Teenagers and The Mall

The two videos below are two ends of the spectrum on the reality of teens at the mall:

The Bad:



The Good:



Our group Ron, Hilary, and Taylor started our research on representation based on these two primary examples. We continued to look at how teens are represented (or "RE" presented) in the media and how all of this relates to our class. From the three "Guiding Assumptions" of this course (Media matters, Youth is a culturally constructed category, and Teens are not some alien life form) to Croteau's idea of ideology being the "lens through which we see everything," to Raby's "A Tangle of Discourses," we looked at how teens and the mall are presented to us through a certain medium.

Here is one example from the movie, "Mallrats" which came out in 1995:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfVVjpVZP8I&feature=youtu.be

This portrays teens as idiots who are always up to stupid, gross things with no other purpose in life.

This example is from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. In this very short exchange, the girls are talking about using protection when they decide to finally have sex with their respective guys. We found it interesting that a decision like this would be taking place at the mall. I think this may have been in The Rhode Island Mall due to the lack of people in the background:)



So, where does the rubber meet the road? Well, some districts across America have taken action:

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/08/09/ohio-mall-requires-chaperone-for-teens/?a_dgi

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/shopping-malls-increasingly-putting-restrictions-teens/story?id=11701470

The real question is, if not the mall, then where?