Historical Write Up

Stanley Cohen - Theory


Stan Cohen has two main parts to his theory, Moral Panic and Deviance Amplification.

Moral Panic is the intensity of feeling in a population about an issue which may threaten social order. The mass media is key in creating any moral panic, as they have the power to amplify anything that is happening which is concerning the said population. This media helps us with frameworks for this moral panic, and the Deviants (Those going against the social order that has been created).

Deviance Amplification is a media hype phenomenon defined by media critics as a cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of antisocial behavior or some other "undesirable" event, leading to a moral panic. The term was coined in 1972 by Cohen in his book Folk Devils and Moral Panics.

Clockwork Orange


1. Clockwork Orange was a film which portrayed a group of 4 youths in the 70s, who have a taste for violence. The main character is called Alex, who has a fondness for classical music (Beethoven in particular), violence, which he calles ultra-violence, and rape. The film tells the story of his crimes, his capture and the attempt of his rehabilitation, via psychological conditioning.

2. The press used this as a Scapegoat, blaming it for crimes that were so called copy-cats, for example when a 16 year old boy killed a tramp, beating him to death, reminiscent of the opening sequence in the film. The youths at the time felt that it related to them, as they had already experienced some of the themes, especially the violence as they were relating it to football hooliganism. It was later found that it wasn't encouraging the violence, but was making link between the youths of today, with a strong link to the football hooliganism that was present.

3. You can relate Stan Cohen's theory here, with the Newspapers/ News channels sensationalising the storys, creating moral panic in communities across Great Britain and making it seem as though all teenagers were capable of carrying out these brutal murders. Also, you can relate the theory that talks about Deviance Amplification, because the newspapers made the people who were involved in these murders minor celebrities, plastering them all over the papers, meaning everyone knew who they were.

Quadrophenia


1. The representation of Jimmy Steph and Kevin.
JIMMY wants to be part of a gang, and becomes a Mod, because he wanted to be different. However, as you can see when they are in Brighton he ends up exactly the same as everyone else, with his Parka jacket, Levis and his Scooter.

He takes his part of the 'gang' too seriously, and ends up getting in trouble with the police, leading a mob, singing 'We are the Mods!'. However his loyalty to the gang is tested when they beat up one of his friends, who is a rocker, and he doesn't know whether he is loyal to his friends or his gang. He is the stereotypical Mod, parka jacket, levis, scooter, popping pills etc.


STEPH is the personification of sexual freedom, sleeping around with whichever of the boys she takes a fancy to, not having any real loyalty to any of them. She is considered quite feminine compared to the androgynous Mods, who are all trying to be big, hard men, beating up rockers and going out clubbing every night.

KEVIN is a rocker who used to be in the army, but he left because he didn't like having superiors or being bossed around. He was friends with Jimmy, but was beaten up by Jimmy's Mod gang so he is probably more judged on being a rocker, rather than Jimmy's friend.

2. You can see parts of the mise-en-scene present in the film, with different locations present, representing the youth culture of the time. Some of the places that are present are clubs/ pubs, the milkshake bar and the house party that they all attend. Some of the things that you see also portray the culture of the day, for example the pills that they have, the clothing e.g. parkas for Mods, leathers for Rockers and the Pepsi that they are drinking.

3. Some of the ideologies that are present in the film are: sub-cultures within the film e.g. Mods, Rockers and the indifferent parents of these teenagers. The thing that all of the teenagers that you see are that they are living for the here and now, making the most of the time they've got. They like the dominant ideology that you have to be part of one gang or another, or that makes you a nobody. They also like the idea of the binary oppositions, for example the Mods vs. Society, like when they are smashing up the cafe, or trashing the club, dancing on top of the speakers.

4. In the time the Mass Media created Moral Panics, making it out that if two men were walking down the street, one in a parka and one in leathers that there would be a confrontation. They amplified the conflict between the two groups and made the Mods and Rockers into Social Deviants. This fits into the theory by Stanley Cohen, saying that the Mass Media has the power to create Moral Panics and an atmosphere of Social Deviance.

Conclusion

The films and ideologies shown in these two films is similar to some things that we are seeing here in 2012. For example the mass media is still making anyone wearing a hoody out to be a social deviant who will mug you for your handbag if you go within 10 feet of them. It sensationalises stories, making small issues into confrontational ones and creating a moral panic over nothing. You can also see some of the ideologies in place today, with people still liking to be part of a certain  group e.g. supporting a certain team, and if someone goes against that e.g. supporting another team, then it is your right to challenge them on this. A lot of todays teenagers are also living for the here and now, copying the sort of behaviour in Quadrophenia, taking drugs, drinking excessively and having sexual freedom. This is quite similar to the way most of the characters act, in particular Jimmy, Steph and Kevin.