1) Compare and contrast the representation of teenagers in the two texts.

In the trailer for Skins teenagers are representation negatively, as they are being portrayed in a negative and rebellious manner. This is signified in the opening montage which showcases teenagers smoking, having sex and relationships with the same and opposite sex. Close up and mid-shots are used to emphasis on this point. They are shown to be careless and often labelled as trouble makers by adults. This trailer may often split the audiences; as such behaviour can result in moral panic by the adults. Some believe that teenagers can be influenced by what they see on TV, for example the teenagers having underage sex and smoking can influence those who watch it, by picking up such habit themselves. This links back to the moral panic as teenagers no longer listen to what they are told and do what they want to do regardless of what their parents say. Such programme can have the oppositional reading in ways which the adults think that this helps to promote such rebellious behaviour, which is often reflected on society.

Although some teenagers may think that such behaviour is a path way to freedom; the adults may therefore gain negative ideologies about teenagers. This can often lead to adults stereotyping and labeling teenagers as the same, for example hoodies related to gangs, short skirts related to whores.

On the other hand, in the video game trailer for Bully teenager also represented negatively. The bullies are stereotyped, in this is signified in the way they are dressed, for example, they are wearing their shirt tucked out, low bottoms, and a messy look in general as this helps to define their troublesome characteristic. The shots and camera angel’s emphasis their troubled characteristic behaviours when they are harassing school kids and causing distress to others. Long and medium shots are used to show the mise-en-scene and close up shots are used to emphasis on their social expressions and body language.

The younger audience may accept this type of behaviour as they are desensitized to this and normal, however the much older audience may have oppositional reading to this text, as it contains unacceptable violence and disruptive behaviours. Those ideologies are constantly being reproduced through media texts such as violence video games, movies and other characters in other text. This is a negative representation of teenagers, as those ideologies are injected into the audience and this leads to stereotyping and labelling of certain groups of teenagers.

Therefore across both texts, teenagers are negatively represented as being rebellious and typical trouble makers. Those negative representations of teenagers in both text may result in a moral panic, as those behaviours are being accepted and perfumed by teenagers themselves, however those ideologies of teenagers bullying younger kids and having relationships with the same sex, which often leaves adults wondering and worried about the way teenagers are brought up and question how society deal with such representation of teenagers. Both texts reflect those negative representations.