In your opinion, how does the representation of youth in 'iLL Manors' affect the collective identity of British youth?

iLL Manors was a film produced by Ben Drew, also known as Plan B, which shows the events happening in deprived areas of London. The reason for the production of this film was to bring awareness to the struggle that young people in these areas are experiencing. In an interview, Drew said "I want to get a copy of this film and deliver it to the prime minister and say: This is another bit of your country that you don't talk about, you don't see, but nevertheless, large numbers of children and young people are trapped in this life." This indicates that Drew wanted to make the powerful members of society aware of the happenings in deprived areas, and try and bring help.

Drew goes on to say "I believe that there is a demonisation of the youth throughout the media. And people are falling for it, because if you'd had no direct contact with the kids that I'm talking about how the hell can you judge them?". This is an effect of the Cultivation Theory, a study taken by Jennings Bryant and Dorina Miron in 2004. It means that the more negative representations of the British Youth that the population see in the media, the more likely they are to believe it. In my opinion, without seeing any background interviews with Drew on his intentions to produce this film, iLL Manors aids this representation and portrays the British Youth in a negative light.

On the other hand, Camila Batmanghelidjh, the founder of Kids Company, believes that the film iLL Manors can have a positive impact on the British Youth. In a review of the film, she said "These children are living with such dark secrets. That's why it's so important." This indicates that she believes the film is helping the British Youth, by showing the wider world what they struggle with in everday life, and how much it contrasts to the lives of others in the UK.

Overall, I think that the film iLL Manors represents the collective identity of British Youth as thuggish and trouble. However, after watching interviews with Ben Drew on the intentions he had while making the film, I started to believe the film could have a positive impact on the British Youth, and bring awareness to the struggles they experience.

Newspaper Representations of Youth during the London 'Riots'

Firstly;

The events were labelled the London 'riots’. 

• What are the connotations of the word ‘riot’?
• Why not ‘civil unrest’, ‘dispute’ or ‘protest’?

One of the most popular images used by newspapers was the iconic image of a masked youth on the streets of Hackney in front of a burning car.  

Here is the image as it was used by The Guardian newspaper.

• Why was this image used by the newspaper? 
• What does this image represent?

The report accompanying the above picture in The Guardian read as follows:

The prime minister cut short his holiday and flew back to Britain as London witnessed devastating scenes of violence stretching the emergency services beyond limit on a third night of rioting in the capital.

Buildings were torched, shops ransacked, and officers attacked with makeshift missiles and petrol bombs as gangs of hooded and masked youths laid waste to streets right across the city.

The sheer number of incidents – including in Hackney, Croydon, Peckham, Lewisham, Clapham and Ealing – seemingly overwhelmed the Metropolitan police at times, who had poured 1,700 extra officers onto the streets.

Disturbances continued into the early hours on a breathtaking scale, and they spread outside London for the first time with riots reported in Birmingham and Liverpool.

David Cameron, forced to break off from holiday in Tuscany, was this morning due to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Cobra. He was travelling on a UK military flight leaving Italy at 3am. Asked why the prime minister had now decided to return, a Downing Street source said: "The situation has become more serious."

Officers from Thames Valley, Essex, Kent, Surrey and City of London were drafted in to support the Met. But apparent "copycat" riots continued to spread in the wake of Tottenham's riots on Saturday precipitated by the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan, 29, a father of four, last Thursday. So far 225 people have been arrested and 36 charged.

The violence erupted in daylight in Hackney, east London, where police confronted rioters hurling missiles and setting fire to bins and cars. One officer could be seen lying on the ground after being struck on his shield by a missile.

In Hackney's Pembury Estate, the centre of the violence in east London, masked youths – both men and women – helped carry debris, bins, sticks and motorbikes, laying them across the roads to form a flaming boundary to the estate.

Several buildings were set alight in Croydon, south London, one massive fire consuming the 100-year-old Reeves furniture store. The fires were so severe that approach roads into Croydon were thick with smoke leaving some residents struggling to see or breathe. "Words fail me. It's just gone, it's five generations. My father is distraught at the moment. It's just mindless thuggery," said owner Trevor Reeves.

A bus was torched in Peckham as police struggled to respond to the spread of sporadic incidents. Witnesses said a 100-strong mob cheered as a shop in the centre of Peckham was torched and one masked thug shouted: "The West End's going down next."

A baker's next door was also alight. One onlooker said: "The mob were just standing there cheering and laughing. Others were just watching on from their homes open-mouthed in horror."

A trail of bins and abandoned vehicles were ablaze in Lewisham.

At Clapham junction, looters – some as young as 14 – moved from shop to shop laughing as they smashed shop windows and clearing shelves of stock, unimpeded by over-burdened police.

Tim Godwin, acting Metropolitan police commissioner, made a direct appeal to parents to get their children off the streets. "I do urge now that parents start contacting their children, and ask themselves where their children are," he said. "There are far too many spectators who are getting in the way of the police operation to tackle criminal thuggery and burglary." He said "significant disorder" had broken out in many communities. These included incidents in Camden, Bethnal Green where a Tesco was looted and two officers hurt, Stratford, Notting Hill, Colliers Wood and Dalston.

Reassuring Londoners police were there in numbers, Godwin added: "We remain steadfast and determined."

The unrest spread beyond London with West Midlands police confirming outbreaks of disorder in Birmingham city centre. Shops including a branch of Louis Vuitton had windows smashed and were looted. An unmanned police station in Handsworth was torched. Extra officers were being sent into the streets of Britain's second city.

Merseyside police also confirmed 'a number of isolated outbreaks of disorder," including burning cars and criminal damage in south Liverpool.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London, also cut his holiday in North America short and was returning overnight. Kit Malthouse, London's deputy mayor of policing, said: "I don't think anybody could have predicted this sort of horrendous spectacle." As the home secretary, Theresa May, broke off her holiday to return to London, she condemned the "sheer criminality" of the violence. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said one-third more officers were available on Monday nightthan on Sunday, when shops were ransacked and torched in Brixton, south London, and trouble reported in Enfield, Edmonton, Walthamstow and Islington.

Kavanagh vowed to deliver "speedy justice" for Londoners, condemning the waves of looting as "disgusting behaviour, ripping apart people's livelihoods and businesses".

In a bid to contain the trouble , Scotland Yard introduced special powers in four areas – Lambeth, Haringey, Enfield and Waltham Forest, allowing stop and search without reasonable suspicion. The section 60 powers were invoked at midnight on Sunday. One incident of stop and search in Hackney was reportedly the catalyst for violence which erupted in Mare Street shortly after 4pm, and saw local hooded youths battle police.

The Guardian understands senior officers are prepared to add more areas to the list. The special powers have been perceived as targeting certain ethnic groups, thus fuelling tensions.

Meanwhile, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphones, Research in Motion, said it would co-operate with a police investigation into claims its popular BlackBerry Messenger service played a key role in organising the London riots.

Brixton bore the brunt of Sunday's violence. The Lambeth council leader, Steve Reed, said: "We are asking the mayor's office for additional police for tonight and the next few nights." Condemning the "copycat activity", he said: "Somebody described it as gangs of kids doing Supermarket Sweep. It was Curry's where they were after plasma screen TVs, and H&M and Foot Locker where it was clothes and trainers. It wasn't about social issues, it was an opportunity to go on the rob."

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, visiting Tottenham, said the violence would leave "big scars" on the community. Surveying the wreckage after the torching of businesses and homes in Tottenham High Road, he spoke to Steve Moore, who lost his jewellery shop in Saturday's violence. "I'm devastated, it's completely gone. My shop just doesn't exist anymore," Moore told him.

Referring to the "copycat" violence across London, Clegg said: "Let's be clear, the violence we saw last night had absolutely nothing to do with the death of Mr Duggan. It was needless, opportunist theft and violence – nothing more, nothing less."

Boris Johnson released a statement describing the scenes of violence and destruction as "utterly appalling".

"I understand the need for urgent answers into the shooting incident that resulted in the death of a young man and I've sought reassurances that the IPCC are doing exactly that," he said. "But, let's be clear – these acts of sheer criminality across London are nothing to do with this incident and must stop now."

• How does the manner in which The Guardian have presented information potentially affect the collective identity of all young people in a negative way?

Secondly;

The Daily Mirror reported of “Young thugs with fire in their eyes and nothing but destruction
on their minds.” 

This comment accompanied a front page with the headline “Yob rule” 

• How have young people been represented by The Daily Mirror through their choice words and image?


Thirdly;

Max Hastings wrote an article in The Daily Mail with some controversial representations of
youth. 

The article can be viewed by clicking here.

As you read the article, think about how youth are represented.


• Explain how the collective identity of youth is potentially affected by the article, using quotations to support your arguments.

Contemporary Reprsentations Of British Youth - 2011 London Riots

We spent time establishing the background to the 2011 London riots.

Here are the slides and videos we watched in class.

CLICK HERE  to visit the BBC News page which details events surrounding the Mark Duggan shooting.

CLICK HERE to visit the BBC News timeline of events which includes several videos reporting the spread of events around London and the country in general.

The video below shows Sky News' live coverage after the first day of rioting in London.