Wednesday 9 January 2008

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Representations today
· Newspaper articles. Lack of positive role models and fathers.
‘by other trends within black communities, such as lack of father involvement and the lack of positive role models, and the presence of powerful alternative negative role models in media and popular culture".
· Gangs/ going to prison.
· Films coach carter in particular reference to the character cruz. Look at the mis- en scene.
· Coach carter as an educational role model.


More recently teen movies which cover issues dealing with black youth tend to make flawed stereotypes. Yet you can say that these films tackling issues to do with black youth are only portraying the youth in how they shown in the media through these stereotypes. They reinforce these representations to an extent. An increasing theme which tends to run in films to do with black youth culture is the absence of a father figure or a positive role model. ‘by other trends within black communities, such as lack of father involvement and the lack of positive role models, and the presence of powerful alternative negative role models in media and popular culture….warns that boys and young men who lack the involvement of a father in their lives can develop "father hunger" - a trauma that leaves them vulnerable to peer pressure and involvement in gang culture.” (3) This quote states that if there is no involvement of a father for the young men then they are more likely to be pressured towards crime. This theme is shown in Coach Carter as a lot of the boys don’t have a father figure, if we look at Timo Cruz a character who has been brought up too fight in gang wars through his uncle who is a well known gang leader in the neighbourhood who has no role model till he meets his basketball coach, however if we look at Tre in Boyz n the Hood he has been brought up in a crime-ridden South Central Los Angeles, California, with his father Jason "Furious" Styles. Furious instructs Tre on his household responsibilities. Although these tasks seem unfair and harsh to Tre, Furious explains that learning responsibility will make Tre a man and keep him from ending up dead or in jail.


(3) http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2103754,00.html
Introduction:

In the government’s efforts to prevent young black people from entering the criminal justice system, it recognises that preventing criminalisation lies in social justice and not criminal justice. By focusing on issues like drugs, poverty and the lack of positive role models, these social issues have fallen harshly on the black youths of today. Our contemporary society has portrayed today’s black youth as a corrupt group of minorities.
The media’s part in this representation has caused a moral panic where black youths are seen today as troublemakers. ‘8% of young black people arrested were remanded in custody, compared with 4% of young white people. Overall, black people are five times more likely to be jailed.’(1) According to Timothy Shary, recent films have concentrated on serious youth issues like never before. “Coach Carter,” “Mysterious Skin” and “The Ballad of Jack and Rose,” all released in 2005, tackled such topics as the value of education among athletes. “These are films that show young people confronting issues about race, religion, body image, romance, drugs, parents, friends, sex, sexual preference and crime, and they explore these issues with a mature attitude while still allowing their characters to explore their youth,” (2) However it is important to take in consideration the accuracy of these representations.






(1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2103754,00.html
(2) ‘Teen movies: American youth on screen by Timothy Shary
‘The best examples for disaffected black youngsters are other black people who have made their way in society because they have a far better understanding of the pressures in these communities." How are black youths represented today and are these representations accurate? with specific reference to Coach Carter.

How are black youths represented today & are these representations accurate? Making particular reference to Coach Carter.

(keywords- representation, today and accurate)

Intro- mention today’ society- ASBO’s
· Newspaper stories- ‘lack of leadership’ young black teens needed positive support
· Synopsis.

Paragraph 1:
Representations today
· Newspaper articles. Lack of positive role models and fathers.
‘by other trends within black communities, such as lack of father involvement and the lack of positive role models, and the presence of powerful alternative negative role models in media and popular culture".
· Gangs/ going to prison.
· Films coach carter in particular reference to the character cruz. Look at the mis- en scene.
· Coach carter as an educational role model.

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Historical representations
· Intro to boyz n the hood.
· Quotes.
· Comparison to coach carter and furious styles.
· Teen movies: American youth on screen by timothy shary.
· Refer to second historical text ‘menace in society’
Caine: My father sold dope and my mother was a heroin addict. Moms and Pops were real popular in the neighborhood. They would always be giving parties for friends of theirs who just got out of jail or was on their way to jail. They only got married 'cause I was born. My pop sometimes worked as an electrician or a cab driver or a plumber, but his main job was selling drugs. Sometimes Mom would use 'em all up before he could even sell 'em. Then he'd have to beat her up. Growing up with parents like that, I heard a lot and I saw a lot. I caught on to the criminal life real quick. Instead of keeping me out of trouble, they turned me on to it.



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Change how & why.

· Clark University professor Timothy Shary has published a book about teen movies. the book is called 'teen movies: american youth on screen.According to Shary, recent films have addressed serious youth issues like never before - a trend he hopes will continue. “Coach Carter,” “Mysterious Skin” and “The Ballad of Jack and Rose,” all released in 2005, tackled such topics as the value of education among athletes,“These are films that show young people confronting issues about race, religion, body image, romance, drugs, parents, friends, sex, sexual preference and crime, and they explore these issues with a mature attitude while still allowing their characters to explore their youth,”
·Sir Trevor MacDonald- contradict article about the lack of role models in the media.


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So are these representations accurate?

· Stan Cohen was the first theorist to address this prejudice towards the teen, his study of the Mods and Rockers in the 1960’s, led to the infamous ‘Folk Devils and Morale Panic’ theory. Cohen believed that young teens were presented in an unfair, negative way, and he perceived this societal indifference towards the teen and the government’s failure at controlling them, as "a condition, episode, person or group of persons [who] become defined as a threat to societal values and interests."

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Conclusion

Thursday 27 December 2007

menace in society quotes

Caine: I thought killing those fools would make me feel good, but it really didn't make me feel anything. I just knew that I could kill somebody, and if I had to, I could do it again.

Ronnie: You need to be glad that you graduated from high school, and that you're alive at eighteen, and you need to do something with yourself before you end up like he did.

Caine: My father sold dope and my mother was a heroin addict. Moms and Pops were real popular in the neighborhood. They would always be giving parties for friends of theirs who just got out of jail or was on their way to jail. They only got married 'cause I was born. My pop sometimes worked as an electrician or a cab driver or a plumber, but his main job was selling drugs. Sometimes Mom would use 'em all up before he could even sell 'em. Then he'd have to beat her up. Growing up with parents like that, I heard a lot and I saw a lot. I caught on to the criminal life real quick. Instead of keeping me out of trouble, they turned me on to it.

Caine: You going to Kansas with this fool?
Sharif: Yeah, Caine. You should come too, man. I mean, you're not doing nothing out here but getting yourself in a lot of trouble. I know your grandmother would be happy.
Caine: Shit, I ain't going no place.

Mr. Butler: Being a black man in America isn't easy. The hunt is on, and you're the prey. All I'm saying is... All I'm saying is... Survive! All right?
Menace II Society

Menace II Society is a 1993 American film and the directorial debut of twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United States on May 28, 1993. The film gained notoriety for its frequent scenes of violence and crude language. Despite mixed reviews, however, Menace II Society was critically acclaimed for its gritty portrayal of urban violence and its powerful underlying messages.

The film takes place in Watts, a high crime district of Los Angeles, California, and follows the life of 18-year-old Caine "Kaydee" Lawson during a long summer after his high school graduation. Although he is a drug-dealer, Caine has a number of redeeming qualities; he lives with his loving grandparents, and with his recently completed high school education, has a number of doors open to him. He financially and emotionally supports a close female friend who is a single mother. Most of Caine's friends - in particular, the homicidally trigger-happy Kevin ("O-Dog") - all seem to be heading towards either jail or an early grave, and are threatening to take Caine with them.

The movie begins as a flustered Caine and his friend, O-Dog, flee the scene after a liquor store robbery. They are in the store to buy malt liquor before going to a party. The Korean shopkeeper and his wife are watching them with apparent unease. O-Dog is verbally abusive of the Korean couple and they demand he and Caine leave. The shopkeeper's parting comment about feeling sorry for O-Dog's mother causes O-Dog to shoot the man, killing him, and also his wife as a witness. O-Dog takes money from the cash register and steals the surveillance videotape. (He later watches it repeatedly, seemingly proud of his actions. He also doesn't hesitate to show it to his friends, ignoring Caine's warnings that it will get them both into trouble.)

In a flashback the audience learns that several years before the start of film, the drug epidemic has hit the Watts District hard, and Caine's father, Tat Lawson (Samuel L. Jackson), has made this his main source of income by selling heroin. His mother (Khandi Alexander), a heroin addict, is strung out most of the time, so a young Caine has no one to take care of him and is left to fend for himself in an unforgiving world of drugs, guns, and violence. Caine is given a handle on this form of societal decay by the ubiquitous Pernell, who becomes in a way Caine's "street" father, a replacement for his "real" father, who was killed during a drug deal when he was 10. It also is stated that his mother died of a drug overdose.

Years later, with Pernell in jail and his parents gone, Caine lives with his grandparents in Jordan Downs. He has just graduated from high school and is the proud recipient of a diploma. To celebrate, he and his cousin Harold head off to a party. The celebration quickly turns ugly as Harold (Saafir) and Caine are caught off guard ("caught slippin'") and are both shot during a carjacking for their car, a BMW. Fortunately, Caine is only shot in his shoulder, which causes him to go into shock. Harold isn't so lucky; a bullet enters his brain, killing him.
After receiving treatment for the shoulder injury, Caine is granted permission to go home. He is picked up by Ronnie, the ex-girlfriend and mother of Pernell's five-year-old son, Anthony, a boy who often reminds Caine of how he used to be when he was much younger. Caine develops a bond with the young child, forming a father-son relationship with him, much like the one he had with Pernell years before. This relationship - Caine, Ronnie, and Anthony - shows us a different side to our rather unconventional hero.


As the summer drags on, Caine becomes implicated in two additional murders, grand theft auto, and the acquisition of stolen goods: a registered car, rims, and jewelry that he robs from another youth. He's also learned that cops can be as "hard" as he can, but what sets them apart from him is that they have badges and guns, where he only has a gun. Caine winds up in the hospital after experiencing police brutality. Ronnie visits him during his recovery process, but with more on her mind than just a simple meet-up. She is worried about Caine, and would be less concerned if he were to come with her and Anthony to Atlanta, where she plans to work. She leaves him alone to think about her offer, and Caine reminisces on all that has happened to him, all that he's done, and all the things he'd ultimately end up doing if he stayed.

With Pernell's encouragement, Caine decides to go with Anthony and his mother. In the final scenes of the movie we see the gang, even O-Dog, taking Caine's belongings out of the rooms and into the van outside Ronnie's house. It's a beautiful day outside, the ice cream truck is making its rounds, and Anthony's trying out the new big wheel Caine just bought him. However, earlier in the film Caine had allegedly impregnated a girl named Ilena, and Ilena's cousin, angry from a beating by Caine over Caine's refusal to acknowledge his responsibility, drives past the house. As Caine and his friends are about to leave, Ilena's cousin and his buddies perform a drive-by shooting. Caine and Sharif are shot, Sharif dying instantly. Caine uses his body to protect Anthony from the bullets, and Caine dies in Stacey's arms.

CulTurAl ImpACt
While the movie was seen by fans as a gritty portrayal of urban strife, many critics of the movie felt that it actually glamorized the lifestyle.[citation needed] This was the exact opposite of what the directors had intended when making the movie. This movie, along with popular debut albums from Eazy-E and Compton's Most Wanted, helped to popularize the thug lifestyle idolized by a subset of Californian black youths in the early nineties.

The movie was largely successful due to the brilliant and realistic dialogue. It was also one of the first movies to use the regional slang and dialect of urban blacks in Los Angeles as opposed to the New York black slang and accent that dominated most of urban media. The film has also become known for its frequent crude and profane language. For example, the word "fuck" and it's derivatives are used 300 times in this 97-minute film[1]. There have been many references to the movie in pop culture. The most recent example is The Boondocks a japanese anime-influenced cartoon series written by Aaron McGruder currently airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The show has incorporated quotes from the movie into the dialogue of the character voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, in addition to that there is a parody of the interrogation scene in the the 3rd episode of the second season of The Boondocks entitled Thank You for Not Snitching. Also, on T.I.'s song King of da South from Trap Muzik he says "I've been a menace to society (since when) since Menace II Society." Another is on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, where on the Girls, Girls, Girls remix in the final track he says: "For now I get around, like the late Makaveli on Pirelli twenty inches, or Caine and O-Dog's stick-up tape from Menace." In another Jay-Z song, "Money, Cash, Hoes (Remix)" in Memphis Bleeks' verse he says "Wanna be a menace so you got Caine in you, I put them thangs in you". In the song "High All the Time", 50 Cent raps about being a role model where he says "sippin' Guinness watching Menace and Oh Lord, have a young nigga buckin shit like he O-Dog." Similarly in "New York", The Game raps "it's the sequel to Menace and Oh Lord he done went O-Dog". Also in The Alchemist Hold You Down (The Alchemist song) on Prodigy verse he says When it comes to teks, I'm similar to a menace,Like Ol' Dog sniffin caine couldn't fuck with the damage .In Jim Jones video for his song "Certified Gangstas", he and rapper The Game have an exact word for word conversation with the Asian owners of a liquor store, just as O-Dog and Caine in the first scene in the movie.

Wednesday 26 December 2007

Quotes from: teen movies: American youth on screen by Timothy Shary.



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movies would be the most influential entertainment medium in the world shaping cultural notions about history, behaviour and values. This profound influence was used to convey emotions, sway opinions ad represent social groups in both sincere and stereotypical terms.



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As with the depiction of any minority group in the media, a question of motivation must be raised: does the industry depict the minorities to fulfil the expectations of the majority, to appeal to the minority or a balance of both?



Hollywood and independent studios systematically developed different youth sub genres to depict an increasing diverse array of teen experiences.



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teen films, like successive generations of teenagers themselves, have grown up and changed with the times, testing their boundaries, exploring their potential and seeking new identities. indeed the study of teen films reveals the evolving maturity of our culture.



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more often, films about teenagers in the 1920's were designed to exploit adult fears about youth rather then appeal to real youth interests.
















Sir Trevor MacDonald


Renowned broadcaster and first UK black TV news anchorman
Born in Trinidad in 1939, Trevor worked in various aspects of the media including local newspapers, radio and television. He joined the Caribbean regional service of the BBC World Service in 1960 as a producer, before moving to London at the end of that decade to work for the corporation (BBC Radio, London).

Moving to Independent Television News (ITN) in 1973, he rose steadily through the ranks. He's served as news, sports and diplomatic correspondent before moving on to become diplomatic editor and newscaster. Twice voted Newscaster of the year, McDonald is perceived as the face of ITN after years of fronting its flagship 'News at Ten' bulletin.
An accomplished journalist, he has penned several books including autobiographies on cricketers Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards. His own biography, 'Fortunate Circumstances', was published in 1993.

Once viewed as the best-spoken person in the country and was reported to have fronted a two-year inquiry into the state of language learning. It warned that government education policy failed to teach pupils the necessary language skills needed for later life.

In 1992 he received an OBE in the Queen's Honours List, and received a knighthood in 1999. He continues to be the anchor for the News at Ten, and presents Tonight with Trevor McDonald, which was launched in 1999.