed negatively, (as described in Jefferson and Hall’s ‘Resistance through rituals’) due to the revolt against social, political and cultural ideologies that existed in groups such as the ‘punks’ and ‘mods’ that arose from the late 1950’s onwards. The members of these subcultures are often seen as mere followers of the latest fashion trends and not, as their attire attempts to reflect, challengers of a hegemonic society. This essay will argue that Skins is innovative in its challenge of such a society and that, by portraying their characters as young people who behave in a certain way as a response to the obligatory constrictions of modern life and not as a whimsical fashion statement or a mere excuse to take drugs and misbehave, the show very much goes against dominant stereotypes of young people being ‘a sorry bunch of drug fuelled, sex obsessed, feral thugs’. This essay will focus on Season 3, Episode 6 which very much confirms this, illustrating that young people have a strong voice to air their opinions and are very actively involved in making positive impacts on their environment.
Dick Hebdidge’s theory, however, defines subculture as ‘subversion to normalcy’ and states that a subculture is ‘a group of likeminded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and who develop a sense of identity which differs to the dominant’. This is clearly reflected in the characters of Skins generation two, a group of teenagers who show their rebellion toward society in the behavior they emit toward institutions such as education, the government and even more minor ones such as the conventions and rules of a family household. This is explored through activity such as recreational drug misuse, vandalism of school property and defiance against authoritarian figures.
In doing this, these characters are supporting the view that young people have an ‘active agency in the creation of their culture’, an observation which is illustrated in ‘Youth Media’ by Bill Osgerby. Through this, Skins makes a poignant case that subculture and individualism can be very empowering for young people, giving them a voice to project their feelings on a hegemonic society which seems to disregard their unique identities as young people making their transition to adulthood.
Episode six of Series 3 focuses on Naomi and Cooks campaigns to be elected as student presidents, introducing a strong element of young people’s involvement in politics and current affairs, as both of these characters are represented as having a strong passion for caring about the welfare and desires of their peers. Although Cook (who eventually wins the position) starts a riot and creates havoc in the sixth form, this is in response to the more devious and morally wrong actions of the supposedly responsible senior staff in the institution who rig the votes so that the more sensible promises from Naomi can be put into practice. It is interesting, then, that the politically passionate Naomi abandons the chance of being elected and instead exposes the corrupted deeds of the head teacher and gives the position to the real winner. This whole scene seems to frame a youthful view of politics, and is even suggestive of the moral superiority young people can have over such responsible, authoritative adults within a large institution such as education. This is an innovative approach to projecting the views of some young people that such an institution is internally corrupt and that it is through youth and sub culture that these views are best expressed. The whole storyline of this episode revolves around politics, representing young people as very actively involved in current affairs, whether it be in their place of learning or outside in the real world. This undercuts any view that Skins is simply a shallow and hedonistic programme which perhaps glamorizes drugs and promotes unruly behavior.
The style and fashion used encapsulates a politically active, socially aware generation, drawing influence from the Argentine marxist revolutionary- Che Guevara. Throughout the elections, the character of Cook is dressed in a way which is directly influenced by Guevara, wearing the signature beret and red star- a symbol of communism. Cook himself emits a similar ideology, as he initiates a riot and encourages a feel of ‘power to the people’, addressing the fact that even though young people may not be happy with their society, they ultimately have the power to change it. Cook is shown to be happy to undermine the rule of higher institutions and authority at every possible chance, influencing others to do the same, giving other students a voice. His motives at times are questionable and a lot of his actions are represented to be quite reckless, when he shouts ‘Vote for Cook- I don’t give a fuck either!’, which could be deemed as giving a fairly careless and spontaneous image of youth culture.
However, Stuart Hall and Tony Jefferson described youth subcultures as ‘symbolic or ritualistic attempts to resist the power of bourgeois hegemony by consciously adopting behavior that appears threatening to the establishment’. In this way, Cook’s attitude could be seen as a deliberate act of intimidation toward a dictating institution and an attempt to convey his resistance to their over ruling and evidently corrupt power. This is displayed through his ripped up khaki overalls and stitched on labels with messages like ‘vote for Cook’ representing, through his style, that he is in opposition with the elite and is challenging an ultimately hegemonic society. This is illustrated in Dick Hebdige’s The meaning of style through Hall who stated: “appropriated objects reassembled in the distinctive subcultural ensembles were ‘made to reflect, express and resonate…aspects of group life’…objects chosen were…homologous with the focal concerns, activities, group structure and collective self-image of the subculture. They were ‘objects in which (the subcultural members)could see their central values held and reflected’. In addition to Cook, this is evident in other Skins characters such as Effy and Freddie- both of whom have different styles. Effy’s fashion is very individualistic and the dark and ‘grungy’ colours could be seen to represent her psychosis which develops throughout the series’. The small symbols such as skulls on her clothing are reflective of her fearlessness and the characteristic heavy black eyeliner is representative of the dark way in which she sees the world. Conversely Freddie’s rough, skater style and un-groomed hair are illustrative of his recreational drug use and escapism from society.
In two of the scenes in episode 6, a Green Peace poster is present on the set of the background, reinforcing the hippie subcultural image that Naomi and her mother fall into, whilst there are several shots of a Nelson Mandela poster in her bedroom. The character’s obvious passion for politics is challenging of the dominant stereotypes of teenagers as immature people who are ignorant of politics and detached from real society by their immersion in youth culture. Although many of the other characters have a disregarding ‘fuck it’ approach to real world issues that concern them (whilst Naomi is the only character shown to have a genuine, direct interest and involvement in politics), this is misrepresentative of young people who are eager to get involved in issues that concern theirs and others futures as we have seen with the recent protests against the raise in tuition fees, the loss of EMA and other subsequent university cuts. These decisions from the coalition government have all been responded to with complete outrage and have encouraged an interest within teenagers in Secondary schools, Sixth forms and Universities. All this kind of awareness of politics may not be displayed within the show to its full extent it is, at least, represented within one character. A critic from the Guardian commented that “For all its posturing, the outwardly cool, don’t-give-a-shit kids aren’t necessarily where the heart of Skins lies”. This summarises the fact that the image the characters project of a hedonistic and shallow lifestyle involving lots of drugs, sex, house parties and sometimes reckless behavior is just one aspect of their lives portrayed for entertainment purposes but they also have a deeper, less self absorbed side to them that is very much aware of current political climates and issues that are affecting them.
Alternatively, Skins could be argued to show an unfair representation of class and ethnicity through its siding towards a middle class lifestyle. In various episodes of season 3, the characters’ houses are shown and there is an immediate image of wealth and middle class as many of the shots capture the well furnished, large houses that these characters come from. This is quite representative of Skins’s demographic, as a lot of the audience are teenagers of all ages who have parents in respectable professions earning more than enough money to support the family- defining them as middle class. However, although the actors are often from this kind of background, some of the characters they play such as Sketch and Maxxie (from the first generation of the show) live in a block of flats on an estate, therefore representing them as working class. However, these characters are not given the stereotypical ‘working class’ traits by being identified as ‘chavs’ and having little opportunity in life as Maxxie (an aspiring dancer) is shown attending tap classes and performing with others in the college musical. However, Lucy Mangan from the Guardian remarked that “if this is designed to emphasise how truly realistic Tony et al are, the effect has been slightly muted by the decision to cast as the college lot, actors who could give Prince William elocution lessons… They are as irritating as real teenagers, I’ll give them that.”
In the issues it does portray, however, Skins is thoroughly responsible television. Series three featured storylines from; Thomas’s arrival from the Congo and subsequent struggle to fit in, Emily and Naomi’s relationship and their troubles with sexuality, Effy’s psychosis and JJ’s autism. This undercuts any view that teenage life consists of drugs, sex and parties and presents the point that young people have real problems and issues that need resolutions which, most of the time in Skins, they manage to reach in a fairly grown up and responsible manner. For example, Naomi overcomes her initial hesitations of going out with someone of the same sex and her fear of being hurt by finally realizing that she is being unfair to Emily by being so unsure and inconsistent with her feelings. The characters repair their relationship in a mature way by being open with their feelings and it is shown that through this they are able to move forward, giving a very responsible portrayal of youth culture and challenging any stereotype of young people as having temporary ‘flings’ rather than longstanding, adult relationships
The show is influenced by real teenagers’ stories with teenage writers capturing the realistic lifestyle of young people, correcting any false stereotypes given by teen dramas written by older adults whose young lives aren’t as fresh in their minds. A writer for the Guardian stated; “It’s well written, by a mix of experienced and very young writers, who use a team of teenage consultants to come in for a meeting once a week to give their thoughts on the latest developments”. This shows the thoughtful process involved using real issues form the very people the show is targeted at.
In conclusion, Skins challenges dominant stereotypes of youth culture through strong characters that are resistant to the hegemonic society they inhabit, ruling out the popular myth that teenagers live a hedonistic lifestyle and have no contribution to their society.
Critical Investigation
Skins critics ranted against the supposed portrayal of modern youth as
a sorry bunch of a drug fuelled, sex obsessed, feral thugs.” (Jake Laverde
denofgeek.com)
To what extent does Skins challenge dominant stereotypes of youth culture and does it go far enough?
Section 1 – the dominant portrayal: a history of youth culture 55 to the
noughties. Examples of the dominant view today – thugs, asbos, council estates, gangs or hedonism, binge drinking, casual drugs and sex. RESEARCH. Skins challenges a disney / USA representation of surburban youth. Subculture theory
- how is hedonism political?
Section 2 – Context for youth today – political rebellion over student fees,
G20, G8, live 8, economic crisis, global warming, changing education system. Is
Skins now a wasteful platform stuck in the hedonistic hegemony?
Beatniks
Beatnik, a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s, was a
synthesis of the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s into violent film images, a cartoonish misrepresentation of the real-life people and spiritual aspects in Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical fiction. Kerouac spoke out against the beatnik concept.
Kerouac introduced the phrase “Beat Generation” in 1948, generalizing from his social circle to characterize the underground, anti-conformist youth gathering in New York at that time.
Beatniks
Subcultures and that unfortunately named dude..
Dick Hebdige argued that a subculture is a subversion to normalcy. He wrote that subcultures can be perceived as negative due to their nature of criticism to the dominant societal standard. Hebdige argued that subcultures bring together like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and allow them to develop a sense of identity.
Ken Gelder lists 6 ways in which a subculture can be recognised: 1) Often have negative relationship to work 2) Negative or ambivalent relationship to class 3) Through their associuations with territory ( The street, the hood, the club) rather than property 4) Through their stylistic ties to excess 5) Through their movement out of home into non-domestic forms of belonging (social groups as opposed to family) 6) Through their refusal to engage with they might see as the ‘banalities’ of life.
In class male gaze notes
An example of male gaze within print:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_POnxzFdZjgI/SeP2Iz7IyBI/AAAAAAAABok/8k5yRN8fS78/s400/calvin-klein-jeans-banned-ad.jpg
The models in the photo are positioned in a scene of a male dominated orgy- the female being the centre of three men’s attention. Two of the men are holding her possessively while the other is seemingly fantasising next to them. The men’s hold on the single female suggests the control and power males possess on females in society.
http://www.katyperry.com/
The ideology of Katy Perry pictured in candy floss clouds conveys her as a pleasurable treat, therefore objectifying her and submitting her to the male gaze. The slightly dated 60′s feel reflects a housewife image and conveying a sense that ‘women are there to please men’
Mulvey’s theories put to practice..
Laura Mulvey’s voyeuristic theory can easily be applied to a number of music videos. I will be analysing the use of this and other adjoining representations in ‘Dirty picture’, Taio Cruz ft. Ke$ha.
The opening shot of Taio driving a ‘flashy’ sports car (with the registration plate of ‘rockstar’) presents an obvious display of money and, with it, power, giving an initial representation of male dominance in contrast with following shots of Ke$ha dressed in her trademark ‘trampy’ style in a grotty, vandalised club. This immediately emits a negative and degrading representation of women, communicating a view that it is only men who make money while women dance around in trashy clubs wearing revealing clothes, as modelled by Ke$ha…
The actual lyrics, “Take a dirty picture for me, send a dirty picture” sung by the main male singer in the video reflects voyeurism at it’s most modern- females being spied on through a camera phone.
A definition: “Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature.”
This is certainly demonstrated through the female dancers in the video, who take pictures of themselves in provocative poses while we see shots of Taio Cruz repeating the word ‘snap’ and clicking his fingers. This almost sounds like an imperative, and he appears as though he is commanding the females to take a ‘dirty picture’.
Taio also wears dark shaded sunglasses throughout many of the shots where girls are taking pictures of themselves next to him, reflecting the indirectness involved in voyeurism- he is spying on them with the aid of something else (in this case the camera phone is replaced with the sunglasses although there are many other possible tools of voyeurism e.g. hole in a door).
The sunglasses also enable Taio to see the females while they can’t see his eyes, illustrating the sense of privacy in the observation of others that Mulvey describes of voyeurism. It also displays a sense of control and power in the male, that he is all seeing while the females are not and therefore are weaker. This gives a positively patriarchal message, suggesting it is the males who run the world, as it is the males who possess power.
A few high-angled close up crotch shots of women are dispersed throughout the club scene of the video, irrelevant to any kind of storyline the music video has. This represents women in a strictly sexualised, objectified way. The shots could, in a way, be seen as ‘cutting to the chase’, showing a view of what women are solely used for by men- to pleasure them.
A second of Mulvey’s theories is also interwoven into the video- fetishism. Ke$ha is seen lying on top of a bar whilst alcohol is poured over her chest by another woman. This again reflects a male dominated view of women, that they will perform such fantasized actions to please and gratify them, and perhaps even suggests that this is the extent of their purpose.
Marxism
“Revolutions are the locomotives of history”
This quote summarises Marx’s views on helping society. He himself was a great revolutionist in terms of changing society for the better, as he was against the running of the country, and he believed such changes could benefit furture generations to come, therefore being ‘locomotives of history’.
Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, theorist and historian. His strong communist ideas influenced the twentieth century world greatly. Marx argued that Capitalism was corrupt and destructive toward society.
Marx argued that socio-economic change occurred through organized revolutionary action. He argued that capitalism will end through the organized actions of an international working class: “Communism is for us not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality will have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of things. The conditions of this movement result from the premises now in existence.”
Print publications of both media products…
PENDULUM
Pendulum feature on the cover of 'mixmag' (a popular dance music and clubbing magazine)
PLAN B
Full page advert of Plan B's new album in the Guide magazine
Examining Print Media
(To be finished)
Plan B's 'Who needs actions when you got words' album cover
As Plan B isn’t that ‘big’ or well known, there are currently no magazine front covers on him at the moment- highlighting what a small institution this artist belongs to. Instead is his album cover for ‘Who needs actions when you got words’.
This album cover represents Plan B as a ‘street’ artist with the album title graffitted . The background portrays him as quite an urban artist- the brick wall with peeling paint he’s sitting in front of appear to be a city appartment. This portrays him as quite a ‘hip’ (for want of a less corny word…) young artist. The background is also made to look quite raw and rough as opposed to a photoshopped, commercial, computerised cover like Pendulum’s.
Pendulum's 'hold your colour' album cover
Although Pendulum are a large institution, they have little in the way of magazine appearances available to view on the internet, suggesting they are not as well promoted as they could be for such a popular band.
The ‘hold your colour’ album cover is a lot more professional looking and a lot more digitally manipulated than Plan B’s already signalling to its audience it is a bigger institution.
Case study research…
–discuss which artists/media you are going to look at and compare (remember you want to compare two vastly different pieces of media)
Plan B (English singer/rapper) and Pendulum (Australian electronic music group). Plan B’s songs are of a hip hop/ indie rock genre and Pendulum’s are mainly Electronica/ Drum and Bass.
–find links to websites, music videos, reviews, etc that you will be looking at…post these too!
Pendulum’s website. Plan B’s website
Pendulum
Plan B
Pendulum’s remix of a Plan B song (Stay too long)
–consider, compare and answer: What is the audience response like for each piece of media you are looking at?
Both Plan B and Pendulum have fansites on ‘fanpop’ created by fans, for fans. Their fans/supporters also have the chance to click on a widget for a few different social networking sites so they can actively share their interest in the artist with others by linking a specific page on the artist’s site onto facebook/bebo/myspace etc. This is of advantage to both the artist and the audience as the artist is getting themselves promoted free of charge and being heavily distributed to their audience through their audience. Also their audience is given the chance to become involved in upcoming news and events of both artists and actually interacting with others about it which in turn creates ‘hype’.
(To be finished…)
–What are the differences in how your film/artist/video is represented across the media platforms. For example: How might ‘This is England’ be represented differently in ‘Total Film’ versus ‘The Sun’?
Plan B’s interview on the t.o.t.p section of the BBC’s website (e-media),
Plan B feature on NME website (e-media),
Plan B article on the guardian (Print. In the culture and music section)
Pendulum feature on BBC Radio 1′s website (e-media),
Pendulum article on the Guardian’s website (e-media),
Pendulum album review on Drowned in Sound’s website (e-media)
–What/how is your audience appealed to in the different media platforms? For example: how does the myspace website appeal to a specific audience compared to watching the film?
The audience is more widely appealed to via websites such as myspace as the artist’s music is very easily accessible through a music player on the page. Whereas, not all the proportion of the artist’s audience have access to a t.v. so would not be able to view the music video so having a a website to display music and videos is very inclusive to all their listeners/audience.
