How is your Group of people/ place represented typically in the media? Use detailed examples from your primary sources. Explore specifically how the representations are constructed.
Underage and Pregnant:
BBC3 - “Series which goes behind the sensational headlines to discover what it is really like to be underage and pregnant”
http://www.singlemummy.net/2010/08/support-where.html “Since falling pregnant with J in Feb 2006 aged 16 I have watched every single documentary about young parents that has been broadcast. Why? Because I'm still waiting for the day I find a documentary that doesn't show teenage mothers as being lazy slobs who don't care about their babies and are more worried about getting into their jeans.”
Underage and pregnant portray a more raw portrayal of pregnant teenager. There seems to be a sense of truth in the show, the stereotypes of teenage mothers are very prominent, with the mise en scene including estate homes, domestic scenes and the mothers are commonly wearing a lot of jewellery, piercings and tattoos are also shown to give them a bad image. Which reinforces the stereotypes to the target audiences, however when we follow the stories of these girls, we feel sorry for them, through their dialogue we see how their lives truly are.
Most of episodes we see that the girls are pretty much alone, and the baby was a mistake, also the father of the baby is hardly ever in the picture anymore. However the most recent episode contained a girl aged 14 who fell pregnant, and decided to keep the baby and was still with her boyfriend when he was killed in a car accident. Stories like these replace our stereotype of teenage mums as being immature individuals who just get pregnant because they think having sex is ‘cool’. However when we see their age we still think they are too young which doesn’t change throughout the series.
Juno:
Released in 2007, A tale told over four seasons, starting in autumn when Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior in Minnesota, discovers she's pregnant after one event in a chair with her best friend, Bleeker. In the waiting room of an abortion clinic, the quirky and whip-sharp Juno decides to give birth and to place the child with an adoptive couple. She finds one in the PennySaver personals, contacts them, tells her dad and step-mother, and carries on with school. The chosen parents, upscale yuppies (one of whom is cool and laid back, the other meticulous and uptight), meet Juno, sign papers, and the year unfolds. Will Juno's plan work, can she improvise, and what about Bleeker?
One point to consider is that this movie is America, and therefore the presentation of teenage mums in the British media will perhaps be different to that in the American media. Juno is shown to be rather well off compared to the girl we see on underage and pregnant and her parents seem to be very supportive towards her, which again is in contrast to what we see in the British representation of teenage mums. There are some similarities of the ideologies they send off about teenage mothers, Juno is shown to be extremely immature and the fact that she gives her baby up for adoption shows she’s not ready to have a baby which are the same ideologies underage and pregnant portray but in a more factual and serious sense.
Another factor to consider is that movies are made for entertainment and programs such as underage and pregnant are to educate the audiences about pregnancy and the disadvantages of getting pregnant too early.
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1240513/You-wont-tackle-teen-pregnancy-
putting-parenting-school-timetable.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-
1253631/BRENDA-ALMOND-Well-end-teenage-pregnancy-epidemic-admit-whats-REALLY-causing-it.html
The daily mail is a tabloid newspaper and therefore includes issues close to home for their target audiences. Teenage pregnancy is a hot topic which is repeatedly in the newspapers eyes. The daily mail accuses the government for the alarming rates of teenage pregnancy, sometimes they say the government is not funding enough for campaigns against underage sex and other times the newspapers insists that sex education is the cause of the problem. Governments new plans to teach 14 year olds how to be good mothers, is said to make these kids feel ready to be mothers and therefore try and be one in real life. Like the other to platforms, the Daily Mail also suggest that underage pregnancy is a hassle and that these children are immature and not ready enough.
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