The Seven Areas of Representation

DEFINITION OF AGE - the period of time that a person, animal, or plant has lived or is expected to live 

STEREOTYPES ASSOCIATED WITH THE AGE - there are many stereotypes in age;l most of these lie within the 'teen' age bracket. A variety of ages are found within all programs and all genres. Mise – en – scene plays a key role to represent age: teens wear hoodies; adults dress smartly; old people wear dated textured clothing and children dress immaturely in bright colours that don't co ordinate.Most perceptions of different ages are true – except some are unfair. Like not all teenagers are ‘chavs’ and intimidating, and not all old people are clumsy and short.Feelings have changed over time, especially within teenagers who are now represented in a much more negative light to years ago. 

A SELECTION PT TV DRAMAS THAT INCLUDE THE STEREOTYPE, AGE - There are many different kinds of shows on television today and these are able to present different kinds of images. Some shows present news and current affairs stories, trying to report on actual events in a realistic way. Other shows will create fictional drama or comedy situations that are designed to reflect real life. Commercials are made to sell products to specific groups or target audiences in society.

All of these types of television can use stereotypes as part of their presentation. Some of the main kinds of stereotypes used on television include:

· Gender

· Age

· Ethnicity

· Disability

Stereotypes can be used in positive or constructive ways, however there has been research that shows many people base real life opinions on how different groups are shown on television. An example of a stereotype in a TV programme is Coronation Street.

ANALYSIS OF HOW THE STEREOTYPES ARE REPRESENTED - People organize their knowledge about the world around them by sorting and simplifying received information. Therefore, they create cognitive schemes, which are certain representations of the reality displaying its most typical and fundamental elements and properties. These schemes are responsible for defining the essence of our worldview and have a significant influence on social cognition – understanding, anticipation, situation and emotion control.

IMAGES FROM THE TV DRAMAS YOU USE TO ILLUSTRATE YOUR POINTS -

ISSUES OR PROBLEMS THAT ARISE FROM THE REPRESENTATION OR THE 

STEREOTYPE INVOLVED - One of the main issues that is brought up with the representation of age, especially amongst the younger generation, is that if the writers stereotype too much then many people could take offence and complain to the producers and writers of the show. This means that when writing very stereotypical characters you shouldn't go too far into that representation to cause offence and starting to generalise about what the majority of the population is like at a certain age.

FORDASMEDIA- Age isn't necessarily straightforward: there are many sub-categories beyond young v old: teens, children,infants, 30-somethings, mature, middle-aged, elderly/pensioner, and even the mid-life crisis type.

 I’d advise you to avoid the terms ‘old’ and middle-aged’, stick with mature or elderly where appropriate.However, in most regards the key binary opposition is young v old, where the young are stereo typically less responsible, perhaps criminal, out of control (it wasn't like this in my day/young people today…), scholastically/academically weak – yet perhaps also cunning and conniving. Innocent, pure and naive can also apply  especially to younger children and infants.When children are portrayed as quite adult this is usually meant as critical, and bemoaning the ‘lost innocence of childhood’. Look out for narratives revolving around new media technologies; older generations’ ignorance of new media has led to recurring moral panics over use of the web, violent video games etc.The older are also negatively stereotyped though as slightly dim, with romantic or sexual plot lines often used for cheap laughs. Older people can also be represented as essentially childish.Consider non-diegetic music used and how it may reflect a target audience of a certain age range (eg jazz older,dance music younger). Clothing codes. Language used, especially slang.KEY WORDS: ir/responsible (possibly criminal); im/mature or foolish v wise/sensible; innocent v cynical;